President Obama's Long Form Birth Certificate  —  Ed. Note: Read the transcript of the President's remarks following this release or watch the video below:  —  var params = { allowscriptaccess: “always”, allowfullscreen: “true” }; swfobject.embedSWF("http://www.youtube- nocookie.com/v …

Reid: The Senate Will Vote On Paul Ryan's Budget … WASHINGTON — Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) announced on Wednesday that he would host a vote on Rep. Paul Ryan's (R-Wis.) budget as a means of forcing moderate GOP senators to weigh in on the legislation's controversial proposals.

‘Atlas Shrugged’ producer: ‘Critics, you won.’ He's going ‘on strike.’  —  EXCLUSIVE: Twelve days after opening “Atlas Shrugged: Part 1,” the producer of the Ayn Rand adaptation said Tuesday that he is reconsidering his plans to make Parts 2 and 3 because of scathing reviews and flagging box office returns for the film.

Gas prices and industry earnings: A few things to think about the next time you fill up  —  Here's a simple fact of economics that's getting everyone in Washington pretty excited this week: When prices increase for a commodity like oil, companies that produce and sell that commodity earn more money.

Fatah and Hamas agree to historic Palestinian reconciliation deal  —  Rival groups will form interim government and then move toward setting a date for a general election, four years after their government collapsed when Hamas overran the Gaza Strip.  —  Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's …

House votes to restrict unions  —  Measure would curb bargaining on health care  —  Robert J. Haynes, president of the Massachusetts AFL-CIO, said the union would fight the legislation “to the bitter end.”  (M. McDonald for The Boston Globe)  —  House lawmakers voted overwhelmingly …

Huckabee camp shoots down rumor he won't run in 2012  —  Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee's camp is refuting a South Carolina blogger who suggested Wednesday that Huckabee told consultants in the state he wouldn't run for president next year.  —  Speculation Huckabee was opting …

Julianne Moore as Sarah Palin: First Photo … Check out the first photo of Julianne Moore as Sarah Palin in the upcoming HBO film, Game Change.  —  The actress nails Palin's look with a bright suit, patriotic flag pin and similar glasses.  She also ditched her trademark red hair for Palin's brown style …

Bernanke Wimps Out  —  So Bernanke did get asked why, given low inflation and high unemployment, the Fed isn't doing more.  And his answer was disheartening.  —  As far as I can tell, his analytical framework isn't too different from mine.  The inflation rate to worry about is some underlying …

The Birther Disgrace  —  Even for the small band that sustained the phony controversy until now, the birth certificate so-called issue ends today.  —  Any last lingering doubts that maybe, perhaps, a pregnant Stanley Anne Dunham in the summer of 1961 boarded a propeller plane from Honolulu to Los Angeles …

Why Obama Will Get Second Term in White House: Ralph Nader  —  The stars are aligned for Barack Obama's re-election in November 2012.  He won't join Jimmy Carter to be the second Democrat in 120 years to lose a second term.  —  Five things are playing in Obama's favor.

First Pictures of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords Since Shooting, Walking on Her Own  —  A fragile but determined Rep. Gabrielle Giffords walked one careful step at a time today up the steps of a plane that will take her Florida to watch her husband blast off on the final mission of the space shuttle Endeavor..

The Incredible Shrinking New York Times  —  The New York Times has righted its ship after a near-death experience during the last recession.  —  Thanks to sharp cost-cutting, the company has returned to profitability.  And thanks to frantic debt restructuring, the NYT has also removed …