Nevada Sen. John Ensign to resign  —  Nevada Republican Sen. John Ensign is expected to resign from office in the near future.  (AP Photo/Las Vegas Review-Journal, Jessica Ebelhar) Embattled Nevada Sen. John Ensign (R) announced Thursday night that he will resign from office in early May …

Nation's Mood at Lowest Level in Two Years, Poll Shows  —  Americans are more pessimistic about the nation's economic outlook and overall direction than they have been at any time since President Obama's first two months in office, when the country was still officially ensnared in the Great Recession …

Barletta town hall gets heated over Medicare  —  Reminiscent of the August 2009 town halls when members of Congress faced angry constituents over health care reforms, a public forum in Carbon County with Rep. Lou Barletta Wednesday night provided a glimpse of the strong emotions stirred by a Republican plan to alter Medicare benefits.

Obama wobbly on Libya  —  Opponents of the Vietnam War — that seemingly endless, inconclusive, increasingly unpopular and ever-more-deadly and costly conflict — called it a “quagmire.”  They said it was unwinnable and should never have been fought, and that America must avoid similar future wars.

[Proclamation] Gov. Perry Issues Proclamation for Days of Prayer for Rain in Texas  —  Gov. Perry Issues Proclamation for Days of Prayer for Rain in Texas  —  Gov. Rick Perry has proclaimed the three-day period from Friday, April 22, to Sunday, April 24, as Days of Prayer for Rain in the State of Texas …

'Don't say gay' bill clears Senate panel  —  Register or log in using your account on these websites.  —  Web Search powered by YAHOO! SEARCH  —  NASHVILLE - After some convoluted maneuvers, a Senate committee Wednesday approved a bill that will prohibit teachers from discussing homosexuality …

Response to Glenn Beck  —  This week Glenn Beck has taken to his radio show to attack me as a Progressive, which he has said is the same as a “cancer” and a “Nazi.”  What did I do that apparently caused him to link me to a fatal disease and a form of government that murdered millions of innocent Jews?

Joanne Kloppenburg's Really Bad Poker Tell: She KNOWS She Didn't Win Election  —  Check out that pregnant pause at 1:33 in.  This re-count is a sham.

The Map  —  The Crystal Ball's First 2011 Take on 2012's Electoral College  —  Larry J. Sabato, Director, U.Va. Center for Politics  —  With 18 months to go until November 2012, there is exactly one use for a current projection of the 2012 Electoral College results.

Inhofe Claims Fracking Has ‘Never’ Contaminated Water Supply One Day After Spill Contaminates Stream  —  Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-OK) is perhaps Congress' most reliable defender of dirty energy and evangelizer against the “hoax” of global warming.  This morning, he took his message …

Democrats Sue to Force U.S. Election Agency to Reveal Political Donations  —  WASHINGTON — Unable to stanch the flow of corporate money to Republican causes, Democrats tried a new tack on Thursday by bringing a lawsuit against the Federal Election Commission to force the disclosure of tens of millions of dollars in secret donations.

What Gary Johnson Brings to the GOP Presidential Race  —  Former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson has just announced his candidacy for president, and, finally, a Republican is actually running.  Johnson didn't announce an exploratory committee, or that he's thinking about running.

Israel: New Gaza flotilla has ties to Hamas, terrorist organizations  —  Israel's ambassador to UN warns the organization not to allow new flotilla, planned for May, to launch; U.S., Germany also call on flotilla organizers to find other ways to deliver aid to Gaza.

Obama says new task force will examine gas prices  —  RENO, Nev. - President Barack Obama said Thursday that the Justice Department will try to “root out” cases of fraud or manipulation in oil markets, even as Attorney General Eric Holder suggested a variety of legal reasons may be behind gasoline's surge to $4 a gallon.

Mitt Romney Haunted By Past Of Trying To Help Uninsured Sick People  —  BELMONT, MA—Though Mitt Romney is considered to be a frontrunner for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination, the national spotlight has forced him to repeatedly confront a major skeleton in his political closet …

Radioactive iodine found in breast milk of Japanese mothers  —  The breast milk of four Japanese mothers has been found to contain small quantities of radioactive iodine.  —  The government faced calls for a full investigation into the impact of the nuclear disaster on mothers and babies following the discovery.

Candidates reach recount deal  —  Some areas to get hand tally in court race  —  By Jason Stein and Bill Glauber of the Journal Sentinel  —  Madison — Backing off stronger stances, Supreme Court Justice David Prosser and Assistant Attorney General JoAnne Kloppenburg found …

Nashville's Sedan Drivers Fight City Effort To Run Them Off the Road  —  Can government force transportation businesses to charge a minimum price to protect politically connected companies from competition?  —  That is the question the Institute for Justice (IJ) and its clients seek to answer …

Millionaire Tax Didn't Chase the Rich From New Jersey, Study Says  —  Anti-tax advocates contend that higher taxes on the wealthy lead to millionaire flight.  They say this has been seen in Maryland, Rhode Island, New Jersey and New York.  The rich are mobile, they say.

Times Company Profit Falls on Weak Ad Revenue  —  The New York Times Company reported a sharp drop in net income in the first quarter as the print advertising market remained stubbornly depressed for newspapers.  —  The company said net income fell 57.6 percent to $5.4 million, compared with $12.8 million in the quarter a year ago.

Trump's view: Obama, come clean  —  On any given day, I receive hundreds of requests from television, radio and newspapers to provide comments on various topics.  There is not one interview when the “birther” issue is not raised multiple times during the conversation.

Trump to McCain: 'You're Hired!'  —  THE DAILY BEAST ON:  —  As Donald Trump flirts with a presidential run, he talks to Meghan McCain about his campaign strategy, his nights at the Holiday Inn, and why Romney won't be the Republican nominee.  —  Is The Donald serious?

Wisconsin Democrats Laugh Off “Republican Recall Racket”  —  Today, a bit less than a week before the deadline, recall petitions are being filed against three Wisconsin Democratic senators.  State Democratic party spokesman Graeme Zielinski has given me the party's response to the petitions, which can be summed up as “ha, ha.”