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.

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.

Huckabee releasing S.C. team  —  We've been told that former Ark. Gov. Mike Huckabee, a rumored candidate for the Republican presidential nomination, is giving his former S.C. supporters the nod to seek work on other presidential campaigns.  The word is that he's told South Carolina staffers …

‘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.

Fanatics' fury at Muslim Playgirl  —  A MUSLIM actress has caused a storm by posing naked for Playboy.  —  Sila Sahin has been branded a “whore” and a “western slut” after appearing topless on the cover of the German edition of the men's magazine.  —  And Islamic fanatics have posted threatening internet messages.

Bush to ABC News: Just Because You're Reporting it Doesn't Make it True  —  Admit it: You miss him.

Fatah and Hamas Announce Outline of Deal  —  JERUSALEM — Fatah and Hamas, the rival Palestinian movements, announced an agreement in principle on Wednesday to end the years-long internal Palestinian schism.  —  At a press conference in Cairo to announce the deal, Taher Al-Nounou …

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..

Cardinal suspends Pfleger: ‘You are not able to pastor a Catholic parish’  —  Citing what he called threats from the Rev. Michael Pfleger to leave the church, Cardinal Francis George has removed the outspoken priest from St. Sabina parish and has suspended his “sacramental faculties as a priest.”

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 …

Advocates: Consumers ‘betrayed’ by high court ruling on class-action suits  —  Fine print in everyday consumer contracts can include provisions that require Americans to surrender their rights to file class-action lawsuits, the U.S Supreme Court ruled Wednesday, overturning a lower court ruling.

Acclaimed Historian Douglas Brinkley Calls For NBC To Dump Trump, Corporate Sponsors To Pull Ads  —  Moments ago on CNN, acclaimed historian and author Douglas Brinkley pinned the blame for the reemergence of birtherism on NBC Entertainment for giving real estate mogul Donald Trump a primetime platform.

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 …