Colombian Escort Speaks About Secret Service Scandal  —  CARTAGENA, Colombia — A Secret Service agent preparing for President Obama's arrival at an international summit meeting and a single mother from Colombia who makes a living as a high-priced escort faced off in a room at the Hotel Caribe …

Bam Bites Dog  —  The political perils of personal attacks.  —  One time Barack Obama went to an Indian restaurant and ordered the lassi.  Was he ever disappointed when the waiter brought him a yogurt drink!  —  We'll be here all week.  But seriously, folks, we have a man-bites-dog story for you today.

U.S. troops posed with body parts of Afghan bombers  —  An American soldier says he released the photos to the Los Angeles Times to draw attention to the safety risk of a breakdown in leadership and discipline.  The Army has started a criminal investigation.

Whistleblower Alleges Top U.S. Official Got Blowjob On Roof Of Baghdad Embassy  —  State Department gadfly Peter Van Buren drops a bombshell on his blog.  He claims there's a sex tape.  —  A Foreign Service Officer who once posed for Playboy, according to State Departement official and blogger Peter Van Buren.

Gulf seafood deformities alarm scientists  —  Eyeless shrimp and fish with lesions are becoming common, with BP oil pollution believed to be the likely cause.  —  New Orleans, LA - “The fishermen have never seen anything like this,” Dr Jim Cowan told Al Jazeera.

The most amazing Supreme Court chart.  Maybe ever.  —  While browsing around the Pew polling site this morning — and, yes, we do a fair amount of that — we came across a chart on the Supreme Court that reminded us, for the billionth time, that assuming the average person follows …

What's with Obama?  His Falklands gaffe angers Brits, puzzles others  —  OK, picture this: President George W. Bush, he of the cast-iron Texas tongue, at a news conference concluding an international summit.  —  He's asked about a dispute involving Argentina and Great Britain …

Phony Mommy Wars  —  Ann Romney is a good mom.  —  She's also a good pol.  —  And though her people skills are far superior to Mitt's, it turns out that Ann is just as capable as her husband of turning an advantage into a disadvantage.  —  After the liberal strategist Hilary Rosen …

Catholic League Promises To “Mobilize” Religious Groups Against Jon Stewart  —  A bit about a “vagina manger” offends.  “We will not stop with a boycott,” the League's president writes.  —  A segment of The Daily Show skewering the media fervor over the “war on women” that recommended that women use …

TV and music pioneer Dick Clark dies at age 82  —  Dick Clark, the creator of “American Bandstand” and “Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve,” died Wednesday morning.  —  He was 82.  —  Clark suffered a massive heart attack after entering St. John's Hospital in Santa Monica on Tuesday night …

Studies Question the Pairing of Food Deserts and Obesity  —  It has become an article of faith among some policy makers and advocates, including Michelle Obama, that poor urban neighborhoods are food deserts, bereft of fresh fruits and vegetables.  —  But two new studies have found something unexpected.

Ken Lester named new judge in Zimmerman murder case  —  The 15-year judge has experience in high-profile cases.  —  SANFORD - The new judge in the George Zimmerman murder case will be Circuit Judge Kenneth Lester Jr., who's been on the bench 15 years.  —  The case passed to him today, but not before things got a bit complicated.

Perdue asks Democratic Party chairman David Parker to resign  —  David Parker, NC Democratic Party Chairman, Tuesday, Feb. 14, 2012.  —  Democrats |  Democratic Party |  NC |  North Carolina |  scandal |  controversy |  Jay Parmley |  resignation |  Council of State |  Janet Cowell |

Less Will Happen In The Lame Duck Than You Think  —  As my column from today's Roll Call explains, if you've been thinking that everything will be settled in the lame duck session of Congress that's ahead, think again...and again...and again.  Would you believe that nothing will be settled?

Phyllis Schlafly: Let's Destroy The Word Feminism Just Like We Did Liberal!  —  My gratitude to the stalwarts at Right Wing Watch for watching nearly two hours of Phyllis Schlafly's seminar earlier this month at The Citadel.  She had some interesting things to say about feminism.

Scott Brown taps evil empire  —  Yankees prez pitches in $2,500 to re-election  —  U.S. Sen. Scott Brown may be rooting for the Red Sox [team stats] against the Yankees this week, but the head of the hated Pinstripes is going to bat for Brown.  —  Randy Levine, president of the New York Yankees …

Obama in Ohio: Some in GOP forget how America was built  —  (AP) ELYRIA, Ohio - President Barack Obama said Wednesday that his Republican rivals are sincere, patriotic and absolutely wrong about how to reinvigorate the economy.  He said they “don't seem to remember how America was built.”

Reid cites seniors' love of junk mail to argue for passage of postal reform bill  —  Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) cited seniors' love of junk mail in urging passage of a United States Postal Service reform bill.  —  In his opening speech on Wednesday, Reid called on the Senate …

In Facebook Deal, Board Was All But Out of Picture  —  On the morning of Sunday, April 8, Facebook Inc.'s youthful chief executive, Mark Zuckerberg, alerted his board of directors that he intended to buy Instagram, the hot photo-sharing service.  —  It was the first the board heard of what …

Cecile Richards  —  Planned Parenthood's Cecile Richards, 54, is a role model for all of us as she leads women in pursuit of unfettered access to health care and reproductive freedom.  She is also my advocate and that of every woman in America, as I learned firsthand when I was publicly disparaged …

No Savings Are Found From Welfare Drug Tests  —  MIAMI — Ushered in amid promises that it would save taxpayers money and deter drug users, a Florida law requiring drug tests for people who seek welfare benefits resulted in no direct savings, snared few drug users and had no effect on the number …

Democrats Gaining in Battleground and Ryan Budget Could Finish the Job  —  Last month, virtually all House Republicans voted for Paul Ryan's latest budget plan ("The Path to Prosperity")—and according to the latest battleground survey by Greenberg Quinlan Rosner for Democracy Corps and Women's Voices.