Afghans Angry Over Florida Koran Burning Kill U.N. Staff  —  MAZAR-I-SHARIF, Afghanistan — Stirred up by a trio of angry mullahs who urged them to avenge the burning of a Koran at Florida church, thousands of protesters overran the compound of the United Nations in this northern Afghan city …

Paul Rankles Reid on Libya  —  Washington — Sen. Rand Paul (R., Ky.), a Tea Party favorite, has boxed Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D., Nev.) into a corner.  After a quiet day of quorum calls and speeches, Reid abruptly adjourned the upper chamber Thursday and postponed votes until Monday.

Bachmann Tops Romney in First Quarter Fundraising  —  Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., raised a combined total of $2.2 million in the first quarter of 2011, outgaining presumed presidential contender Mitt Romney who raised $1.9 million over the same period.  —  Bachmann's political action committee …

A Word About Digital Subscriptions to The Huffington Post  —  Today marks a significant transition for The Huffington Post Media Group, as we introduce digital subscriptions for employees of The New York Times.  It's an important step that we hope you will see as an investment in The Huffington Post …

57% Okay With Government Shutdown If It Leads to Deeper Budget Cuts  —  A majority of voters are fine with a partial shutdown of the federal government if that's what it takes to get deeper cuts in federal government spending.  —  A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds …

Democrats: We have the signatures in Kapanke recall effort  —  La Crosse area Democrats say they will file petitions today with enough signatures to trigger a recall election of Sen. Dan Kapanke, one of eight Senate Republicans targeted over votes to curtail collective bargaining rights for public workers.

More Americans Back Unions Than Governors in State Disputes  —  Nearly 8 in 10 adults in union households are following the issue closely  —  PRINCETON, NJ — With political battles over state budgets and collective bargaining still playing out to varying degrees in Wisconsin, Ohio, Indiana …

You Saw This Coming: Fox News Announces ‘Mondays With Trump’ On Fox & Friends  —  Need to add some spice to your Monday morning?  Fox & Friends has announced just the thing for the media nerd that simply can't get enough of the most attention-grabbing potential 2012 Republican presidential candidates yet …

We've Become a Nation of Takers, Not Makers  —  More Americans work for the government than in manufacturing, farming, fishing, forestry, mining and utilities combined.  —  If you want to understand better why so many states—from New York to Wisconsin to California—are teetering on the brink …

CNN Poll: Americans flunk budget IQ test  —  Washington (CNN) - If you think cutting the government's budget is as easy as taking the ax to some unpopular federal programs, a new national poll suggests that you should think again.  —  According to a CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey released Friday …

Foreign Banks Tapped Fed's Lifeline Most as Bernanke Kept Borrowers Secret  —  U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke's two-year fight to shield crisis-squeezed banks from the stigma of revealing their public loans protected a lender to local governments in Belgium …

Intel analyst to CNN host: “You're just carrying water for Mr. Obama”  —  No, this isn't an April Fool's Day joke, although one could be forgiven for thinking that they've landed in Bizarro World in watching this interview of Michael Scheuer on CNN yesterday.

Chancellor's message on academic freedom and open records  —  Note: To view a letter from UW-Madison legal counsel regarding the records request for Professor Cronon's emails, click here.  —  Members of the campus community,  —  Two weeks ago UW-Madison received an open records request …

Of the 1%, by the 1%, for the 1%  —  Americans have been watching protests against oppressive regimes that concentrate massive wealth in the hands of an elite few.  Yet in our own democracy, 1 percent of the people take nearly a quarter of the nation's income—an inequality even the wealthy will come to regret.

Libyan Rebels Seek Cease-Fire as U.S. Vows to Withdraw Jets  —  (Updates with fighting in fourth paragraph, oil accord with Qatar in seventh, and Misrata hospital crisis in 14th.  See EXTRA and MET for more on Middle East unrest.)  —  Libyan rebels called for a cease- fire as forces loyal …

Obama, Libya, and Me  —  One of the reasons to vote for someone for president — perhaps the key reason, in fact — is good judgment.  Hillary Clinton may have taken a lot of flack for her “3 am phone call” ad during the Democratic primaries in 2008, but she was basically right: ideologically …

The Left Finds a Way to Display Their Hate For Palin & Jesus in One Exhibit  —  Killing two birds with one stone.  —  The left found a way to display their hate for Jesus and Sarah Palin in one art exhibit.  —  Here's one of the paintings from the Jesus Is Coming show at the R & R Gallery in LA:

GOP launches mock ‘Obama 2012’ ad  —  The mock ad, which features Obama riding a unicorn over a rainbow, declares: “Four more years: America needs more changing.”  —  Republicans are taking aim at President Obama's impending reelection effort with a mock campaign ad outlining his first two years in office.

Uncovered: New $2 billion bailout in Obamacare  —  Uncovered: New $2 billion bailout in Obamacare  — TAGS: - center for consumer information and insurance oversight - early retiree reinsurance program - obamacare  —  Chief Political Correspondent Follow Him @ByronYork

The Defection Track  —  Everybody has questions and anxieties about our policy in Libya.  My own position is this: I oppose the policy the Obama administration has described in various public statements.  I support the policy the administration is actually executing.

The Problem With HBO's Game Change  —  HBO is adapting a miniseries based on Game Change, the book about the 2008 election.  But as Hollywood casts liberal actors to play all the parts, Meghan McCain doubts that it will be an accurate portrayal of what actually happened.

Does A Tea Party Rally Attracting “Dozens” Qualify As News?  —  Or put another way, is there any limit to how small or poorly attended a Tea Party rally can be before the press finally stops showering the right-wing movement with coverage?  Based on the avalanche of reporting …