Man Claims Role in Disappearance of Etan Patz, Police Say  —  New York authorities are investigating the claims of a man who has told investigators that he had a role in the 1979 disappearance of Etan Patz, the 6-year-old boy who vanished in SoHo on his way to school and is believed to have been murdered, officials said on Thursday.

NBC polls: Obama edges Romney in three key battleground states  —  President Barack Obama holds a narrow advantage over presumptive Republican nominee Mitt Romney in three of the most pivotal presidential battleground states — Florida, Ohio and Virginia — according to new NBC-Marist polls.

Romney Talks  —  In a 36-minute Wednesday Manhattan interview with Mark Halperin, Romney pushes back on President Obama's Bain attack, predicts he can drive unemployment down to six percent by the end of his first term and says he wants Washington to sit still during the lame-duck session.

Indelible Image of Boy's Pat on Obama's Head  —  WASHINGTON — For decades at the White House, photographs of the president at work and at play have hung throughout the West Wing, and each print soon gives way to a more recent shot.  But one picture of President Obama remains after three years.

FAKE EXPLICIT IMAGE OF S.E. CUPP REPORTEDLY APPEARS IN HUSTLER (GRAPHIC)  —  The Blaze has been alerted to a fake explicit image apparently published in Hustler magazine depicting GBTV host and conservative commentator S.E. Cupp engaged in a sex act with what appears to be a penis in her mouth.

Paul Fussell, Literary Scholar and Critic, Is Dead at 88  —  Paul Fussell, the wide-ranging, stingingly opinionated literary scholar and cultural critic whose admiration for Samuel Johnson, Kingsley Amis and the Boy Scout Handbook was balanced against his withering scorn for the romanticization of war …

White Resentment, Obama, and Appalachia  —  Steve Kornacki tries to do the math on Obama's unpopularity throughout Appalachia: … I think that “Chalking this up up only to race” is a strawman, and its one that I often see writers invoke when talking about white resentment and Obama.

‘He Has No F-king Soul’  —  Today there is a massive Memeorandum aggregation about convicted terrorist Brett Kimberlin, including one on an article by my filmmaker buddy Ladd Ehlinger Jr.:  —  What Did Barbara Streisand Know ...  And When Did She Know It?

Colin Powell endorses gay marriage  —  Former Secretary of State Colin Powell supports same-sex marriage — and he doesn't necessarily believe the issue should be left up to states.  —  “I have no problems with it,” Powell, who served under George W. Bush, says in an interview with CNN's Wolf Blitzer …

Wasserman Schultz On Verge of Being Cancelled at Temple Israel  —  The blowback from Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz' political tactics that the Shark Tank first reported on last week has resulted in a unprecedented public outcry and political pressure being brought to bear on the Trustees …

MSNBC Primetime Makes Zero Mentions Of Trayvon Martin Case After Pro-Zimmerman Evidence Surfaces  —  In March and April, MSNBC's primetime hosts ran with nearly wall-to-wall coverage of the killing of Florida teen Trayvon Martin.  They regularly suggested that the lack of national interest in the case was worthy of outrage.

Europe Girds for Greek Exit  —  Leaders Plot Contingencies as They Find Little Compromise; Euro at 2-Year Low  —  BRUSSELS—European officials are stepping up contingency planning for a possible Greek exit from the euro zone, even as Europe's leaders struggled to overcome differences …

Pelosi Letter to Boehner: Allow House to Vote Now on Permanent Extension of Middle Income Tax Cuts  —  Washington, D.C. - Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi today called on Speaker Boehner to bring a permanent extension of the middle income tax cuts to the House floor immediately and use …

With his eye on 2013 majority, McConnell lets Boehner lead  —  Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has let House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) take the lead in recent political slugfests with President Obama and congressional Democrats.  —  The strategy has saved his Senate conference …

New Orleans Paper Said to Face Deep Cuts and May Cut Back Publication  —  The New Orleans Times-Picayune, which distinguished itself amid great adversity during Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath, is about to enact large staff cuts and may cut back its daily print publishing schedule …

Bill Clinton's glamorous fundraiser called “worst party ever” by angry guests  —  An exclusive event hosted by Bill Clinton and attended by a host of celebrity friends has been criticised after guests who paid up to £1,000 for tickets were left queuing outside for hours.

Alan Simpson flips out at Calif. seniors  —  The nice thing about being out of office?  You can say whatever you please.  —  Which is exactly what former Sen. Alan Simpson did in a harsh letter he sent to the California Alliance for Retired Americans and which was obtained by POLITICO:

President Obama Denounces Republican ‘Wild Debts’: I'm Not an Over-Spender  —  COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — At a fundraiser for his re-election campaign in Denver tonight, President Obama set out to upend conventional Republican wisdom that his administration has been defined by excessive government spending.

State, local officials seek audit of MPD crime numbers  —  State and local leaders on Wednesday called for independent audits of the Milwaukee Police Department's crime numbers, citing a Journal Sentinel investigation that found more than 500 cases in which serious assaults were misclassified as lesser offenses.

Welcome End of a Pseudotheory  —  Many opponents of giving equal rights and protections to gay Americans — at the workplace, in the military, in marrying and forming families — make the claim that homosexuality is a chosen way of life.  They have long seized on the work of a towering figure in psychiatry to justify their position.