And the award for the most ridiculous poll sampling goes to ...  Move over, CBS.  Hang up the kid-leather gloves, WaPo/ABC.  There's a new sample-skewing sheriff in town, and it's the Associated Press.  In a new definition of “outlier,” the AP reported that its latest poll …

Galleon's Rajaratnam Found Guilty  —  Updated  —  Raj Rajaratnam, the billionaire investor who once ran one of the world's largest hedge funds, was found guilty of fraud and conspiracy on Wednesday by a federal jury in Manhattan.  He is the most prominent figure convicted in the government's crackdown …

Ryan: GOP faces messaging challenge in selling 2012 budget  —  Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) said Wednesday that Republicans are running into a “communications challenge” in selling their 2012 budget proposal to Americans.  —  Ryan, the chairman of the House Budget Committee who authored the 2012 budget …

Potential presidential candidate Jon Huntsman makes a stop in St. Petersburg  —  Jon Huntsman and his wife, Mary Kaye, met with potential donors Tuesday night in Snell Isle in St. Petersburg.  Homeowner James MacDougald introduced Huntsman.  Al Austin, standing by the chair, led Tampa's successful bid for the 2012 GOP convention.

House GOP freshmen conveniently forget 2010  —  A wide variety of House Republicans, especially freshmen in competitive districts, heard from their constituents over the recent two-week break, and discovered that voters aren't impressed with the GOP plan to end Medicare.

President to Renew Muslim Outreach  —  WASHINGTON—President Barack Obama is preparing a fresh outreach to the Muslim world in coming days, senior U.S. officials say, one that will ask those in the Middle East and beyond to reject Islamic militancy in the wake of Osama bin Laden's death and embrace a new era of relations with the U.S.

Same-sex marriage and the '16 nomination  —  It's basically self-parody here at POLITICO to write about the 2016 presidential campaign, and I don't plan to do it much.  But I thought it was worth passing on a point Bob Shrum made to me yesterday about one of the three or four Democrats already operating …

How Perpetual War Became U.S. Ideology  —  Since the last realist president, George H.W. Bush, left office, two groups— neoconservatives and liberal interventionists—have overtaken American foreign policy  —  The United States has found itself in a seemingly endless series of wars over the past two decades.

Obi-Wan Kenobi Is Dead, Vader Says  —  CORUSCANT — Obi-Wan Kenobi, the mastermind of some of the most devastating attacks on the Galactic Empire and the most hunted man in the galaxy, was killed in a firefight with Imperial forces near Alderaan, Darth Vader announced on Sunday.

White House backs down after subpoena threat from Rep. Issa  —  The Obama administration will send an official to testify at a House Oversight Committee hearing after Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) threatened to issue a subpoena.  —  The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) …

Boeing Is Pro-Growth, Not Anti-Union  —  Washington's actions have assaulted the capitalist principles that have sustained America's competitiveness since it became the world's largest economy nearly 140 years ago.  —  Deep into the recent recession, Boeing decided to invest more than $1 billion in a new factory in South Carolina.

Obama hits Fox News  —  Washington (CNN) - President Barack Obama used an immigration speech Tuesday to take a jab at News Corporation CEO, Rupert Murdoch, who owns Fox News Channel.  —  Obama quoted the CEO, an Australian native, who said “Immigrants have made America great as the world leader in business …

Statement From the Family of Osama bin Laden  —  Statement from the family of Sheikh Osama bin Laden  —  I Omar Ossama Binladin and my brothers the lawful children and heirs of the Ossama Binladin (OBL) have noted wide coverage of the news of the death of our father, but we are not convinced …

Palin and the Curse of a Thin Skin  —  In the June Atlantic, Joshua Green has a terrific piece called “The Tragedy of Sarah Palin” that gets at the maddening aspect of Palin's gifts and strengths as a politician better than any single article has with the exception of Yuval Levin's COMMENTARY piece two years ago.

Irish Bombshell: Government Raids PRIVATE Pensions To Pay For Spending  —  The Irish government plans to institute a tax on private pensions to drive jobs growth, according to its jobs program strategy, delivered today.  —  Without the ability sell debt due to soaring interest rates …

Donald Trump Lets His Hair Down  —  A conversation with the host of The Celebrity Apprentice  —  Like you, we've always wondered what's inside Donald Trump's wallet.  So, on a recent visit to his office at the top of Trump Tower in Manhattan, the epicenter of his vast real estate empire …

House intel chairman: Now is the time to ‘break’ al Qaeda's back  —  The House Intelligence Committee chairman said on Wednesday that Congress must not cut — but rather boost — funding for U.S. intelligence agencies in the wake of Osama bin Laden's killing, insisting now is the time to “break” al Qaeda's back.

IRS gift tax move could hit new anonymous groups  —  The Internal Revenue Service appears to have begun to enforce a tax on gifts to the non-profit organizations that were a key vehicle for anonymous politics in the last five years and had promised to play a large role in the presidential cycle …

NJ State Police “Outraged” Over Rapper Invite to White House  —  Common at the 2011 Common Ground Foundation gala fundraiser at the Intercontinental Hotel in Chicago last month.  —  The invitation of rapper Common to the White House this week is drawing the ire of the union representing New Jersey state police.

The New York Times hires a fabulous fabulist  —  Simply The Best  —  A while back I wrote about the recent media tour of James B Stewart, the author a recent book called Tangled Web: How American Society is Drowning in Lies about the culture of lying in America.

Palin and Trump: It's complicated  —  Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and businessman Donald Trump have formed a political bond, one united by their populist ideology and contempt for the mainstream media.  —  Their kinship grew during the height of the birther controversy.