NBC Wags Dog For Bill Clinton, Who Let Osama Escape  —  Media: NBC's presentation of “Rock Center with Brian Williams” last Wednesday night demonstrated that MSNBC's Chris Matthews isn't the only one who feels tingles up his leg when he talks with or about President Obama.

The dangerous new Obama book  —  Months before Barack Obama knew Mitt Romney would be his political opponent in 2012, the president knew the identity of his foremost literary challenger: Pulitzer Prize-winning historian David Maraniss, who had been reaching out to Obama's old friends, classmates and lovers for the past several years.

China Says Dissident Can Apply to Leave for Study Abroad  —  BEIJING — China's Foreign Ministry said on Friday that the dissident Chen Guangcheng can apply to study outside China in the same manner as other Chinese citizens, signaling a possible breakthrough in a diplomatic crisis …

Klein: Obama is winning the general election  —  The general election unofficially began nearly a month ago, and so far President Obama is winning.  —  This has nothing to do with poll numbers.  Sure, Obama enjoys a statistically insignificant 3.7 percent edge over presumptive Republican nominee Mitt Romney …

OBAMA PRAISES NAZI SUPPORTER IN JEWISH HERITAGE MONTH PROCLAMATION  —  President Barack Obama issued a proclamation yesterday in celebration of Jewish Heritage Month that lauded Nazi supporter Gertrude Stein, the Algemeiner reports.  —  Stein, who was Jewish, supported the puppet Vichy regime …

‘Julia’  —  Alas, Team Obama has omitted a few milestones from the life of Julia:  —  4 months: Julia's mother decides that giving birth will be hard on her figure.  She kills Julia.  Under Barack Obama, her right to do so is absolutely nonnegotiable.  —  10 years: Trapped in a failing …

Romney Speaks Out On Grenell Resignation: We Don't Select People Based On ‘Their Sexual Preference’  —  Mitt Romney spoke out about the resignation of ex-foreign policy adviser Richard Grenell during an appearance on Fox News this morning.  In doing so, the former Massachusetts governor failed …

People Not In Labor Force Soar By 522,000, Labor Force Participation Rate Lowest Since 1981  —  it is just getting sad now.  In April the number of people not in the labor force rose by a whopping 522,000 from 87,897,000 to  —  88,419,000.  This is the highest on record.

Employers in U.S. Added Fewer Jobs Than Forecast in April  —  Employers in the U.S. added fewer workers than forecast in April and the jobless rate unexpectedly declined as people left the labor force, underscoring concern the world's largest economy may be losing speed.

Plutocracy, Paralysis, Perplexity  —  Before the Great Recession, I would sometimes give public lectures in which I would talk about rising inequality, making the point that the concentration of income at the top had reached levels not seen since 1929.  Often, someone in the audience …

Secondary Boycotts and the Breakdown of Civil Society  —  Activist groups of various political stripes are increasingly urging boycotts of companies not because of the companies' own behavior, but because of the behavior or speech of those the companies patronize or support.

Noonan: The Case for Dick Lugar  —  Washington needs seasoned statesmen, especially at a time of national crisis.  —  Let's wade into an argument, and on what may well be the losing side.  —  The most recent polls suggest Dick Lugar, the senior U.S. senator from Indiana, first elected in 1976 …

The question we should be asking Elizabeth Warren.  —  I said it buried in a long post yesterday, but I want to highlight this, because there are so many angles to this story, and I'm afraid this one is being overlooked: … Don't you support affirmative action in hiring (as well as in law school admissions)?

DEA agents apologize for forgetting college student in cell for four days  —  The Drug Enforcement Administration extended an apology to a University of California engineering student who was locked in a holding cell for more than four days and forgotten about.

Gilbert mass shooting: Horror in wake of vigilante's final act  —  Militia leader J.T. Ready kills 4, then self in Gilbert, sources say  —  For several years, Arizona vigilante J.T. Ready conducted armed, civilian patrols along the U.S. border, urging the use of violence to prevent smuggling and illegal immigration.