Apocalypse not right now: ‘Rapture’ end of world fails to materialise  —  Reports of the end of the world appeared to have been exaggerated today.  —  Inhabitants of New Zealand, scheduled to be among the first to meet the apocalypse according to a US fundamentalist preacher …

Krauthammer: C'mon, Herman Cain's candidacy is for entertainment purposes only  —  Via the Right Scoop, I'm not nearly as sure as Kraut is that this is true.  If Palin surprises everyone by staying out, Iowa will be wide open for a “true conservative” to emerge.

Borderline Treachery  —  Would that the president of the United States were as worried about Arizona's border as he is about “Palestine's.”  —  There was less fanfare about this latest Obama oration on the future of the Middle East, staged at Foggy Bottom, than there was about his 2009 Cairo speech.

Backing Her Man With Impressive Resources  —  PARIS — She was much more famous than her husband, and much wealthier, too.  —  Now she joins the unhappy club of wives standing by their man in the face of a crescendo of tales of sexual betrayal, spurred in her case by extraordinary …

Obama's Peace Tack Contrasts With Key Aide, Friend of Israel  —  WASHINGTON — Five days ago, during a closed-door meeting with a group of Middle East experts, administration officials, and journalists, King Abdullah II of Jordan gave his assessment of how Arabs view the debate within …

Tucson SWAT Team Defends Shooting Iraq Vet 60 Times  —  A Tucson, Ariz., SWAT team defends shooting an Iraq War veteran 60 times during a drug raid, although it declines to say whether it found any drugs in the house and has had to retract its claim that the veteran shot first.

White House on War Powers Deadline: ‘Limited’ US Role in Libya Means No Need to Get Congressional Authorization  —  In an effort to satisfy those arguing he needs to seek congressional authorization to continue US military activity in accordance with the War Powers Resolution …

Rep. Webster Tells Town Hall Constituents That If Health Reform Isn't Repealed, 'We Won't Have A Country'  —  ThinkProgress filed this report from a town hall meeting in Astatula, FL.  —  When Congress passed the landmark health reform law last March, Republicans predicted the result …

Reducing Pennsylvania's Unemployment Insurance ‘A Fairness Thing,’ GOP Lawmaker Says … A Republican member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives says he wants to reform the state's unemployment insurance system in part because the way benefits are currently calculated lets workers take a paid vacation for most of the year.

GOP Response To Town Hall Backlash: Ban Recording Devices And Censor Citizen Journalists  —  The premier political story of the past few months has been the Republican plan to dismantle Medicare and the resulting voter backlash.  In town halls across the country, voters are expressing …

New poll shows Democrat ahead in NY special election  —  (CNN) - A new poll released Saturday shows the Democratic candidate now has a slight lead - a four point advantage among likely voters - over the Republican in a special congressional election in Western New York that has attracted the national spotlight.

Pro-Israel push for magic words from Obama  —  Josh Block, the former AIPAC spokesman and a pro-Israel stalwart now at the Progressive Policy Institute, this morning emailed over quotes from several pro-Israel Democratic legislators unhappy with the White House move to formally embrace …

Tough week for Tea Party ends with fizzling rally  —  The Columbia Tea Party went from Donald Trump to jilted chump after the celebrity businessman canceled his appearance at Thursday's State House rally, and state legislators approved tax breaks and spending that the group opposed.

Prayer controversy jeopardizes same-sex amendment vote  —  A controversial pastor delivered a prayer that left House members - of both parties - shocked and incensed.  —  An opening prayer that shocked Minnesota House members on Friday may have unintentionally derailed a key goal …

Keep the Briefs Brief, Literary Justices Advise  —  WASHINGTON — Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, whose writing is clear but dry, said her style owed something to Vladimir Nabokov, the author of “Lolita.”  —  Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, whose opinions can meander, said he aspired …