Collective bargaining law published despite restraining order  —  Fitzgerald, Barca disagree on whether law goes into effect Saturday  —  By Patrick Marley and Jason Stein of the Journal Sentinel  —  Madison — In a stunning twist, Gov. Scott Walker's legislation limiting collective bargaining …

Bob Herbert to Leave The Times  —  Bob Herbert, a columnist for The New York Times Op-Ed page, is leaving the paper after nearly 20 years.  —  Mr. Herbert's resignation was announced in a memo to Times staff members on Friday.  His last column will appear in the paper on Saturday.

Libyan rebel commander admits his fighters have al-Qaeda links  —  Abdel-Hakim al-Hasidi, the Libyan rebel leader, has said jihadists who fought against allied troops in Iraq are on the front lines of the battle against Muammar Gaddafi's regime.  —  Mr al-Hasidi admitted he had earlier fought …

Obama's Unconstitutional War  —  By unilaterally going to war against Libya, Obama is bringing America closer to the imperial presidency than Bush ever did.  —  In taking the country into a war with Libya, Barack Obama's administration is breaking new ground in its construction of an imperial presidency …

Budget Impasse Increasing Risk of U.S. Shutdown  —  WASHINGTON — With time running short and budget negotiations this week having reached an angry impasse, Congressional leaders are growing increasingly pessimistic about reaching a bipartisan deal that would avert a government shutdown in early April.

Harper government falls in historic Commons showdown  —  The second minority government of Stephen Harper has fallen.  —  Early Friday afternoon, 156 opposition MPs - all of the Liberals, New Democrats and Bloquistes present in the House of Commons - rose to support a motion of no-confidence.

Florida looks to curtail union dues  —  The latest in the public sector union fight, this time in Florida:  —  After a largely party-line vote, the Florida House delivered a major blow to public employee unions, approving a bill that would ban automatic dues deduction and require members …

Katie Couric Plots CBS Exit  —  The CBS Evening News anchor is very likely to leave in June, and Scott Pelley is a top contender to replace her—but CBS is looking both within and outside the network, Howard Kurtz reports.  Plus, behind the CBS News shakeup.  —  The search is on for Katie Couric's successor.

Barack Obama to lawmakers: We won't kill Qadhafi  —  President Barack Obama told congressional leaders there are no plans to use the U.S. military to assassinate Libyan strongman Muammar Qadhafi — despite the administration's policy of seeking regime change in the North African country …

In Prison for Taking a Liar Loan  —  A few weeks ago, when the Justice Department decided not to prosecute Angelo Mozilo, the former chief executive of Countrywide, I wrote a column lamenting the fact that none of the big fish were likely to go to prison for their roles in the financial crisis.

Haley Barbour On Global Warming: ‘We Should Proceed’ As If It ‘Is Actually Happening’  —  ABC News' Michael Falcone reports:  —  CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — Potential presidential candidate Haley Barbour appears to be staking out a moderate position on global warming than some of his possible rivals …

Newt Gingrich's Libya Shift, Issue by Issue  —  One important factor in evaluating Newt Gingrich's endlessly confusing explanation of his position on Libya is that it's not just one issue that he's apparently flipped on.  While his direct demand for a no-fly zone and subsequent criticism …

Limbaugh: 'Its Entirely Possible A Loser (GOP) Candidate Will Get The Nomination  —  “Thanks to you, my own staff is ganging up on me in here!” said Rush Limbaugh to a caller earlier today.  The caller had asked Limbaugh to offer an endorsement to one of the potential Republican presidential candidates …

Michigan Drastically Cutting Unemployment Insurance And Fox's Stuart Varney is Simply Giddy Over Real ‘Austerity’  —  Michigan voted to extend unemployment initially, but has now become the first state to cut the number of weeks a person can have unemployment benefits from 26 weeks to 20 starting in 2012.

Latest update  —  The latest update of the OED, published on 24 March 2011, revises more than 1,900 entries and adds new words from across the dictionary.  The OED's chief editor, John Simpson, provides some observations on the revisions in this update, while Graeme Diamond and Katherine Martin comment …

Energized Muslim Brotherhood in Libya eyes a prize  —  (CNN) — Dr. Abdulmonem Hresha knows first hand how Moammar Gadhafi's regime works.  He says the seeds of his opposition were sown when he was age 10.  —  He and classmates were taken to witness the public execution of a political opponent of Gadhafi.

Syrian Troops Open Fire on Protesters in Several Cities  —  CAIRO — Military troops opened fire on protesters in the southern part of Syria on Friday, according to news reports quoting witnesses, hurtling this strategically important nation along the same trajectory that has altered the landscape of power across the Middle East.

Academic Intimidation  —  Regular readers may recall my praise for William Cronon's Nature's Metropolis: Chicago and the Great West, a great book that had a big influence on my work in economic geography.  Cronon has inspired many other people; Josh Marshall was deeply influenced by his environmental history of New England.