John Edwards is First Name Uncovered in ‘Millionaire Madam’ Investigation … MANHATTAN — A call girl working for alleged “Millionaire Madam” Anna Gristina told investigators she was paid to have sex with former U.S. Sen. John Edwards when he was in New York raising money for his failed presidential bid, DNAinfo has learned.

Health law could hinge on wheat, pot and broccoli  —  The survival of President Barack Obama's signature health care law may come down to wheat, pot, guns — and a nagging question about broccoli.  —  Strange as it may seem, those diverse topics are apt to surface repeatedly during next week's arguments …

Please Stop Apologizing  —  THIS week, Robert De Niro made a joke about first ladies, and Newt Gingrich said it was “inexcusable and the president should apologize for him.”  Of course, if something is “inexcusable,” an apology doesn't make any difference, but then again, neither does Newt Gingrich.

French Slaying Suspect Dead After Police Raid Hideout  —  TOULOUSE, France —A 23-year-old Frenchman who claimed responsibility for the killings of four men and three children died on Thursday after jumping from a balcony as security forces stormed the apartment where had been holed up for more than 30 hours …

Karl Rove: Bin Laden killing was no biggie  —  Keep an eye on this one, too, because it will also be central to GOP efforts to rewrite the history of the Obama presidency.  —  In his big Wall Street Journal Op ed piece today atttacking Obama's campaign documentary and minimizing the magnitude …

Jeb Bush Endorses Romney; Aide Makes ‘Etch A Sketch’ Gaffe  —  WASHINGTON — Mitt Romney sought to use the coveted endorsement of Jeb Bush on Wednesday to amplify his call for Republicans to rally behind his candidacy and get on with the mission of ousting President Obama.

When Romney Liked High Gas Prices  —  As he campaigns for president, Mitt Romney is ratcheting up his attacks on Barack Obama over high gas prices, putting the issue at the center of his economic message.  He is calling for Obama to fire his Energy secretary, EPA administrator …

Va. middle-schoolers assigned opposition research on GOP candidates  —  A Virginia middle school teacher recently forced his students to support President Barack Obama's re-election campaign by conducting opposition research in class against the Republican presidential candidates.

How Paul Ryan sold his budget plan  —  The Paul Ryan budget was a political disaster last year for Republicans.  This year the GOP had a much more methodical, careful rollout.  —  The party polled on Medicare in 50 battleground districts.  It vetted the plan with a dozen conservative groups.

Obama's Keystone XL Visit A Potemkin Village Photo-Op  —  Politics: The president stages a photo-op in Oklahoma to take credit for the portion of the Keystone XL pipeline that doesn't need his approval and for oil production on private and state lands beyond his jurisdiction.

Why Politicians Can't Give Honest Answers About Military Service  —  I'd love to hear, just once in my life, a presidential candidate give a blunt and honest account of why he hasn't served.  —  In The New Republic, Alec MacGillis says one reason Mitt Romney has trouble connecting with Southern voters …

The inexorable march of creative destruction  —  Retreat need not mean surrender.  Still . . .  —  In 1886, a shipment of $25 watches from a Chicago jeweler was rejected by the addressee in Redwood Falls, Minn. The jeweler offered to sell the undeliverable goods for $12 apiece …

Goldman conducts company-wide email review: sources  —  (Reuters) - Goldman Sachs Group Inc has begun scanning internal emails for the term “muppet” and other evidence that employees referred to clients in derogatory ways, Chief Executive Lloyd Blankfein told partners in a conference call this week …

Sandra Fluke Says She Didn't Know Target Sells Birth Control Pills for $9  —  (CNSNews.com) - Thirty-year-old Georgetown Law student Sandra Fluke, who told a House Steering and Policy Committee hearing convened by House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi last month that contraception can cost …

City Council Warns ‘Crack Ho’ Comments ‘Intolerable’, Calls For Diversity In Talk Radio  —  LOS ANGELES (CBS) — City Council members were one step closer on Wednesday to becoming the first in the nation to adopt a resolution condemning certain types of speech on public airwaves.

Mitt Romney In 2002: I Have A Different View Than Most Republicans  —  Republican Presidential Mitt Romney has come under fire recently for statements an advisor made saying the former Governor could “reset” his positions in the fall “almost like an Etch A Sketch.  It stung because of Romney's journey from right to left and back.

Joe Biden in 2016?  Not so crazy  —  For the past couple of years, Vice President Joe Biden has quietly assembled an A-team of advisers who would, without doubt, be considered the nucleus of a presidential campaign — if only he wouldn't be 73 in 2016.  —  Biden's age would snuff the last embers …

Opponents Of Florida's 2005 ‘Stand Your Ground’ Law Predicted ‘Racially Motivated Killings’  —  SANFORD, FL — Nearly one month after shooting and killing Trayvon Martin, George Zimmerman remains a free man.  The Sanford Police maintain that Zimmerman's conduct was legally justified under …

Exclusive interview with Dharun Ravi: 'I'm very sorry about Tyler'  —  PLAINSBORO — Dharun Ravi's face is drawn and thin.  The stress of the last year and a half has wrung him out.  His eyes are perpetually sad, not the eyes of a very bright 20-year-old young man who should have a promising future.

Louisiana GOP: Santorum 43%, Romney 31%, Gingrich 16%, Paul 5%  —  Former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum is comfortably ahead in Louisiana with that state's Republican Primary just two days away.  —  A new Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of Likely GOP Primary Voters in Louisiana finds Santorum …

Senate Republicans propose interstate concealed-weapon bill  —  Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) and 28 other Senate Republicans on Tuesday introduced a bill that would allow people authorized to carry concealed weapons in their home state to do the same in other states that allow concealed carry, without requiring a federal permit.

New Hampshire gay marriage repeal fails  —  (Reuters) - New Hampshire lawmakers easily defeated a bill on Wednesday that would have been the first step toward reversing the state's law that allows same-sex couples to marry.  —  The attempt to repeal a law that made gay marriages legal in the state …