Helen Thomas retires after fallout from controversial Israel remarks  —  Helen Thomas announced Monday that “she is retiring, effective immediately,” according to a statement from Hearst newspapers.  —  Her decision comes after her controversial remarks about Israel hit the blogosphere.

Our hard-core, adversarial press corps  —  On Friday, CNN's Ed Henry posted a series of giggly, adolescent updates on his Twitter feed, describing the events that took place at a “beach” party thrown by Joe Biden, at the Vice President's mansion, for various “reporters” and White House officials.

U.S. Intelligence Analyst Arrested in Wikileaks Video Probe  —  Federal officials have arrested an Army intelligence analyst who boasted of giving classified U.S. combat video and hundreds of thousands of classified State Department records to whistleblower site Wikileaks, Wired.com has learned.

Poll: BP Oil Spill Response Rated Worse than Katrina  —  Most Favor Criminal Charges Against BP and Others Involved in the Gulf of Mexico Spill  —  By more than a 2-to-1 margin, Americans support the pursuit of criminal charges in the nation's worst oil spill, with increasing numbers calling it a major environmental disaster.

Bauer says polygraph results prove he's not behind Haley attacks … Bauer tells WCSC he'll “absolutely” take a lie detector test  —  Also on the Web  —  COLUMBIA, SC (WIS) - Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer has released the results of a lie detector test which he says proves he isn't behind a string …

Hooked on Gadgets, and Paying a Mental Price  —  SAN FRANCISCO — When one of the most important e-mail messages of his life landed in his in-box a few years ago, Kord Campbell overlooked it.  —  Not just for a day or two, but 12 days.  He finally saw it while sifting through old messages …

Schumer: Dems To Aim Low On Climate And Energy  —  In the latest blow to the prospects of climate and energy legislation, the third ranking Democrat in the Senate suggested today that Dems will start small, instead of bringing a comprehensive bill to the floor.

GOP bad dream: Birther on ticket  —  California Republicans optimistic about their prospects in November could find themselves with a bit of a problem after the votes are counted in Tuesday's primaries - a statewide ticket with the so-called “Birther Queen” as one of their candidates.

The Tea Party and the Drug War  —  Voter dissatisfaction with Republicans and Democrats is at historic levels, and the tea-party movement is hoping to play kingmaker in the November elections.  The country's current breed of discontent is ideal for the tea parties, because economic concerns are foremost …

49% Say Pro-Palestinian Activists To Blame in Gaza Ship Incident  —  Forty-nine percent (49%) of U.S. voters believe pro-Palestinian activists on the Gaza-bound aid ships raided by Israeli forces are to blame for the deaths that resulted in the high-profile incident.

Can the astonishing popularity of Indiana's penny-pinching governor carry him to the White House in 2012?  —  When Mitch Daniels ran for governor of Indiana in 2004, a friend and videographer got the idea of filming the candidate in vidéo vérité style as he traveled around the state in his Indiana-made RV.

Bernie Madoff, Free at Last  —  In prison he doesn't have to hide his lack of conscience.  In fact, he's a hero for it.  —  Last August, shortly after his arrival at the federal correctional complex in Butner, North Carolina, Bernard L. Madoff was waiting on the evening pill line …

Tax Hikes and the 2011 Economic Collapse  —  Today's corporate profits reflect an income shift into 2010.  These profits will tumble next year, preceded most likely by the stock market.  —  People can change the volume, the location and the composition of their income, and they can do so in response to changes in government policies.

It's useful to have geniuses around  —  A neat anecdote from inside the administration's response to the oil spill: … Graphic credit: XKCD  —  Environment - Xkcd - Energy - Oil spill - United States

The No-Stimulus Economy  —  If fiscal stimulus is so great, then why hasn't the Obama administration's massive stimulus program helped improve the economy?  Well, via Mark Thoma, the answer is that there hasn't been any net fiscal stimulus, all the Obama administration's efforts plus …

The Citizens United Effect  —  Some of the first exploiters of the campaign finance free-for-all aren't corporations, but labor unions.  —  Post Comment  —  After the Supreme Court handed down its now-infamous Citizens United decision in January, many legal and political observers warned …