Obama turns to his bipartisan deficit commission's blueprint for reducing debt  —  Video: White House press secretary Jay Carney reiterated Monday that President Obama “regrets” his vote in 2006 as a senator against raising the debt ceiling.  (April 11)  —  President Obama plans this week …

Trump Will ‘Probably’ Run as Independent If He Doesn't Win GOP Nomination  —  Donald Trump will “probably” run as an independent candidate for U.S. President in 2012 if he does not receive the Republican party's nomination, he told the Wall Street Journal in a video interview on Monday.

Budget deal details: Cuts that aren't quite cuts  —  $38B in savings agreed to by GOP and Democrats averted a government shutdown, but new details indicate some accounting sleight-of-hand  —  Details of the $38 billion worth of spending cuts factoring in last Friday's 11th-hour budget …

Michele Bachmann takes on heckler in Iowa  —  IOWA CITY, Iowa — Michele Bachmann said again Monday that the American intervention in Libya was a mistake — but this time she had to talk over a heckler who shouted vulgarities at her.  —  Jenny Watkins, 22, shouted at Bachmann …

Japan rates nuclear crisis at highest severity level  —  TOKYO — Japanese authorities raised Tuesday their rating of the severity of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear crisis to the highest level on an international scale, equal to that of the 1986 Chernobyl disaster.

Our Structural Disadvantage  —  The intertubes are clogged with the choral wailing of frustrated liberals.  Digby provides a good example, but the same is available pretty much anywhere else you'd think to look. … This is exactly right.  But what's strange is that it almost seems to come as a surprise to people.

D.C. Mayor Vince Gray arrested and released  —  Washington Mayor Vincent Gray and other top city officials were arrested on Capitol Hill on Monday during a protest of the budget deal House Republicans cut with President Barack Obama.  —  Gray and six city council members were released early Tuesday morning.

Gas Prices Climbing Toward $5 Per Gallon  —  CHICAGO (CBS) - At one time, $5 per gallon gas seemed like a farfetched idea, but that is no longer the case.  —  As CBS 2's Roseanne Tellez reports, as of Monday, the average price for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline in the Chicago area is $4.11 …

Blaska Blogs the smoking gun of the teachers union's illegal sick-out  —  Only a fool would think that the sick out that closed down Madison schools for five days in February was anything but an illegal, union-coordinated, illegal strike.  —  But there are a lot of fools in Madison, aren't there?

Statement & Account of Ramona Kitzinger, Waukesha Board of Canvassers member since 2004:  —  (Waukesha County Democratic Party)On Tuesday night, I received a voice message from someone in the office of Clerk Kathy Nickolaus informing me of a Wednesday canvass meeting, which I returned …

What Impact Has The New York Times Paywall Had on Traffic?  [STATS]  —  The New York Times' paywall has now been up for two weeks.  What impact has it had on the popular website's traffic?  More importantly, is the paywall working as intended, or is it taking a bite out of The New York Times' revenues?

Pakistan Tells U.S. to Halt Drones  —  Pakistan has privately demanded the Central Intelligence Agency suspend drone strikes against militants on its territory, one of the U.S.'s most effective weapons against al Qaeda and Taliban leaders, officials said.  —  Pakistan has also asked the U.S …

Barack Obama faces problem on left, not right  —  I don't think Barack Obama will have a hard time defeating his Republican opponent in 2012, barring a financial meltdown or a major foreign crisis.  It's a Democratic opponent he should worry about.  —  Obama continues to anger progressives …

Chicago school bans homemade lunches, the latest in national food fight  —  Students who attend Chicago's Little Village Academy public school get nothing but nutritional tough love during their lunch period each day.  The students can either eat the cafeteria food—or go hungry.

NY Democrats criticize Obama's budget compromise, with Rep. Rangel calling it ‘immoral’  —  Rangel went so far as to call the deal ‘irresponsible’ and ‘immoral.’  —  New York's congressional delegation trashed President Obama's budget compromise Monday, calling it “irresponsible,” “dangerous” and “immoral.”

Koran Burned in Iran (video)  —  Two anonymous young men in Iran, one Iranian and one Afghan, have burned a Koran in protest.  This seven-and-a-half minute long video shows the two men, their faces obscured, holding the Muslim holy book and reading prepared statements.

U.S. Pays To Upgrade Mexican Trucks  —  In the latest effort to accommodate its cherished trade partner in the south, the U.S. government is paying to upgrade outdated Mexican trucks that hemorrhage illegal amounts of exhaust on their trips north to deliver merchandise.