Dems spark alarm with call for national ID card  —  A plan by Senate Democratic leaders to reform the nation's immigrations laws ran into strong opposition from civil liberties defenders before lawmakers even unveiled it Thursday.  —  Democratic leaders have proposed requiring every worker …

Oil From Spill Is Reported to Have Reached the Coast  —  NEW ORLEANS —Coast Guard officials were investigating reports early Friday morning that oil from a massive spill in the Gulf of Mexico had washed ashore overnight, threatening fisheries and wildlife in fragile marshes and islands along the Gulf Coast.

Boehner: GOP Will Repeal Health Care Law  —  House Republican Leader John Boehner has said that his party will repeal the new health care law if the GOP gains a congressional majority in November.  —  “I think that we need to repeal the health care law and replace it with common-sense steps …

Greene Enters Fla. Senate Race  —  Just when we thought the Florida Senate race couldn 't get any stranger...  No sooner did GOP Gov. Charlie Crist announce that he'll run as an independent, clearing the way for Marco Rubio to secure the Republican nomination, than billionaire credit default …

At some point you have grabbed enough power  —  Given that poorer citizens always outnumber the rich, the classic political philosophers held that government based on majority rule was untenable.  They were of the view that it would lead to organized theft from the wealthy by the democratic masses.

Prosecutors Said to Start Inquiry at Goldman  —  By LOUISE STORY and MICHAEL J. de la MERCED  —  Federal prosecutors have opened an investigation into trading at Goldman Sachs, raising the possibility of criminal charges against the Wall Street giant, according to people familiar with the matter.

Consumers Help Drive U.S. Economy to 3.2% Growth Rate  —  The United States economy continued to expand in the first quarter, but economists cautioned that the pace of growth is still not nearly fast enough to recover ground lost during the recession.  —  National output grew …

Republicans Might Want to Rent, not Own, the House  —  President Barack Obama went on a campaign-style barnstorming tour of the Midwest this week, a reminder that this is a big political year posing a big political question: Can Republicans take back control of the House of Representatives?

Arizona Expands Its Discrimination: Teachers With Heavy Accents Can't Teach English, Ethnic Studies Are Banned  —  Arizona's supporters of the state's draconian new immigration law insist that it has nothing to do with race and isn't meant to discriminate against certain ethnic communities.

Leslie Buck, Designer of Iconic Coffee Cup, Dies at 87  —  It was for decades the most enduring piece of ephemera in New York City and is still among the most recognizable.  Trim, blue and white, it fits neatly in the hand, sized so its contents can be downed in a New York minute.

Tweet Of The Day  —  “Every a**hole who ever chanted ‘Drill baby drill’ should have to report to the Gulf coast today for cleanup duty,” - Bill Maher.  —  I have always been in favor of Cape Wind off Cape Cod but the confluence of these two events will surely help swing public opinion further in favor of non-carbon energy.

Why Isn't Britain In More Trouble?  —  There have been various versions of the “Britain is the next Greece!” story out there; a good rundown at FT Alphaville.  As they note there, however, the CDS and bond markets don't seem to agree:  —  So is Britain different, and why?

MLBPA: AZ Immigration Law “Could have a negative impact on hundreds of Major League players”  —  The executive director of the Major League Baseball Player's Association has released a strong statement condemning the Arizona immigration law.  I've pasted it below the fold:

Obama Criticizes Liberal Supreme Courts of '60s and '70s  —  WASHINGTON — In a seeming rejection of liberal orthodoxy, President Obama has spoken disparagingly about liberal victories before the Supreme Court in the 1960s and 1970s — suggesting that justices made the “error” …

The man in the middle  —  Back in 1987, the man hired to crack wise at the annual White House Correspondents' Association Dinner had a case of jagged nerves.  —  Ronald Reagan was president, and Jay Leno was just turning 37 — already a celebrated comic, not yet one of the country's most familiar faces.

Arizona Legislature Passes Bill to Curb ‘Chauvanism’ in Ethnic Studies Programs  —  After making national headlines for a new law on illegal immigrants, the Arizona Legislature sent Gov. Jan Brewer a bill Thursday that would ban ethnic studies programs in the state that critics say currently advocate separatism and racial preferences.