Who Is Alvin Greene?  —  An unemployed 32-year-old black Army veteran with no campaign funds, no signs, and no website shocked South Carolina on Tuesday night by winning the Democratic Senate primary to oppose Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC).  Alvin Greene, who currently lives in his family's home …

John Cornyn: I won't be talking policy with Sharron Angle  —  National Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman John Cornyn on Wednesday downplayed the importance of new Nevada Senate nominee Sharron Angle's conservative issue positions, saying the race will continue to be a “referendum” on Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.

Barrett strikes first on TV in South Carolina runoff  —  Columbia, South Carolina (CNN) - Despite pressure from national Republicans, Gresham Barrett vowed Wednesday to remain in the runoff race against Nikki Haley for South Carolina's GOP gubernatorial nomination.

The Alien in the White House  —  The distance between the president and the people is beginning to be revealed.  —  The deepening notes of disenchantment with Barack Obama now issuing from commentators across the political spectrum were predictable.  So, too, were the charges …

Apple's Worst Security Breach: 114,000 iPad Owners Exposed  —  Apple has suffered another embarrassment.  A security breach has exposed iPad owners including dozens of CEOs, military officials, and top politicians.  They—and every other buyer of the wireless-enabled tablet—could be vulnerable to spam marketing and malicious hacking.

U.N. Security Council Passes New Sanctions Against Iran  —  UNITED NATIONS — The United States, moving firmly away from the Obama administration's previous emphasis on wooing Iran, pushed through a new round of United Nations sanctions against the nation on Wednesday, taking aim at its military …

The Spill, The Scandal and the President  —  The inside story of how Obama failed to crack down on the corruption of the Bush years - and let the world's most dangerous oil company get away with murder  —  On May 27th, more than a month into the worst environmental disaster in U.S. history …

Sarah Palin (DD-Alaska)?  —  Hey Sarah Palin, I can see your cleavage from my house!  —  Alaska's former governor sported more Northern Exposure than usual at the Belmont Stakes race this weekend, sending the blogosphere into a tizzy, wondering whether Palin is exercising a woman's right to (bigger) boobs.

Why Obama doesn't dare become the angry black man  —  (CNN) — Here's proof that President Obama has indeed ushered in a new era in race relations.  —  Who would have ever expected some white Americans to demand that an African-American man show more rage?

Was Israel A Mistake?  —  So far, no luck on anti-Zionist columnists.  And being critical of Israel does not mean you're an anti-Zionist.  But a reader did note this 2006 column by Richard Cohen.  Money quote: … I was thinking recently how a Burkean could defend the establishment of the state of Israel in 1948.

Woman caught having sex in park, charged with adultery - in New York  —  A woman arrested for public lewdness for allegedly having sex in a park is facing a surprising additional charge: cheating on her husband.  —  No, this wasn't in a Muslim country far away, it is happening in New York.

‘Obama Deceives the Public’  —  Daniel Ellsberg, legendary leaker of the “Pentagon Papers” in 1971, still has a bone to pick with the White House.  In an interview with SPIEGEL ONLINE, the 79-year-old peace activist accuses President Obama of betraying his election promises — in Iraq, in Afghanistan and on civil liberties.

Reuters Admits Cropping Photos of Ship Clash, Denies Political Motive  —  On the left, the uncropped photo.  On the right, Reuters' released photo.  (Reuters)  —  The British-based Reuters news agency has been stung for the second time by charges that it edited politically sensitive photos in a way that casts Israel in a bad light.

‘Follow the Islamic way to save the world,’ Prince Charles urges environmentalists  —  Prince Charles yesterday urged the world to follow Islamic ‘spiritual principles’ in order to save the environment.  —  In a high-profile speech, the heir to the throne argued that man's destruction …

The 25 hardest working lawmakers  —  Senate Finance Committee leaders Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Max Baucus (D-Mont.) are the hardest working members of Congress, according to the people who work with them on Capitol Hill — their fellow lawmakers, aides and other officials.

Team Obama to Abbas: “direct talks”  —  If you want to boil down to a single talking point the Obama administration message to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, who meets with President Barack Obama at the White House today, one Washington Middle East hand summarized it as: “direct talks, direct talks, direct talks.”

‘Lying face to face’  —  NEW BRITAIN — A member of Attorney General Richard Blumenthal's staff, himself a former major and judge advocate in the U.S. Marines, is calling Blumenthal a liar and disgrace to the Marine Corps for representing himself repeatedly as having served in Vietnam.

TRENDING: Open mic catches Fiorina dig at Boxer  —  (CNN) - Newly-minted U.S. Senate Republican nominee Carly Fiorina added her name Wednesday to the annals of unfortunate politicians caught by an open mic.  —  Waiting to be interviewed by affiliate KXTV Wednesday morning …

The Case for Calling Them Nitwits  —  They blow each other up by mistake.  They bungle even simple schemes.  They get intimate with cows and donkeys.  Our terrorist enemies trade on the perception that they're well trained and religiously devout, but in fact, many are fools and perverts …

Democrat in Chief?  —  A year and a half after they sat, shivering and awestruck, on a January morning and listened to the sounds of a million cheers careering off the marble walls of the Capitol, the Democrats who work under the dome can feel those same walls closing in fast.

Hezbollah stands by disgraced US reporter Helen Thomas  —  Hezbollah on Wednesday saluted veteran US reporter Helen Thomas's “courage” for her controversial comments against Israel, which sparked a furor and forced her to retire.  —  “Respected American journalist Helen Thomas's answer shows …

The Climate Majority  —  ON Thursday, the Senate will vote on a resolution proposed by Lisa Murkowski, Republican of Alaska, that would scuttle the Environmental Protection Agency's plans to limit emissions of greenhouse gases by American businesses.  —  Passing the resolution might seem to be exactly what Americans want.

The View From Two Years Ago  —  Via Ryan Avent's Twitter feed, here's how the Fed saw things in June 2008:  —  Things were worse than that!  —  As a thought experiment, imagine what answer Ben Bernanke or Barack Obama or Larry Summers or John Boehner or Mitch McConnell would have given …