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 …

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 …

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 …

Dick Cheney: Arab uprisings unlikely to disrupt oil flows for long  —  Former Vice President Dick Cheney says he doesn't think the “Arab Spring” will significantly cut the flow of oil to world markets, but the Middle East is far different when he sought cooperation for the liberation of Kuwait in 1991.

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.

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 …

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 …

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.

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.

Facebook picks up former Bush aides  —  Facebook has friended two top former aides to former President George W. Bush, as the burgeoning social network continues to ramp up its lobbying and public policy work in Washington.  —  Former Bush deputy chief of staff Joel Kaplan will join Facebook …

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 …

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 …

DSK hops to luxe lily pad  —  The Upper East Side rejected him, and he quickly wore out his welcome downtown, but yesterday, Parisian pariah Dominique Strauss-Kahn finally landed a posh pad in TriBeCa.  —  The uber-luxury, $50,000-a-month townhouse at 153 Franklin St. — replete with a home theater …