White House in damage control over Obama Supreme Court remarks  —  (Reuters) - The White House was forced on the defensive on Wednesday as it sought to explain controversial remarks President Barack Obama made earlier in the week about the Supreme Court's review of his signature healthcare reform law.

Romney takes the lead in Pennsylvania  —  Mitt Romney's taken the lead in PPP's newest poll of Rick Santorum's home state of Pennsylvania.  Romney has 42% to 37% for Santorum with Ron Paul at 9% and Newt Gingrich at 6%.  The numbers represent a dramatic turnaround from when PPP polled the state a month ago.

Coke caves in face of Democratic boycott threat  —  Brian Smalls casts his vote at a polling station Tuesday in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)  —  Democratic officials Wednesday launched a two-pronged attack on states with new laws requiring identification before voting …

Bay State not buying ‘war on women’  —  Political analysts shocked by Republican Scott Brown's 2010 victory to replace Ted Kennedy as Massachusetts senator should brace themselves.  This year's contest between Sen. Brown and Democratic candidate Elizabeth Warren remains a key battleground …

Student removed from contest for pro-gay remark  —  Fullerton Union High School student says he hopes gay marriage will be legal and is removed from Mr. Fullerton competition.  —  Text: Next Article »  —  / THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER  —  FULLERTON - Students …

GOP version of Dream Act holds promise  —  Young Latino protesters hold placards outside Mitt Romney' s Nevada campaign headquarters in Las Vegas in February  —  Editor's note: Ruben Navarrette Jr. is a CNN.com contributor and a nationally syndicated columnist

Waukesha County clerk needs to step down  —  Upcoming elections - from the gubernatorial recall to the presidential - are too important to leave in the hands of Kathy Nickolaus.  —  Imagine this: It's 9 p.m. on June 5, recall election day, and the polls have been closed for an hour.

The Exploitation of Trayvon Martin  —  The absurdity of Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton is that they want to make a movement out of an anomaly.  Black teenagers today are afraid of other black teenagers, not whites.  —  Two tragedies are apparent in the Trayvon Martin case.

CIA Committed ‘War Crimes,’ Bush Official Says  —  A top adviser to former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice warned the Bush administration that its use of “cruel, inhuman or degrading” interrogation techniques like waterboarding were “a felony war crime.”

Lawrence O'Donnell, Bigot  —  I am announcing the creation of a new award, which I will call the Golden Ass, to be presented to those who resort to anti-Mormon bigotry in their campaign against Mitt Romney.  Today's Golden Ass is Lawrence O'Donnell, an asinus aureus if ever there was one, an ass of exceptional asininity.

Rocket fired from Egypt hits Israeli city of Eilat  —  A Grad rocket has landed in the southern Israeli city of Eilat, but has caused no damage or injuries, Israeli security officials said.  —  District police chief Ron Gertner told Israeli radio the rocket had been fired from Egypt's Sinai peninsula.

Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, 4 others charged in 9/11 attack  —  (CNN) — The United States on Wednesday announced charges against Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, accused of orchestrating the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, and four others accused of involvement in the plot.

Exclusive: Scott Walker on Recall: “God's Got A Plan”  —  In an exclusive interview with The Brody File, Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker says prayer has gotten him and his family through this recall effort and that God has it all under control.  “All this is just a temporary thing and God's got a plan for us,” Walker tells us.

Ryan, Architect of G.O.P. Budget, in Election Focus for Romney Ties  —  WASHINGTON — With Mitt Romney on a steady march to the Republican presidential nomination after a sweep of three primaries, both he and President Obama are seizing on the Republican House budget, and its ambitious young architect …

Appeals Court Hears Arguments on Gay Marriage Law  —  BOSTON — A federal appeals court panel heard arguments Wednesday on whether to uphold a lower court's finding that a section of the 1996 law banning federal recognition of same-sex marriage is unconstitutional.

Christie Gives New Jersey Firms Tax Breaks for Short Moves  —  Panasonic received $102.4 million in tax credits to move its headquarters nine miles within New Jersey.  Goya Foods picked up $81.9 million in credits to build offices and a warehouse in Jersey City, two miles from its current complex.

Hate fueled weekend beating says elderly man  —  Police don't see it a hate crime after interviews  —  TOLEDO, Ohio (WUPW) - Saturday afternoon around 4:45 p.m., 78-year-old Dallas Watts was walking home from the gas station at the corner of Starr and White in East Toledo.

Rep. Steve King Proposes A Don't Ask, Don't Tell Approach To Gays In The Workplace  —  LE MARS, Iowa — To Rep. Steve King (R-IA), the problem is not that it's legal for employers to fire an employee for being gay.  It's that the employee made his sexual orientation publicly known in the first place.