Why I Am Leaving Goldman Sachs  —  TODAY is my last day at Goldman Sachs.  After almost 12 years at the firm — first as a summer intern while at Stanford, then in New York for 10 years, and now in London — I believe I have worked here long enough to understand the trajectory of its culture, its people and its identity.

Santorum Wins Alabama and Mississippi Primaries  —  BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Rick Santorum captured twin victories in the Alabama and Mississippi primaries on Tuesday, overcoming the financial advantages of Mitt Romney and the regional allegiances of Newt Gingrich to amplify his argument …

David Axelrod bails on Bill Maher  —  David Axelrod will not be appearing as a guest on “Real Time with Bill Maher,” despite reports last week that he was scheduled to do the show in the next few weeks.  —  “He's not scheduled to go on at this time,” said Ben LaBolt, the press secretary for President Obama's reelection campaign.

Republicans Losing on Birth Control as 77% in Poll Spurn Debate  —  Americans overwhelmingly regard the debate over President Barack Obama's policy on employer-provided contraceptive coverage as a matter of women's health, not religious freedom, rejecting Republicans' rationale for opposing the rule.

House Republican Leaders Plan To Renege On Debt Ceiling Deal  —  Last week, Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-OH) signaled during an interview with Fox Business that he was open to reneging on the budget deal the GOP crafted with Democrats last year during the debacle over raising the nation's debt ceiling.

‘Game Change’ authors: Hillary Clinton in '16  —  “Game Change” co-authors Mark Halperin and John Heilemann both predicted Wednesday that there was a high probability that Hillary Clinton would run for president in 2016.  —  “What are the odds this morning that Hillary Clinton runs for president in 2016? …

Senate judiciary committee endorses controversial contraceptive bill  —  The Senate Judiciary Committee voted 6-2 Monday to endorse a controversial bill that would allow Arizona employers the right to deny health insurance coverage for contraceptives based on religious objections.

REJECTED!  What the NY Times WON'T Run: Counter-Jihad Facts What the NY Times Will Run: Anti-Catholic Smear Ads  —  Did you see the virulently anti-Catholic ad that ran in the New York Times last week?  That ad inspired AFDI/SIOA, in cooperation with SION (Stop Islamization of Nations) …

Roy Moore: ‘The people have spoken’  —  Roy Moore said about 2 a.m. Wednesday that even though he had not been declared the winner of the Republican primary for chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court that he expected to win without a runoff.  —  “Statistically, there is just no way we're …

Marines, Afghans Disarmed Before Panetta Appearance  —  In a sign of possible frayed nerves in the military, U.S. Marines were asked to lay down their weapons today before entering a tent where Defense Secretary Leon Panetta was scheduled to speak.  —  It happened in Helmand province …

How much do voters know?  —  Voters are appalled at President Barack Obama's handling of gas prices, even though virtually every policy expert in both parties says there's little a president can do to affect the day-to-day price of fuel in a global market.  —  Americans are disgusted …

Thursday is ‘Poolmageddon’ for trial lawyers  —  President Obama's Department of Justice — led by Attorney General Eric Holder — has found a new way to make the Americans with Disabilities Act pay off for Democratic trial lawyer campaign donors.  —  Since the ADA first became law in 1990 …

After 244 Years, Encyclopaedia Britannica Stops the Presses  —  A set of the Encyclopaedia Britannica on the shelves of the New York Public Library.  —  After 244 years, the Encyclopaedia Britannica is going out of print.  —  Those coolly authoritative, gold-lettered reference books …

Romney slams back at Obama on gas prices (UPDATED)  —  Reid Epstein reports: … UPDATE: Romney didn't spell out what he was referring to in his comments.  But Reid points to this story as the likely source.

Romney Leads GOP Contest, Trails in Matchup with Obama  —  Gas Prices Offset Good News about Jobs  —  OVERVIEW  —  Mitt Romney has retaken a significant lead nationally in the race for the Republican presidential nomination, even as he has fallen further behind Barack Obama in a general election matchup.

Dante's Divine Comedy ‘offensive and should be banned’  —  It is a world-renowned work of literature and one of the foundation stones of the Italian language, but Dante's Divine Comedy has been condemned as racist, homophobic, anti-Islamist and anti-Semitic.

Pundits gasp as economy dents Obama's poll numbers  —  You can almost hear the note of surprise in their voices when you read the Washington Post and New York Times reporters' stories on their papers' latest political polls.  —  Surprise!  Just when they thought that Barack Obama was pulling ahead …

President Obama Gives UK Prime Minister Cameron a Custom-Made 100% Made in America Grill  —  President and First Lady Obama gifted UK Prime Minister and Mrs. Cameron a one-of-a-kind Braten 1000 Series Grill hand made by Engelbrecht Grills and Cookers of Paxton, Ill.

NBC pulls Ron Paul's last embed  —  A couple weeks back I noted that Ron Paul, the lonely delegate hunter, had only one full-time, embedded reporter on his trail: Anthony Terrell of NBC News.  Other reporters have provided some coverage of the candidate, but for the last few weeks Terrell was the only proverbial boy on the bus.

CEO of Texas Planned Parenthood Arrested for Indecent Exposure  —  Thank Papers for Not Running the Pro-Abortion Doonesbury Comic  —  The following newspapers have chosen not to publish a week-long comic strip from Doonesbury that promotes abortion, compares ultrasounds to rapes …

Obama's approval rating up to 50 percent: Reuters/Ipsos poll  —  (Reuters) - For the first time since early July, more Americans approve of the job President Barack Obama is doing than disapprove, according to a new Reuters/Ipsos poll that shows his approval rating now at 50 percent.