Donald Trump: How did Barack Obama get into Ivies?  —  ‘How does a bad student go to Columbia and then to Harvard?’  Trump asked.  AP Photo  —  Donald Trump is upping the ante against President Barack Obama's legitimacy, raising questions on Monday night about how the president was admitted to two Ivy League schools.

Why Haley Barbour pulled the plug  —  Haley Barbour had his presidential announcement plan lined up: A May 2 launch, followed by a fly-around to Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina, Nevada and Florida, before winding up in in Jackson on Saturday the 7th for a big home-state fundraising bash.

Law Firm Won't Defend Marriage Act  —  WASHINGTON — The law firm hired by Republicans in the House of Representatives to defend the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act withdrew Monday amid pressure from gay-rights groups.  The decision prompted the resignation of a prominent partner …

Financiers Switch to GOP  —  Hedge-Fund Titans Who Backed Democrats Open Their Wallets for Republicans  —  Hedge-fund managers made a big bet on Barack Obama and other Democrats in 2008.  Now, with the 2012 contest gearing up, some prominent fund managers have turned their backs on the party and are actively supporting Republicans.

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?

Boehner: No promises on debt vote  —  GREENVILLE, Ohio —Speaker John Boehner won't guarantee a vote on raising the debt limit, the latest threat in an increasingly high stakes game of chicken with the White House over whether Congress will inch closer to letting the nation default on its credit.

High gas prices cut into driving habits — and Obama's approval rating  —  Soaring gasoline prices are biting into household incomes and nibbling at Americans' fuel consumption — and support for President Obama, according to a Washington Post-ABC News poll.

Public Pensions, Once Off Limits, Face Budget Cuts  —  When an arbitrator ruled this month that Detroit could reduce the pensions being earned by its police sergeants and lieutenants, it put the struggling city at the forefront of a growing national debate over whether the pensions of current public workers can or should be reduced.

Ron Paul Launches Presidential Campaign  —  Rep. Ron Paul's long-held advocacy of smaller government and less taxes has made him a tea party hero.  —  Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, whose outspoken libertarian views and folksy style made him a cult hero during two previous presidential campaigns …

Allen West: Liberal Women Are ‘Neutering American Men’  —  Last week, Tea Party favorite Rep. Allen West (R-FL) addressed his base at a Women Impacting Nation (WIN) meeting in Boca Raton, FL.  WIN's mission is to “educate and equip women with knowledge of God's truth” and …

Arizona governor: ‘Birther’ sentiment ‘leading our country down a path of destruction’  —  Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer (R), who vetoed a bill last week that would have required presidential candidates to prove they were born in the U.S. to get on the state's ballot, implored members of her party Monday to move on.

The end of the line: Last typewriter factory left in the world closes its doors  —  It's an invention that revolutionised the way we work, becoming an essential piece of office equipment for the best part of a century.  —  But after years of sterling service, that bane for secretaries has reached the end of the line.

What's Left of the Left  —  Paul Krugman's lonely crusade.  —  If you are looking not only for clues into Barack Obama's character but for a definition of what his presidency will mean to the country, then the speech on fiscal policy that he delivered at George Washington University …

White House to Franklin Graham: You're “Preposterous”  —  After the evangelist (and son of legendary Billy Graham) played the birther card on ABC, Jay Carney curtly notes that he abused Easter Sunday.  —  Post Comment  —  The day after Easter, the Obama White House took a shot …

Messina: Obama 2012 will be run as ‘an insurgent campaign’ — Barbour feared race about race that GOP couldn't win - Boehner to Obama: ‘Grow up’ — Marc Short joins Team Koch - Rob Collins free agent  —  Good Tuesday morning.  Mississippi Gov. HALEY BARBOUR's decision not to seek …

Sen. Manchin breaks with leaders, backs strict spending caps  —  Freshman Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) on Tuesday announced his support for strict spending caps that put him at odds with his party's leadership and President Obama.  —  Manchin told an audience in South Charleston …

Judge ends lockout; owners file appeal  —  MINNEAPOLIS — Seven weeks into the NFL lockout, players have an early triumph over the owners in court.  —  U.S. District Judge Susan Richard Nelson ordered an immediate end to the lockout Monday, siding with the players in their bitter fight …

Rachel Maddow: 'I'm definitely not an autocutie'  —  The top US news anchor on why she prefers jokes to anger and why she is proud to be gay  —  It's 10.05pm on a rainy Tuesday night in the MSNBC studio in the now famous New York address, 30 Rock, and Rachel Maddow - one of the highest profile news anchors …

Affordable rental housing scarce in U.S., study finds  —  The share of renters who spend more than half their income on housing is at its highest level in half a century and it's no longer just low-income tenants who are feeling the pain, according to a Harvard University study scheduled for release Tuesday.