Why Republicans May Be Skipping 2012 Presidential Run  —  Haley Barbour's decision to forego a run for the presidency in 2012 puts him in the company of a half dozen top Republicans who have considered — and rejected — a challenge to President Obama next year.  —  The question is: why?

Dan Webster confronted by angry town hall crowd  —  (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel / April 26, 2011)  —  A town hall meeting held in Orlando by U.S. Rep. Dan Webster degenerated into bedlam Tuesday, with members of the crowd shouting down the freshman Republican congressman and yelling at one another.

CNN investigation: Obama born in U.S.  —  Editor's note: Tune in to “AC360°” on Tuesday beginning at 10 p.m. ET to see the remainder of Gary Tuchman's investigation into President Barack Obama's birthplace.  —  (CNN) — Was Barack Obama really born in America?

Seeing opening, White House pounces on Boehner's words  —  President Obama seized on a rare opening by Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) and urged Congress to eliminate subsidies for major oil companies.  —  With voters anxious over rising gas prices, the president fired off a letter Tuesday calling …

Dems Committing Fraud, Harassment in Green Bay  —  [Madison] - The Democrat Party of Wisconsin is using a fraudulent tactic to harass and intimidate constituents who favor recalling Democrat Senator Dave Hansen of Green Bay.  —  The Democratic Party has targeted for harassment people …

Obama revealed: A moderate Republican  —  America is mired in three wars.  The past decade was the hottest on record.  Unemployment remains stuck near 9 percent, and there's a small, albeit real, possibility that the U.S. government will default on its debt.  So what's dominating the news?

Paul Krugman: For entitlement reform before he was against it  —  Not that you needed any more evidence that New York Times columnist Paul Krugman is a flip-flopping charlatan, but here's the latest.  —  Today, he assails GOP proposals to raise the Medicare age and, by extension, the Social Security retirement age.

The Vermont Senate Passes Bill Establishing A Single Payer Health Care System In The State  —  As ThinkProgress previously reported, the Vermont legislature, led by Gov. Peter Shumlin (D), has been considering a proposal to establish some sort of single payer health care system …

Eric Holder rejects attacks on Paul Clement over DOMA defense  —  Attorney General Eric Holder is coming to the defense of former Solicitor General Paul Clement, after gay rights advocates criticized his decision to take on the defense of the Defense of Marriage Act in court.

Don't laugh at Paul  —  Ron Paul's not as big of a joke as people think.  —  Do I think he has a serious chance at the Republican nomination?  Not really.  But I think he could play a much bigger role in the race than people might expect.  Consider some of these recent poll numbers:

Conversation with a Birther  —  This call to the show from Winston in Alabama confirms why the birther conspiracy will never go away, a fascinating look at why crazy beliefs endure.  Even after all the facts were explained to Winston, and after he appeared to agree that the facts were right …

Update on PlayStation Network and Qriocity  —  Thank you for your patience while we work to resolve the current outage of PlayStation Network & Qriocity services.  We are currently working to send a similar message to the one below via email to all of our registered account holders regarding …

Donald Trump's personal experience with questionable Ivy League admittance standards  —  Donald Trump added a blatantly race-baiting component to his already racially charged campaign against Barack Obama's Americanness this week when he claimed — based on things he's “heard” — that Obama was a …

Katie Couric: I Am Leaving CBS Evening News  —  After weeks of widespread speculation about her future, Katie Couric is finally ready to go on the record.  —  “I have decided to step down from the CBS Evening News,” Couric tells PEOPLE exclusively.  “I'm really proud of the talented team …

More Than 1 Billion People Are Hungry in the World  —  But what if the experts are wrong?  —  For many in the West, poverty is almost synonymous with hunger.  Indeed, the announcement by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization in 2009 that more than 1 billion people are suffering …

America Deserves Libya Explanation  —  Please make up your mind, Mr. President.  You can't vacillate when spending America's human and fiscal resources in yet another foreign country without good reason.  You said that Libyan leader Gaddafi has got to go.  Many of us heard that as your call to action and agreed, “Okay, you're right.

SETI Institute to shut down alien-seeking radio dishes  —  If E.T. phones Earth, he'll get a “disconnect” signal.  —  Lacking the money to pay its operating expenses, Mountain View's SETI Institute has pulled the plug on the renowned Allen Telescope Array, a field of radio dishes that scan …

Jackson: Trump birth talk is race “code”  —  Rev. Jesse Jackson told POLITICO today that the birther movement is part of a larger pattern of rollbacks against civil rights and and an attack on the legitimacy of the nation's first African-American president — reserving special ire …

The Marxist in the mirror  —  Obama publicly declares war on capitalism  —  It's official.  President Obama has declared war on capitalism, which is funny because he never officially declared war on Libya.  But our fearless Marxist-in-chief reserves a special brand of hatred for capitalism, entrepreneurship and rich people.

Firefighters union to stop federal-level campaign contributions  —  The International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) announced Tuesday it would stop giving political contributions to federal candidates and campaigns.  —  In a statement, IAFF General President Harold Schaitberger …