50-State Union Protest Falls Far Short Of Predicted Turnout  —  Protests in support of Wisconsin public sector unions were organized by MoveOn.org and labor unions today.  —  Promoters, such as David Dayen at Firedoglake, were predicting a million-person turnout nationwide.

100,000-Plus in Madison for Rally for Workers' Rights - VIDEO  —  MADISON, WI (FDL) - In what has been billed the largest rally in the history of Madison, over 100,000 people packed the Capitol Square for a “Rally for Workers' Rights” to protest the budget repair bill and the proposed stripping …

BREAKING: Union Member Attacks, Injures Tea Party Activist at MoveOn.org-organized Rally  —  Sacramento's ABC News 10 reported on the union rally and Tea Party counter rally in Sacramento today.  ABC's online report makes cursory mention of an incident of union violence directed …

Contraception is Not the Solution  —  Why are Republicans waging war on contraception?  It's not the first time the question has been asked, and it won't be the last.  Truth be told, Republicans aren't engaging in battle on that front — but the phrase gets close to a legitimate fight.

BREAKING: Wisconsin Police Have Joined Protest Inside State Capitol  —  From inside the Wisconsin State Capitol, RAN ally Ryan Harvey reports:  —  “Hundreds of cops have just marched into the Wisconsin state capitol building to protest the anti-Union bill, to massive applause.

Obama, Clinton: Gadhafi should leave Libya ‘now’  —  President Obama told German Chancellor Angela Merkel today that Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi should surrender power immediately because of the attacks he has made on his own people.  —  “The President stated that when a leader's only means …

Labor protests draw thousands across U.S.  —  (Reuters) - Thousands of people rallied in cities across the United States on Saturday against a Wisconsin plan to curb the power of public sector unions that has sparked similar government efforts in other states.

Ireland's Ruling Party Crushed at Polls in Fallout From Failed Economy … No luck for Ireland's ruling party.  The government in power paid a price Friday for presiding over an economy that went through the floor when a housing bubble burst, strapping the banks that made the loans and forcing …

Three killed in Tunisian anti-government protests  —  The BBC's Paul Moss in Tunis says the situation there is “very serious indeed”  —  Three people have been killed in clashes between hundreds of demonstrators and security forces in the Tunisian capital, authorities say.

Newt Gingrich to announce exploratory committee ‘in 10 days’ — in Georgia  —  Update at 7 p.m.: I was on a State Bar panel this afternoon with Randy Evans, the Atlanta lawyer in charge of Newt Gingrich's business interests.  He's quoted below.  —  Before we parted, Evans told me this …

How Budget Battles Go Without the Earmarks  —  WASHINGTON — The fact that Congress remains a spending disagreement or two away from shutting down the government no doubt strikes some as remarkable.  But there is another extraordinary aspect to the fiscal clash unfolding on Capitol Hill …

Eric Lipton Responds, and the Verdict Is In  —  On February 21, Eric Lipton of the New York Times wrote an article titled Billionaire Brothers' Money Plays Role in Wisconsin Dispute.  Lipton's perspective on the controversy swirling around Wisconsin's state finances—it's all about Charles and David Koch …

Gadhafi's Nurse Says She's Going Home  —  KIEV, Ukraine—Embattled Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi is set to be deserted by another close ally after his Ukrainian nurse said she was heading home.  —  Galyna Kolotnytska, described in a diplomatic cable published by Wikileaks as a “voluptuous blond” …

The Latest Foaming at the Mouth (Literally) Union Protester  —  Chicago played host to a union thug rally with plenty of lefty kooks screaming about the white-supremacist GOP.  Here's today's favorite.