Current TV Dismisses Keith Olbermann  —  5:13 p.m. |  Updated Current TV said Friday afternoon that it had terminated the contract of its lead anchor, Keith Olbermann, scarcely a year after he was hired to reboot the fledgling channel in his progressive political image.

EPA Backpedals on Fracking Contamination  —  Texas Water-Pollution Suit Dropped; Third Recent Setback on Drilling for Agency  —  The Environmental Protection Agency has dropped its claim that an energy company contaminated drinking water in Texas, the third time in recent months that the agency …

Federal court strikes down parts of collective bargaining law  —  MORE (2)  —  A federal judge on Friday upheld most of Gov. Scott Walker's controversial collective bargaining law, but struck down key parts of it by ruling that the state cannot prevent public employee unions …

A Health Law at Risk Gives Insurers Pause  —  As the Supreme Court considers the constitutionality of the federal health care law, one option that had seemed unthinkable to its designers and supporters now seems at least possible: that the court could strike down the entire law.

Mega Millions: Why I threw away common sense and bought a ticket  —  We played.  —  My husband and I decided to do a financially unwise thing and take a chance at winning the $640 million dollar Mega Millions lottery.  It's not a smart use of even a dollar because the odds of winning are, well, astronomical — 1 in 176 million.

This Creepy App Isn't Just Stalking Women Without Their Knowledge, It's A Wake-Up Call About Facebook Privacy [Update]  —  This app is meant to all be in good fun, but it's potentially a weapon in the hands of stalkers.  —  “Boy, you sure have a lot of apps on your phone.”  —  “Well, it's my job.”

IRS not investigating Nikki Haley for tax fraud  —  South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley's office Friday provided IRS documentation that she is not facing investigation for tax fraud, calling accusations that she was “totally contrived.”  —  Haley denied the rumors of a looming tax indictment on Thursday.

Sina, Tencent Shut Down Commenting on Microblogs  —  BEIJING—China mounted a broad Internet crackdown beginning Friday, putting temporary restrictions on popular microblogging services run by Sina Corp. and Tencent Holdings Ltd. and detaining individuals that it accused of spreading rumors of a coup attempt in Beijing.

Orwell and March Madness  —  If you've been watching the N.C.A.A. men's basketball championship — a k a March Madness — you've undoubtedly seen the commercial.  It's an N.C.A.A. ad that shows college athletes pumping iron, running sprints and playing games.

Obama Campus Fervor Losing to Apathy as Students Sour on 2012  —  On election night 2008, freshman Meagan Cassidy left Lake Forest College and hopped a train to Chicago to celebrate Barack Obama's impending victory.  —  “There was probably no better place to be,” Cassidy said in a phone interview.

Obama: Buffett Rule tax hike will ‘make this country a little fairer’  —  President Obama urged lawmakers to “make this country a little fairer” and pass legislation that would raise taxes on those making more than $1 million annually.  —  “Congress is going to vote on what's called the Buffett Rule …

Romney campaign: Release all transcripts of all meetings with foreign leaders  —  Via National Journal, the Mitt Romney campaign ratchets up the transparency game in a novel direction, in response to a call for Romney to release decades' worth of tax returns: