Tsunami hits north-eastern Japan after massive quake  —  A massive earthquake has hit the north-east of Japan, triggering a tsunami that has caused extensive damage.  —  Japanese television showed cars, ships and even buildings being swept away by a vast wall of water after the 8.9-magnitude earthquake.

Dumbing Deficits Down  —  Like anyone who writes regularly about what passes for economic and fiscal debate in American politics, I've developed a strong tolerance for nonsense.  After all, if I got upset every time powerful people were illogical and/or dishonest, I'd spend every waking hour in a state of raging despair.

Tsunami Relief And Preparedness Cut In GOP Budget Proposal: National Weather Service … WASHINGTON — Thursday night's massive earthquake in Japan and the resulting tsunami warnings that have alarmed U.S. coasts, seem likely to ignite a debate over a previously little-discussed subsection …

Obama Seeks a Course of Pragmatism in the Middle East  —  WASHINGTON — In the Middle East crisis, as on other issues, there are two Barack Obamas: the transformative historical figure and the pragmatic American president.  Three months after a Tunisian fruit vendor set himself aflame …

The State Department spokesman and the Prisoner in the Brig  —  I just heard an extraordinary remark from State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley.  He was speaking to a small audience at MIT on “the benefits of new media as it relates to foreign policy”, an event organised by the Center for Future Civic Media.

Secretly recorded phone calls cast NPR fundraiser in unflattering light  —  An NPR fundraising executive said her organization would be willing to shield a would-be donor from a government audit by keeping the donor's name anonymous, according to a series of surreptitiously recorded phone …

GOP woos ‘Morning Joe’ for Fla. Senate  —  Republicans in Washington are trying to recruit Joe Scarborough to run against Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) next year.  —  Sen. John Cornyn (Texas), who heads the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC), told The Hill on Thursday that he has talked …

Along for the Ride  —  Republican presidential hopefuls aren't so much leading as reacting.  That could hurt them in 2012.  —  Politics, like nature, abhors a vacuum.  —  Proving that truism, the slowly emerging class of Republican presidential candidates increasingly looks like a bunch of bystanders.

Earthquake turns TV networks into print  —  An 8.9-magnitude earthquake that struck Japan yesterday, and a tsunami is spreading, right now, across the Pacific ocean.  Thus we have much news that is best consumed live and uncooked.  Here's mine, right now:  —  Not many of us carry radios in our pockets any more.

Bachmann increasingly serious about presidential bid  —  Washington (CNN) - Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann is increasingly serious about joining the wide-open race for the Republican presidential nomination in 2012.  —  And a growing number of conservative activists, legislators …

Walker rescinds layoff notices  —  Madison - Gov. Scott Walker on Friday directed two state agencies to rescind layoff notices because the Legislature passed the budget-repair bill.  —  Walker sent his directive to the state Department of Administration and the office of State Employment Relations.

Sen. Ron Johnson denounces ‘mob rule’  —  Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), a former businessman and now a freshman senator, held a conference call Thursday afternoon with a small group of bloggers.  For a freshman, he's entirely fluid on the issues and easily navigates between specifics and larger themes.

Palin: ‘We need much greater cuts’ than in GOP spending plan  —  The former Alaska governor urged Republicans to be “bold and strong” and have “steel spines” in the budget debate.  —  Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R) on Thursday criticized congressional Republicans' spending plan as too tepid …

The Age of the Political Sting  —  Vivian Schiller, the CEO of National Public Radio, resigned Wednesday after her chief fundraiser was caught making nasty comments about the tea party movement during a conversation with someone he thought might be a potential donor.  —  No, that's not a misprint.