Colbert in South Carolina  —  Stephen Colbert wanted to sponsor the South Carolina Republican primary.  He wanted his name on the ballot and he wanted a referendum about whether corporations are people or only people are people.  He was rebuffed in his efforts but our team at PPP decided …

Doomsday Clock moves to five minutes to midnight  —  It is five minutes to midnight.  Two years ago, it appeared that world leaders might address the truly global threats that we face.  In many cases, that trend has not continued or been reversed.  For that reason, the Bulletin …

Obama pledges to stand by EPA  —  President Obama reassured employees at the Environmental Protection Agency Tuesday that he will stand by their work amid growing attacks from Republicans and a decision by the White House last year to scuttle the agency's smog regulations.

Mitt Romney and 100,000 jobs: an untenable figure  —  “In the business I had, we invested in over 100 different businesses and net-net, taking out the ones where we lost jobs and those that we added, those businesses have now added over 100,000 jobs.”  —  Last week, when we first looked …

A Slate resident feminist hears Gov. Christie talking about oral sex when he's obviously not.  —  What a joke!  Christie — responding to hecklers who used the words “going down” in connection with jobs — said: “You know, something may be going down tonight, but it ain't going to be jobs, sweetheart.”

Businessmen and Economics  —  A brief thought on something I'll try to expand on later.  Leaving aside all the questions about what Mitt Romney did or didn't do at Bain — and about his self-aggrandizing double standard — there's an even broader question: why does anyone believe that success …

BREAKING: 10th Circuit Court Of Appeals Declares Oklahoma's Sharia Ban Unconstitutional  —  The 10th Circuit Court Of Appeals struck down Oklahoma's ban on Sharia law today, declaring that the Sooner State's move violated the United States Constitution.  —  In November 2010 …

Poll: Americans, 2-1, Fear Obama's Reelection  —  When it comes to how Americans view President Obama going into the new year, there appears to be very little spirit of Auld Lang Syne.  Instead, according to the new Washington Whispers poll, many voters aren't forgetting what they dislike about Obama and want him out office.

Ron Paul Defends Romney, Lashes Out at His Critics  —  In an exclusive interview outside a Manchester polling place, Ron Paul lashed out at fellow Republicans for making unfair and ignorant attacks on Mitt Romney's business record.  —  “I think they're wrong.

Gov. Corbett declares war on food stamps  —  Republican Gov. Tom Corbett has announced a major assault on the food stamp program that feeds 1.8 million Pennsylvanians, including 439,245 in Philadelphia.  Pennsylvania's Department of Public Welfare announced that on May 1 …

IDF Chief: Israel ready to absorb some Syria refugees once Assad falls  —  Benny Gantz says expects Bashar Assad's regime to collapse in near future and issue a blow to the Alawite community in Syria; Gantz: Assad is not like Gadhafi, he won't fight till last bullet.  —  Get Haaretz on iPhone

Lots of people can't fire their insurance companies  —  Governor Romney is getting a lot of heat for a line that appears to have been taken out of context.  I'd like to talk about it in context.  I think that's much more illuminating: … Gov. Romney is not saying that he enjoys telling people that they no longer have a job.

Companies Face Fines for Not Using Unavailable Biofuel  —  WASHINGTON — When the companies that supply motor fuel close the books on 2011, they will pay about $6.8 million in penalties to the Treasury because they failed to mix a special type of biofuel into their gasoline and diesel as required by law.

Man in custody after shootout with police in Alabama City  —  A man thought to be an Islamic extremist is believed to have shot the windows out of at least two businesses in Alabama City early Sunday to lure police officers to the area and engage them in a shootout.

New Hampshire polls open in Dixville Notch — with nine votes  —  DIXVILLE NOTCH, N.H. — The voters of this tiny hamlet, all nine of them, have spoken.  Very briefly.  —  The polls opened here at midnight and closed less than a minute later, and the tally was final by 12:05 a.m. On the Republican side …

SOPA becoming election liability for backers  —  To the ranks of same-sex marriage, tax cuts and illegal immigration, add this to the list of polarizing political issues of Election 2012: the Stop Online Piracy Act.  —  The hot-button anti-piracy legislation that sparked a revolt online …