AP: Panetta to take over Pentagon, Petraeus picked for CIA chief  —  CIA director Leon Panetta will be named to succeed Robert Gates as secretary of defense and Gen. David Petraeus will be nominated to replace him as CIA director, The Associated Press reports, quoting unidentified sources.

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.

Trump's donation history shows Democratic favoritism  —  Billionaire Donald J. Trump, an early presidential favorite among tea party activists, has a highly unusual history of political contributions for a prospective Republican candidate: He has given most of his money to the other side.

Allen West- “You're Not Going to Intimidate Me”, Heckler Arrested at Townhall  —  Immediately after Allen West took the stage at his Town Hall meeting on Tuesday Evening in Fort Lauderdale, several hecklers who were planted in the crowd began to jeer and interrupt his remarks …

Why Paul Ryan could enter the 2012 presidential race  —  It's not just Bill Kristol, gang.  There's desire at the highest ranks of the Republican Party, according to my reporting and sources, to see House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan seek the 2012 presidential nomination.  Here's why:

Despite Reports of Brutality Toward Civilians, Syria to Join U.N.'s Human Rights Council  —  Oct. 2: Syrian President Bashar Assad, right, gestures, after he is awarded with Iran's highest national medal by his Iranian counterpart Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, in Tehran, Iran.

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 …

White House releases Obama birth certificate  —  (CNN) - The White House released President Obama's original birth certificate Wednesday.  —  The surprise release follows recent and sustained remarks by businessman Donald Trump, among others, that raised doubts as to whether the president was born in the United States.

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 …

White House seizes 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 on congressional leaders to …

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 …

Afghan pilot opens fire on military base  —  Kabul, Afghanistan (CNN) — At least six American service members were killed Wednesday when a man opened fire on troops and a “gunfight” ensued at an airport in the Afghan capital, military officials said.  —  A NATO official backed off earlier reports …

Hmmm: Harvard Adopted Affirmative Action Policy For Law Review Well Before Obama Matriculated There  —  This has been discussed, but I haven't seen a citation for it.  (Then again, I never really investigated it.)  —  JeffB. sends this along.  This is the Harvard Crimson, which should know about its own law school's policies.

College Course: US Flag Is Racist, How-To Defeat America In Iraq And Afghanistan  —  While claiming the American flag represents racism and discussing today's Progressive Movement's efforts to defeat America both at home and abroad, including on the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan to help …

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.

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 …

Mitt Romney's primary problem  —  Mitt Romney is seizing the right kind of momentum at the wrong kind of time.  —  Over the past month, the former governor of Massachusetts has seen a dramatic rise in general-election match-ups with President Obama, even as he continues to underwhelm in GOP primary polls.