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.”

Bill Clinton to Paul Ryan on Medicare Election: ‘Give me a Call’  —  ABC News' Jonathan Karl (@jonkarl) reports:  —  The day after the stunning upset in the special congressional election in upstate New York, Rep. Paul Ryan is a man under fire.  —  But ABC News was behind the scenes …

Signs Grow That Palin May Run  —  WASHINGTON — Sarah Palin is fortifying her small staff of advisers, buying a house in Arizona — where associates have said she could base a national campaign — and reviving her schedule of public appearances.  The moves are the most concrete signals yet that Ms. Palin …

Key Jewish Donor Breaks With Obama  —  One of the most important Democratic donors in the past two decades, whose generous contributions helped pay for the DNC headquarters in Washington, D.C., has indicated that he will not contribute to President Obama's reelection campaign in 2012, because of the administration's stance on Israel.

US withdraws diplomats from Yemen amid clashes  —  Jeb Boone of the Yemen Times: “It feels pretty unstable” in Sanaa  —  The US has ordered all its non-essential diplomats and family members of embassy staff to leave Yemen as fighting there escalates.  —  Medical sources say 72 people …

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 …

Suspect in Shooting of Giffords Ruled Unfit for Trial  —  TUCSON, Ariz. — A federal judge on Wednesday ruled that Jared L. Loughner was not mentally competent to stand trial on charges of opening fire at a constituent event for an Arizona congresswoman in January, killing 6 and injuring 13.

The real unemployment...  Walt Whitman famously observed to a friend in 1863 that “the real war will never get in the books.”  Whitman knew what he was talking about, so the proposition can't be discounted.  But in the case of the Civil War, if the real war hasn't gotten into the books, it's not for lack of trying.

How America's Building the 21st-Century Mall  —  Here's a conundrum for the American capitalist: How can malls, those decades-old bastions of shoppers everywhere, compete with the shopping technology and up-to-the-minute gratification of the Internet?  —  The simple answer is that they can't—yet.

California's Attorney General Launching Criminal Inquiry Into Arnold Schwarzenegger  —  The Californian Attorney General will conduct what's being termed an “inquiry” into former Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's alleged misuse of tax payer funds to cover up sexual liaisons.

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.

An Affair to Remember  —  John Edwards was a cad, but that isn't why he may be indicted.  —  A onetime rival of Barack Obama may soon face criminal charges.  The Justice Department has “green-lighted” the prosecution of John Edwards, who finished second in the 2008 Iowa Democratic caucuses …

Vice President Biden in Nashua for fundraiser  —  NASHUA - Vice President Joe Biden, a two-time veteran of the New Hampshire primary, has seen the seasons change before in the Granite State.  And he knows it's ready to happen again, he told a gathering of state Democrats on Wednesday at the Radisson Hotel Nashua.

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 …

Gingrich wife worked for committee heavily lobbied by Tiffany  —  At the same time Tiffany & Co. was extending Callista (Bisek) Gingrich a virtual interest-free loan of tens of thousands of dollars, the diamond and silverware firm was spending big bucks to influence mining policy in Congress …

Privacy debate ahead, Facebook adds Bush aides to lobby team  —  Facebook is adding two Republicans from the Bush White House to its lobby team as it gears up for the debate over consumer privacy legislation.  —  Joel Kaplan, who served as deputy chief of staff under President George W. Bush …

Elderly patients dying of thirst: Doctors forced to prescribe drinking water to keep the old alive, reveals devastating report on hospital care  —  The measure - to remind nurses of the most basic necessity - is revealed in a damning report on pensioner care in NHS wards.

There's a Secret Patriot Act, Senator Says  —  You may think you understand how the Patriot Act allows the government to spy on its citizens.  Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Oregon) says it's worse than you've heard.  —  Congress is set to reauthorize three controversial provisions of the surveillance law as early as Thursday.