The curious resignation of Richard Grenell  —  The political world is buzzing over the sudden resignation of Richard Grenell, the former spokesman for John Bolton at the UN who had signed on to serve as foreign policy spokesman for Mitt Romney's presidential campaign.  Grenell was scheduled to begin work Tuesday, May 1.

Berean Baptist pastor disavows advice to punch gay kids as a joke  —  A Fayetteville pastor says he was joking when he told parents in a sermon Sunday to hit children who show signs of being gay.  —  Sean Harris, pastor of Berean Baptist Church on Glensford Drive, said he does …

USA TODAY interview: Gingrich ready to support Romney  —  WASHINGTON - Former House speaker Newt Gingrich, on the eve of suspending his roller coaster presidential bid, said in an interview with USA TODAY that he will embrace Mitt Romney's candidacy Wednesday and is ready to campaign for his former rival.

Becoming Obama  —  When Barack Obama met Genevieve Cook in 1983 at a Christmas party in New York's East Village, it was the start of his most serious romance yet.  But as the 22-year-old Columbia grad began to shape his future, he was also struggling with his identity: American or international?

New York Post Mocks Obama's Afghanistan Trip  —  Two schools of thought: Obama is at risk of being seen as politicizing national security.  Or, any day spent talking about Osama Bin Laden, and not the economy, is a good one.

Washington Post Rebuts Obama's Malicious Lie  —  Barack Obama never lets truth get in the way of political advantage.  Nothing new about that; mendacity has been a consistent theme of his 3 1/2 years in office.  But it seems that more media outlets are willing to call the president on his falsehoods these days.

A beating at Church and Brambleton  —  The Virginian-Pilot  —  Wave after wave of young men surged forward to take turns punching and kicking their victim.  —  The victim's friend, a young woman, tried to pull him back into his car.  Attackers came after her, pulling her hair …

Man abandoned in DEA cell steps forward  —  He screamed.  He kicked madly at the door.  He cried like a baby.  Then, locked inside a five-by-10-foot windowless cell and seemingly forgotten, the hallucinations crept in.  —  Daniel Chong said nothing made sense.

A better case for Keystone XL  —  THE CASE FOR ultimately approving the Keystone XL pipeline — always strong — has grown stronger.  —  A key environmentalist argument against Keystone XL has been that the project would encourage the extraction of bitumen, a particularly dirty oil-like substance, from the “oil sands” in Alberta.

Private-sector hiring slows in April  —  (Reuters) - Companies hired a far fewer than expected 119,000 people in April, the smallest gain in seven months and adding to concerns that the economy has lost some of its momentum.  —  The ADP National Employment Report released …

Presidential Proclamation — Loyalty Day, 2012  —  BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA  —  More than two centuries ago, our Founders laid out a charter that assured the rule of law and the rights of man.  Through times of tranquility and the throes of change …

Blind Chinese Dissident Leaves U.S. Embassy for Medical Treatment  —  BEIJING — Chen Guangcheng, the blind Chinese dissident who fled house arrest last month in a dramatic escape from security forces, left the American Embassy in Beijing on Wednesday after securing assurances from the Chinese government …

New Lawyers in New York to Be Required to Do Some Work Free  —  Starting next year, New York will become the first state to require lawyers to perform unpaid work before being licensed to practice, the state's chief judge announced on Tuesday, describing the rule as a way to help the growing number …

“Occupy” Movement Was Infiltrated By FBI Informant In Cleveland Bridge Bombing Probe  —  Buster  —  The federal probe that resulted last night in the arrest of five purported anarchists for allegedly plotting to bomb an Ohio bridge began last year at an Occupy Wall Street rally in Cleveland …