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.

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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.

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.

Stephen Colbert's running PAC shtick creates sticky mess  —  Advocates of reducing the power of money in politics thought they had found a champion in the unlikely person of Comedy Central's Stephen Colbert, whose ongoing shtick about forming a political action committee brought more attention …

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.

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 …

Bachmann reveals ‘devastating’ miscarriage  —  Rock Hill, South Carolina (CNN) - Republican presidential candidate Michele Bachmann revealed to a town hall audience Wednesday that she once suffered a “devastating” miscarriage.  —  Bachmann, a congresswoman from Minnesota …

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.