Senate rejects Ryan budget  —  The Senate on Wednesday resoundingly rejected a budget sponsored by House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) that calls for significant cuts to future Medicare benefits.  —  Five Republican senators voted against the ambitious budget plan …

Romney, Palin Lead Reduced GOP Field for 2012  —  PRINCETON, NJ — Mitt Romney (17%) and Sarah Palin (15%) now lead a smaller field of potential Republican presidential candidates in rank-and-file Republicans' preferences for the party's 2012 nominee.  Ron Paul, Newt Gingrich …

Response to Ed Schultz  —  Re. the crude comments made about me by Ed Schultz on his radio program: First, I was surprised to learn that Ed Schultz actually hosted a radio show.  Is it only available online?  Second, I have to get back to recording the audio edition of my new book “Of Thee I Zing.”

Joe Walsh's ongoing struggles with reality  —  Rep. Joe Walsh (R-Ill.), one of Congress' more notable right-wing freshmen, has an angry column in the Daily Caller today on U.S. policy towards Israel.  Take a wild guess what the Republican lawmaker argued. … It pains me to say this, but Rep. Joe Walsh is not smart.

Stubborn Jobless Claims Still Keep On Climbing Higher  —  New U.S. claims for unemployment benefits unexpectedly climbed to 424,000 last week from a revised 414,000 in the prior week, pointing to a painfully slow improvement in the nation's job markets.  —  The Labor Department on Thursday revised …

House ignores Obama's Libya request  —  House leaders are ignoring a request from President Obama for a congressional endorsement of the U.S. military mission in Libya.  —  Five days after Obama sent a letter to congressional leaders seeking a resolution of support, there has been no action in the House …

Dane County judge strikes down collective bargaining law  —  By Jason Stein and Patrick Marley of the Journal Sentinel  —  Madison - A Dane County judge has struck down Gov. Scott Walker's legislation repealing most collective bargaining for public employees.

Who would you rather have lunch with - Obama, Palin or Romney?  —  A new Sachs/Mason Dixon poll gets to the heart of the presidential choices in front of us.  Who would you rather have lunch with?  More than three times as many Americans - 53 percent - would choose to have a one-on-one lunch chat …

Top Serbian War Crimes Suspect Caught  —  PARIS — Serbian President Boris Tadic announced at a news conference in Belgrade on Thursday that Ratko Mladic, the fugitive accused of masterminding the massacre at Srebrenica in 1995, had been captured but refused to give details.

BREAKING: Vermont Gov. Peter Shumlin Makes History By Signing Into Law Single Payer Health Care  —  Last month, the Vermont Senate passed legislation, approved earlier by the House, that would establish a single payer health care system in the state.  The legislation would make Vermont …

Barack Obama snubs British scientists by refusing to receive Royal Society medal  —  Barack Obama has snubbed Britain's most eminent scientists by refusing to attend a Royal Society banquet in his honour at which he was to be awarded with a prestigious medal.

Racism to blame for Obama's problems, key Democrat says  —  WASHINGTON — House Assistant Democratic Leader Jim Clyburn, the highest-ranking African-American in Congress, on Wednesday blamed most of President Barack Obama's political problems on racism.  —  Clyburn, who's from South Carolina …

Walt Disney Surrenders to Navy's SEAL Team 6  —  Less than a month after a daring raid on Osama bin Laden's secret hideout, the U.S. Navy's SEAL Team 6 notched a victory over the Magic Kingdom.  —  Walt Disney Co. said Wednesday that it would pull an application with the U.S. Patent …

Why Not Let the Dead Pay for Medicare?  —  So here's an idea: why not reform Medicare by means testing it?  Conservatives should love this idea.  —  Here's how it works.  Basically, we leave Medicare alone.  Oh, we can still go ahead with some of the obvious reforms.

Obama Gets Big Bump In Florida, Quinnipiac University Poll Finds; Nelson Leads Gop Challengers, With No Clear Leader  —  President Barack Obama's job approval rating in Florida is 51 - 43 percent approve, a jump from his negative 44 - 52 percent score April 7, before the killing of Osama bin Laden …