Mark Halperin apologizes for Obama gaffe  —  Mark Halperin, editor-at-large for Time, called President Obama “a dick” on Wednesday on a popular MSNBC morning show and then quickly apologized.  —  “I thought he was a dick yesterday,” Halperin, who also is a senior political analyst for MSNBC …

In Deficit Plan, Taxes Must Rise, President Warns  —  WASHINGTON — President Obama pressured Republicans on Wednesday to accept higher taxes as part of any plan to pare down the federal deficit, bluntly telling lawmakers that they “need to do their job” and strike a deal before the United States risks defaulting on its debt.

U.S. Drops Deportation Proceedings Against Immigrant in Same-Sex Marriage  —  In a decision that could have far-reaching effects on immigration cases involving same-sex couples, federal officials have canceled the deportation of a Venezuelan man in New Jersey who is married to an American man, the couple's lawyer said Wednesday.

How you know the negotiations have truly failed  —  (SHAWN THEW VIA BLOOMBERG) The best advice I've gotten for assessing the debt-ceiling negotiations was to “watch for the day when the White House goes public.”  As long as the Obama administration was refusing to attack Republicans publicly …

To Catch a Predator host who traps sex perverts in TV stings ‘caught cheating on his wife’... by hidden cameras  —  He's made his name with a controversial show that catches would-be internet sex perverts in televised stings.  —  But now Chris Hansen has found himself on the receiving end …

Clinton: U.S. pursuing ‘limited contacts’ with Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood  —  BUDAPEST, Hungary — Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Thursday that the Obama administration was pursuing an approach of “limited contacts” with Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood — a policy, she said …

Fed hands banks a win with debit card rule  —  Banks might have lost the broader war over debit-card fees, but they scored a small victory Wednesday when the Federal Reserve proposed a fee less severe than originally intended.  —  The central bank's decision brought to a close a long and contentious lobbying battle on Capitol Hill.

Obama, Romney to go head to head in Pennsylvania Thursday  —  President Obama and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (R) are set to do battle Thursday when both visit the southeast Pennsylvania area.  —  Romney will hold a press conference Thursday afternoon at a factory in Allentown …

Bachmann's Husband Calls Homosexuals ‘Barbarians’ Who ‘Need To Be Educated’ And ‘Disciplined’  —  When trying to figure out where presidential candidate Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) gets her stringent, anti-gay views, you only have to look as far as her husband.

Real Men Get Their Facts Straight  —  “It's between 100,000 and 300,000 child sex slaves in the United States today,” Ashton Kutcher told CNN's Piers Morgan on April 18.  That, says Kutcher, is how many kids are lost to prostitution in America every single year.

Stephen Colbert set to testify to FEC on forming his own super PAC  —  The Federal Election Commission does serious issues.  It does complex debates over mind-numbing campaign laws.  It does not do funny.  —  But now the agency finds itself the target of a very public joke by television comedian …

WOMAN SEATED NEAR BECK AT MOVIE CLAIMS INNOCENCE...BUT WHAT DOES TWITTER TELL US...  (WITH UPDATES!)  —  On Tuesday, Glenn Beck told his radio and TV audiences how he and his family were harassed during an outing to an outdoor movie in New York City's Bryant Park.  —  You can listen to Glenn describe what happened here.

McConnell calls balanced-budget amendment to floor  —  Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) on Wednesday called down a joint resolution to the Senate floor that would alter the Constitution to require Congress to balance its budget every year.  —  Amending the Constitution requires …

U.S. Monthly Combat Deaths in Iraq at 3-Year High  —  BAGHDAD — The American military announced on Thursday that three more American soldiers had been killed this week, as the combat-related deaths for United States forces in Iraq reached a monthly toll not seen since 2008.

Defense minister says Americans have been asked to vacate remote site  —  Below:  —  Facing domestic political pressure, Pakistan's government escalated the war of words with the United States, with its defense minister repeating calls for the U.S. to stop using a remote air base for drone strikes and to vacate the base.

Obama says his 12-year-old is 13  —  Malia Obama has a few days to go before her 13th birthday on July 4.  —  AP Photo  —  President Obama, who has expressed his fears about his daughter Malia becoming a teenager next month, is apparently dreading her birthday so much that for a brief moment on Wednesday …