Obama, McCain clash at GOP lunch  —  President Barack Obama battled with Senate Republicans in a tense closed-door meeting Tuesday, facing tough criticism from his GOP adversaries — including John McCain — on issues ranging from health care to border security.

Clearing The Air  —  A little over twenty-four hours ago, our founding editor was pressured by pending media reports (a claim that has since been verified) into preemptively acknowledging an inappropriate physical relationship with S.C. Rep. Nikki Haley.  —  While it was originally his intent …

Private pay shrinks to historic lows  —  Paychecks from private business shrank to their smallest share of personal income in U.S. history during the first quarter of this year, a USA TODAY analysis of government data finds.  —  At the same time, government-provided benefits …

Fawning press now gets cold shoulder from Obama  —  Will Barack Obama go an entire year without holding a formal news conference?  He's getting close: The president's last full-scale session with the press was on July 22, 2009, which was 307 days ago.  —  When Obama last held a big news conference …

Obama administration conflicted about relying on BP to stop gulf oil spill  —  The tenuous alliance among the Obama administration, the oil firm BP and Gulf Coast officials was visibly fraying on Monday, with exasperation on all sides mounting as oil from a deep-water gusher began lapping …

Durbin: Sestak needs to explain job offer  —  Majority Whip Dick Durbin says Rep. Joe Sestak (D-Pa.) should come clean about exactly what he was offered to drop out of the Pennsylvania Senate primary.  —  “At some point, I think Congressman Sestak needs to make it clear what happened,” Durbin said.

Just When Ya Think It Can't Get Any More “Interesting”... Welcome, Neighbor!  —  Spring has sprung in Alaska, and with this beautiful season comes the news today that the Palins have a new neighbor!  Welcome, Joe McGinniss!  —  Yes, that Joe McGinniss.  Here he is - about 15 feet away …

Brown to vote ‘no’ on repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell pending Pentagon study  —  WASHINGTON — Sen. Scott Brown will vote against repealing 'Don't Ask Don't Tell' when it comes up for a vote Thursday in the Senate Armed Services Committee, dealing a blow to gay rights advocates who were hoping …

Zev Chafets's ‘Rush Limbaugh: An Army of One,’ reviewed by David Frum  —  Sentinel.  229 pp.  $25.95  —  “Every great man has his disciples,” quipped Oscar Wilde.  “And it is always Judas who writes the biography.”  —  Not so for Rush Limbaugh.  Biographer Zev Chafets received unprecedented access …

The ‘Veggie’ Option: As Bad as Mystery Meat  —  A seductive advertisement appeared in my inbox Tuesday from two wonderful neighborhood chefs.  In true street food fashion, they're going to deliver modestly priced steamed buns “Made from scratch, baked with love, and totally self-enclosed so there's no mess” …

Bruce Shore, Unemployed Philadelphia Man, Indicted For ‘Harassing Email’ To Jim Bunning  —  WHAT'S YOUR REACTION?  —  When Sen. Jim Bunning complained on the Senate floor in February that he'd missed the Kentucky-South Carolina basketball game because of a debate on unemployment benefits …

Congress rebukes FCC on Net neutrality rules  —  The Federal Communications Commission's plan to impose Net neutrality regulations just became much more difficult to pull off.  —  A bipartisan group of politicians on Monday told FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski, in no uncertain terms …

Sources say Rob Simmons will drop out of U.S. Senate race tomorrow.  —  Rob Simmons will hold a press conference for this morning in New London to announce he's leaving the U.S. Senate race, sources said late today.  —  The former congressman and Vietnam War veteran lost …

Fiorina up big  —  Carly Fiorina's superior resources always had the potential to blow her opponents for the California Republican Senate nomination out of the water, and in the closing stretch that appears to be exactly what's happening.  Fiorina has now opened up a 20 point lead with 41% …

N Korea ‘severs ties’ with South  —  North Korea is to cut all relations with South Korea, Pyongyang's official news agency reports.  —  KCNA said the North was also expelling all South Korean workers from a jointly-run factory north of the border.  —  The move comes after an international …

GOP Rep. Slams Fox News: 'I Don't Know What They're Doing At Fox News, But They Should Stop Smoking It'  —  This morning, Fox and Friends characterized Sen. Bob Casey's (D-PA) Create Jobs & Save Benefits Act as a “$165 billion bailout” of union pensions.  “It has been decades since you've seen …

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Lawmakers to hold Iran sanctions bill until late June  —  Seeing progress in multilateral talks, senior Democrats on Capitol Hill said Tuesday that they would hold off on a new round of Iran sanctions for now.  —  Rep. Howard Berman (D-Calif.) and Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) …

Brandeis commencement draws protesters  —  Outside Brandeis University's commencement ceremony yesterday, about 20 students protested the college's choice for its keynote speaker, Michael Oren, the Israeli ambassador to the United States.  —  The selection of Oren, who critics …

Road Rage: Hackers Say ‘No Latinos’ on Highway Sign  —  Techies alter sign on Palmetto  —  Electronic road sign hackers generally like to warn motorists of zombie and raptor attacks, but in South Florida, the signs are apparently being used to fuel the immigration debate.

Kilpatrick gets to 1.5 to 5 years in prison, loses job  —  Detroit — Kwame Kilpatrick was sentenced to a maximum of five years in prison this morning by Wayne Circuit Judge David Groner who said the former mayor engaged in “contemptible behavior” by hiding assets from the court.