Sister of Alleged Romney Target Has ‘No Knowledge’ of Any Bullying Incident  —  The older sister of Mitt Romney's former high school classmate said she has no knowledge of any bullying incident involving her brother and the GOP presidential candidate.  —  Christine Lauber of South Bend …

Bill blockbuster: O's an ‘amateur’  —  Bill Clinton thought so little of President Obama — mocking him as an “amateur” — that he pressed his wife last summer to quit her job as secretary of state and challenge him in the primaries, a new book claims,  —  “The country needs you!” …

JP Morgan: When basis trades blow up  —  I'm not sure if it was the biggest quarterly loss of all time, but Merrill Lynch's $16 billion loss in the fourth quarter of 2008 certainly ranks very high up there in the annals of investment-bank blowups.  It happened after the bank had already …

Biden Said to Apologize to Obama Over Gay Marriage Issue  —  WASHINGTON — A few hours before President Obama offered his historic endorsement of same-sex marriage on Wednesday, Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. apologized to the president in the Oval Office for forcing Mr. Obama's hand …

Obama talks gay rights at Clooney fundraiser  —  * Guest list includes Salma Hayek, Tobey Maguire, Jack Black  —  * Dave Matthews performs at one of two Seattle fundraisers (adds quotes from Obama)  —  President Barack Obama called his endorsement of same-sex marriage a “logical extension” …

House votes to replace Pentagon cuts mandated by debt deal  —  The House voted Thursday to override steep cuts to the Pentagon's budget mandated by last summer's debt deal and replace them with spending reductions to food stamps and other mandatory social programs.

Easy Useless Economics  —  A few days ago, I read an authoritative-sounding paper in The American Economic Review, one of the leading journals in the field, arguing at length that the nation's high unemployment rate had deep structural roots and wasn't amenable to any quick solution.

Rebekah Brooks at the Leveson inquiry - live coverage  —  • May have discussed hacking story with Met's John Yates  —  • News Corp lobbyist's email says Hunt asked him for advice  —  • Brooks discussed News Corp bid over dinner with Osborne  —  • Discussed hacking allegations with Cameron in 2009-11

Will Time's Breastfeeding Cover Be Bad For Business?  —  Time's new cover.  Click to expand.  —  It's safe to say the folks at Time magazine weren't caught unawares by the controversy already boiling up around their latest cover, which features an attractive 26-year-old mother breastfeeding her almost-four-year-old son.

Clooney, Entertainment Industry VIPs Fête Obama at Record-Breaking Fundraiser  —  The president cracked Hope poster jokes on the actor's Studio City basketball court as guests ranging from Barbra Streisand to Robert Downey Jr. dined at $40k a seat.  —  Whether your notion of celebrity runs …

Records shed more light on Elizabeth Warren's minority status  —  A second law school, the University of Pennsylvania, has touted Elizabeth Warren as a minority faculty member in an official school publication, according to an online document obtained by the Globe.

Why Obama Flipped  —  Victory has a thousand fathers, but defeat has two mommies.  —  Last night brought an email from Barack Obama with the subject line “Marriage.”  It began: “James—Today, I was asked a direct question and gave a direct answer.”  What drove Obama to do something so wildly out of character?

Jonah Goldberg's desperation  —  The National Review hack is a unique figure: Striving for seriousness, but too lazy to achieve it … Jonah Goldberg is a syndicated columnist, author of books and National Review Online editor because his mother nearly took down Bill Clinton.

Bachmann: Swiss miss no more  —  Michele Bachmann no longer wants to be a Swiss miss.  —  The Minnesota congresswoman asked the Swiss government Thursday to withdraw her citizenship, saying she wanted to make it clear that she was a proud U.S. citizen.  —  “Today I sent a letter …

Ten Most Disturbing Anti-Latino Practices Described By DOJ's Lawsuit Against Sheriff Joe Arpaio  —  Earlier today, the Department of Justice filed a formal legal complaint against Sheriff Joe Arpaio and the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office (MCSO) alleging widespread constitutional violations and lawless mistreatment of Latinos.