THE VETTING: BEN SMITH RELEASES SELECTIVELY EDITED OBAMA RACE VIDEO  —  Earlier today, Buzzfeed's Ben Smith announced on Twitter that video researcher Andrew Kaczynski had released “the mysterious Harvard/Obama/race video that the Breitbart folks have been talking about.”

Rush Limbaugh: Over 40 Advertisers Flee, Host Says 'Everything's Cool'  —  Talk show host Rush Limbaugh sought to reassure listeners Wednesday after the tally of local and national companies that have pulled their advertisements from his time slot topped 40, insisting that the show …

The Party of Hate  —  Millions of Americans voted for Barack Obama in the hope that he would be a trailblazer who would conduct the presidency in a new way.  Well, he has: Obama has been the most divisive president in our modern history, unabashedly stirring up hate against not only his political enemies …

Won't Be Long Now, Folks!  —  And the odds that we'll get to somebody dropping the ni-CLANG word on President Obama took a really big step forward today, along with bonus misogyny to boot.  They say a picture's worth a thousands words, and judging from the latest Mike Lester political cartoon from the Rome …

TPM2012  —  Bachmann: ‘Health Care Dictator’ Could Decide How Many Babies You Can Have  —  Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) is warning that the Obama administration's contraception insurance mandate could put America on a slippery slope — to a totalitarian one-child policy.

$1B of TSA Nude Body Scanners Made Worthless By Blog — How Anyone Can Get Anything Past The Scanners  —  This video is here to demonstrate that the TSA's insistence that the nude body scanner program is effective and necessary is nothing but a fraud, just like their claims that the program is safe …

Romney campaign says losing nomination would take ‘act of God’  —  By NBC's Garrett Haake and Jamie Novogrod  —  BOSTON — Mitt Romney's campaign gathered the national press corps in their campaign war room this morning to deliver a simple message: It would take an “act of God” …

Satellite images show Iran cleaning secret nuclear activity, sources say  —  Diplomat tells Associated Press alleged testing at site could indicate attempt to develop nuclear arms; other sources say images show vehicles at site, indicating crews trying to clean it of radioactive traces.

Massive solar storm heading for Earth  —  Airlines and energy suppliers are on alert as the largest solar storm in five years threatens to disrupt flights and power lines  —  Airlines and energy suppliers are on alert as the largest solar storm in five years heads toward Earth, threatening to disrupt flights and power lines.

Guest post: Joseph Kony is not in Uganda (and other complicated things)  —  Thanks to an incredibly effective social media effort, #StopKony is trending on Twitter today.  The campaign coincides with a new awareness-raising documentary by the group Invisible Children.

Subject for Debate: Are Women People?  —  I've always assumed that women are fully autonomous human citizens—who vote, even!—but now I'm not so certain  —  From left: Catholic Bishop William Lori, the Rev. Matthew Harrison, Dr. Ben Mitchell, Rabbi Meir Soloveichik and Craig Mitchell …

U.S. Warns Apple, Publishers  —  Justice Department Threatens Lawsuits, Alleging Collusion Over E-Book Pricing  —  The Justice Department has warned Apple Inc. and five of the biggest U.S. publishers that it plans to sue them for allegedly colluding to raise the price of electronic books, according to people familiar with the matter.

Channel 4 booting anchorwoman Sue Simmons after 32 years  —  After more than three decades, WNBC/Channel 4 is tossing anchorwoman Sue Simmons overboard.  —  Last week, the station gave her the bad news that her contract would not be renewed — and come June, she's history.

Asia defence spending to overtake Europe  —  Asia is set to outspend Europe on defence this year for the first time in modern history as European Union nations cut military budgets and Chinese expenditure rises, a think-tank says.  —  Highlighting the shift in military power across the world …