Kagan's friends: She's not gay  —  Elena Kagan is not a lesbian, one of her best friends told POLITICO Tuesday night, responding to persistent rumors and innuendo about the Supreme Court nominee's personal life.  —  “I've known her for most of her adult life and I know she's straight,” …

Specter-Sestak Dem Primary Too Close To Call, Quinnipiac University Pennsylvania Poll Finds; Toomey Has Big Lead In Republican Primary  —  U.S. Rep. Joe Sestak continues his stretch run in the Pennsylvania U.S. Senate primary and now trails incumbent Sen. Arlen Specter by a too-close-to-call 44 …

Alan Mollohan loses primary fight  —  West Virginia Democratic Rep. Alan Mollohan lost his bid for a 15th term tonight at the hands of state Sen. Mike Oliverio, a defeat that further affirms the anti-incumbent sentiment coursing through the country.  —  Mollohan hadn't faced a serious primary fight …

Arizona bans ‘ethnic studies’  —  Arizona GOP Gov. Jan Brewer has signed a law banning the state's schools from teaching ethnic studies classes.  —  Brewer signed the bill Tuesday that targets Chicano studies programs currently being taught in Tucson schools.

Are We Greece?  —  David Leonhardt tries to draw parallels.  But how strong is the parallel, really?  —  I would really question this comparison: … Um, that's comparing a (highly uncertain) projection of debt 20 years from now — a projection that's based on the assumption of unchanged policy — with actual debt now.

Broad Approval For New Arizona Immigration Law  —  Democrats Divided, But Support key Provisions  —  The public broadly supports a new Arizona law aimed at dealing with illegal immigration and the law's provisions giving police increased powers to stop and detain people who are suspected of being in the country illegally.

Milbloggers call for end to 'Don't Ask'  —  A group of leading military bloggers has issued a joint statement urging Congress to repeal “Don't Ask, Don't Tell.”  —  The community of “mil-bloggers” — often hawkish, critical of White House and military leadership, devoted …

YOUCUT.... Oh, good, another gimmick pretending to be policy work. … The list of possible areas for cuts is pretty underwhelming.  For example, participants in this little exercise can eliminate the Presidential Election Fund, saving $260 million over five years — but in the process making …

U.S. Investigates Morgan Stanley  —  Prosecutors Look at Mortgage Securities; Firm Says It Hasn't Been Contacted  —  U.S. prosecutors are investigating whether Morgan Stanley misled investors about mortgage-derivatives deals it helped design and sometimes bet against, people familiar with the matter said …

Karzai gets full White House welcome  —  President Barack Obama welcomed Afghan President Hamid Karzai with some of the highest diplomatic trappings the White House has to offer - all intended to show the two leaders are reaffirming their sometimes-shaky relationship.

GOP plans Tampa '12 convention  —  The Republican National Committee's site-selection committee is expected to name Tampa, Fla., on Wednesday as site of the party's 2012 convention, top Republicans tell POLITICO.  —  The site-selection committee is scheduled to announce a choice among three finalists …

Obama won't golf with Limbaugh  —  When President Obama was asked if he would play a round of golf with his talk-radio nemesis Rush Limbaugh, the response, relayed by a top Democrat, was: “Limbaugh can play with himself.”  —  This is according to Zev Chafets in his new book, “Rush Limbaugh: An Army of One,” due May 25 from Sentinel.

GOP RECONSIDERS THE IMPORTANCE OF EMPATHY.... There was a tiresome, seemingly endless debate last year over judges and “empathy.”  You may recall that President Obama vowed to seek justices who understand “that justice isn't about some abstract legal theory or a footnote in a casebook.

“For It”: MSA Student Confesses She Wants a Second Holocaust  —  Last night NewsReal Blog's Editor-in-Chief David Horowitz gave a talk at UC San Diego to counter the Muslim Students Association's Israeli Apartheid Week.  (Horowitz made a point to properly describe the event as “Hitler Youth” week.)

Transforming Our Power  —  I don't think there are many people left who really question that we need a major transformation in the way we produce power, the disaster in the Gulf being the latest wakeup call for anyone who was still sleeping.  It was the latest reminder that 40 years …