EXCLUSIVE: First photos of Colombia escort in explosive Secret Service hooker scandal  —  24-year-old single mom is known as Dania, she says agent offered $30 for $800 service  —  CARTAGENA, COLOMBIA - The Daily News can reveal the first photo of the 24-year-old Colombian call girl whose encounter …

Obama has small lead; Christie would help Romney  —  PPP's newest national poll finds Barack Obama leading Mitt Romney 49-46.  A similar poll in February found Obama leading 49-42.  Obama's not losing support but Romney is consolidating it as it becomes more and more clear that he will be the Republican nominee for President.

Pelosi: Amend the First Amendment  —  (CNSNews.com) - House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi on Thursday endorsed a movement announced by other congressional Democrats on Wednesday to ratify an amendment to the U.S. Constitution that would allow Congress to regulate political speech when it is engaged …

Ted Nugent booted from Fort Knox concert line up  —  Fort Knox  —  The artist lineup for the Fort Knox annual summer concert scheduled for June 23 no longer includes right-wing rocker Ted Nugent.  —  Co-headliners REO Speedwagon and Styx remain scheduled to perform.

CAMPAIGN AGAINST JON STEWART BEGINS  —  Catholic League president Bill Donohue comments as follows:  —  Jon Stewart refused to apologize last night for the unprecedented assault on Christian sensibilities he launched on April 16.  In that episode, “The Daily Show” featured a naked woman …

Brian Schweitzer: Mitt Romney's ‘Family Came From a Polygamy Commune in Mexico’  —  Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer says Mitt Romney's roots in Mexico will hurt him with female voters.  —  The Daily Beast contacted the office of Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer today to talk about whether his state …

The Questionable Prosecution of  —  John Edwards  —  John Edwards, the Dorian Gray of the Democratic party, is one of the most loathsome characters in American politics, corrupt himself and a source of corruption in others, a preening, moralizing fraud who went so far as to have a staffer claim paternity …

Levon Helm, Drummer in the Band, Dies at 71  —  Levon Helm, who helped forge a deep-rooted American music as the drummer and singer for the Band, died on Thursday in Manhattan.  He was 71 and lived in Woodstock, N.Y.  —  His death was announced by a spokeswoman for Vanguard Records, for which he had recorded several albums.

Romney's Cookie Comment Bites Back  —  In a campaign stop Tuesday outside Pittsburgh, Mitt Romney made what many locals considered a tasteless remark about cookies from a local landmark bakery. … Mr. Romney, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, met with four couples …

York:Obama faces defeat on pipeline as Dems defect  —  U.S. President Barack Obama speaks at the southern site of the Keystone XL pipeline on March 22, 2012 in Cushing, Oklahoma.  (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)  —  While much of the political world obsesses over Twitter fights and Seamus the dog …

Worker injured during sex gets compensation payout  —  A WOMAN who was injured while having sex in her hotel room during a work trip is entitled to compensation.  —  In the Federal Court today Justice John Nicholas ruled that the woman was injured during her “course of employment”.

Crossroads groups raise $100M  —  American Crossroads, the pro-Republican super PAC co-founded by Karl Rove, and its nonprofit affiliate Crossroads GPS, will announce $100 million raised for both so far through the 2012 cycle, officials told POLITICO.  —  The cash haul runs through all of 2011 …

Lorain officials question use of gypsum plant as Romney backdrop  —  WASHINGTON, D.C. - Nearly four years after National Gypsum shuttered its drywall plant in Lorain, Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney will reuse the facility on Henderson Drive as a backdrop for his message …

Rubio's Vice Presidential Freudian Slip  —  The Florida senator says he will say no if anyone asks, but demonstrates the job's on his mind.  —  Florida Sen. Marco Rubio said Wednesday that “I don't want to be the vice president right now, or maybe ever.  I really want to do a good job in the Senate.”

Bachmann's “Tar Baby”  —  Ah, Michelle Bachmann, we've missed you!  The fiery wingnut from Minnesota has not been much in the public spotlight since her presidential campaign crashed and burned, and she has given way to multiple members of the Class of 2010 as a symbol of extremism in the U.S. House.

Cantor Suggests Anti-Semitism Is A Problem Within The House GOP Caucus  —  A few weeks ago, the House GOP was up in arms over House Majority Leader Eric Cantor's (R-VA) $25,000 donation to anti-incumbent candidate Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL), who ultimately defeated his opponent, incumbent Rep. Don Manzullo (R-IL).

Pollster's Phone Call Saves NYC Woman's Life  —  Bobby Berlin was going into diabetic shock when she answered the call from Marist pollsters  —  When pollsters call, people usually don't want to answer — but for one Upper West Side woman, the call from Marist College pollsters helped save her life.

If It's Sunday, It's Meet The Republican White Men  —  An exhaustive new study by media watchdog Fairness & Accuracy in Reporting shows that the Sunday morning talk shows have been dominated over the last eight months by white, Republican men.  —  Between June 2011 and February of this year …

What Newt Gingrich Lost by Running for President  —  His almost certainly failed campaign for the Republican nomination leaves his stature diminished — and his empire in shambles.  —  LANCASTER, Penn.  — Newt Gingrich has gotten noticeably fatter over the course of his campaign.