Palin trails Sheen with independents  —  We've found a lot of brutal poll numbers for Sarah Palin so far in 2011: down in South Dakota, down in South Carolina, down in Arizona, only up by 1 point in Texas, only up by 1 point in Nebraska to name a few.  But this has to be the worst- independent voters …

Scientists Project Path of Radiation Plume  —  A United Nations forecast of the possible movement of the radioactive plume coming from crippled Japanese reactors shows it churning across the Pacific and touching the Aleutian Islands on Thursday before hitting Southern California late Friday.

The Times Announces Digital Subscription Plan  —  The New York Times rolled out a plan on Thursday to begin charging the most frequent users of its Web site $15 a month in a bet that readers would pay for news they have grown accustomed to getting free.  —  Beginning March 28 …

Trump on Boehner: 'I Don't Like the Crying'  —  “I don't like the crying,” he said of Boehner.  “I do not like it.  I don't understand it.  I really like him as a person.  I think the crying is an emotional thing that frankly, probably makes him a very nice man.  But you know, I don't like to see it in a leader.”

Two Charged in Tea Party Election Fraud  —  Men were officials in Oakland Co. Democratic Party  —  PONTIAC, Mich. (WJBK) - Two former leaders of the Oakland County Democratic Party are facing a total of nine felonies for allegedly forging election paperwork to get fake Tea Party candidates on November's ballot.

NPR Sting: Edited Video Makes Schiller, O'Keefe Look Bad  —  On March 9, the list of radio jobs lost to video got a little longer.  NPR, under siege by conservatives who want to zero out public-media funding, ousted its CEO after a video sting by a group run by conservative provocateur James O'Keefe.

Trump torches GOP presidential field  —  Businessman Donald Trump took shots at the field of potential Republican presidential candidates and also fired one at House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) as he contemplates a 2012 bid.  —  Trump said he could put up as much as $600 billion …

Palin to make first visit to Israel this weekend  —  Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R) will make a two-day visit to Israel this weekend, according to multiple media reports Thursday.  —  During her visit, the potential 2012 presidential candidate will meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyhau …

Obama's indecision on Libya has pushed Clinton over the edge  —  Fed up with a president “who can't make his mind up” as Libyan rebels are on the brink of defeat, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is looking to the exits.  —  At the tail end of her mission to bolster the Libyan opposition …

Why I am an amoral, family-hating monster...and Newt Gingrich isn't  —  Today is my wedding anniversary.  I've been married to the same woman for 31 years, without ever straying.  Newt Gingrich has been married 3 times, divorced one wife while she was recovering from surgery, and has had extra-marital affairs.

During NPR Funding Debate, Rep. Jim McGovern Proposes No Federal Funding Should End Up At Fox News  —  Today, the House of Representatives will vote on a bill that would strip all federal funds from NPR.  Conservatives have long targeted NPR because they believe it has a liberal bias …

Specter of Rebel Rout Helps Shift U.S. Policy on Libya  —  WASHINGTON — The prospect of a deadly siege of the rebel stronghold in Benghazi, Libya, has produced a striking shift in tone from the Obama administration, which is now pushing for the United Nations to authorize aerial bombing …

Mitt's backers: ‘RomneyCare’ overblown  —  Mitt Romney's supporters on Capitol Hill are giving him political cover for the healthcare plan he signed into law as governor, even as his competitors for the GOP presidential nomination ramp up their attacks on “RomneyCare.”

Washington Post suspends reporter for plagiarizing stories on Tucson shooting  —  The Washington Post suspended one of its most seasoned reporters Wednesday after editors determined that “substantial” parts of two recent news articles were taken without attribution from another newspaper.

The Limits of Common Sense  —  Why toleration of outrageous speech is necessary for political freedom.  —  Our Monday column on union thuggery prompts this response from reader John Benjamin: … Let's begin by rehearsing the Leiter statement in question.

Dog in Japan stays by the side of its ailing friend in the rubble  —  It's a universal truth that dogs are man's best friend, but they're pretty darn loyal to their own as well.  Case in point: this tear-inducing video, via the website Jezebel, showing a dog, shivering and disoriented …

U.S. Debt Jumped $72 Billion Same Day U.S. House Voted to Cut Spending $6 Billion  —  (CNSNews.com) - The national debt jumped by $72 billion on Tuesday even as the Republican-led U.S. House of Representatives passed a continuing resolution to fund the government for just three weeks that will cut $6 billion from government spending.

Reid: ‘Leave Social Security alone’  —  The Senate's top Democrat said he's open to changing Social Security — 20 years from now.  —  Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) emphatically rejected changes to Social Security that would improve the entitlement program's solvency …

North Dakota economy booms, population soars  —  North Dakota, the state with the nation's lowest unemployment rate, capped a decade of economic prosperity with dramatic population growth in its biggest cities.  —  Fargo added nearly 15,000 residents to hit a record population of 105,549, the Census Bureau reported Wednesday.

Rep. David Wu crashed car in Northwest Portland last year, says he fell asleep  —  U.S. Rep. David Wu crashed his vehicle into a parked car in Northwest Portland last year, but passed a police field sobriety test and the incident never showed up in a police report.  —  No one was injured after the Feb. 19, 2010 incident.

Tax Plan Aims for 25% Cap  —  Republican Ways and Means Chief Also Would End or Trim Popular Deductions  —  The chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee wants to cut the top U.S. tax rate to 25% for individuals and corporations, and cut or eliminate many popular deductions.

Bahrain Pulls a Qaddafi  —  It is heartbreaking to see a renegade country like Libya shoot pro-democracy protesters.  But it's even more wrenching to watch America's ally, Bahrain, pull a Qaddafi and use American tanks, guns and tear gas as well as foreign mercenaries to crush a pro-democracy movement — as we stay mostly silent.