TRENDING: Bill Clinton, predicting Obama win, calls Romney's business career ‘sterling’  —  (CNN) - Former President Bill Clinton, a stalwart backer of President Barack Obama who's already helped the incumbent Democrat raise funds for his re-election bid, said Thursday that Mitt Romney had a …

Recall Election Could Foretell November Vote  —  WAUKESHA, Wis. — If this was ever an election just about Wisconsin, it is far more than that now.  —  With more than $30 million raised from conservative donors, many of them from other states, and visits from a who's who of high-profile Republican governors …

John Edwards acquitted on one count as jury deadlocks on five others and judge declares mistrial  —  GREENSBORO, N.C. — Johnny Reid Edwards, a honey-voiced North Carolina lawyer who parlayed his boyish good looks and inspiring personal history as the son of a mill-worker into a meteoric political rise …

TPMMuckraker  —  Justice Department Demands Florida Stop Purging Voter Rolls  —  The Justice Department sent a letter to Florida Secretary of State Ken Detzner Thursday evening demanding the state cease purging its voting rolls because the process it is using has not been cleared under the Voting Rights Act, TPM has learned.

Producer of Obama Video on Fox News Loses CNN Job Offer  —  The Fox News producer behind a provocative four-minute anti-Obama video that aired Wednesday and caused the network considerable embarrassment has found his career on ice.  —  The producer, Chris White, had been offered a job by CNN before the video was broadcast.

Five Points About Politico's Hatchet Job On NYT and WaPo  —  Here's the piece, published this morning.  The upshot: The political coverage of The New York Times and The Washington Post is “blatantly biased” in their vetting of Romney versus Obama.  (Guess which way they supposedly lean.)

Woman Who Couldn'T Be Intimidated By Citigroup Wins $31 Million  —  Citigroup Whistle-Blower Wins $31 Mln Settlement  —  Sherry Hunt never expected to be a senior manager at a Wall Street bank.  She was a country girl, raised in rural Michigan by a dad who taught her to fish and a mom who showed her how to find wild mushrooms.

House rejects bill penalizing doctors for sex-selective abortions  —  The House on Thursday rejected a Republican bill that would impose fines and prison terms on doctors who perform abortions for the sole purpose of controlling the gender of the child, a practice known as sex-selective abortion.

Morgan State Univ. Student Charged With 1st-Degree Murder In Cannibalism Case  —  JOPPATOWNE, Md. (WJZ)— A chilling story unfolds in Harford County where family members find the chopped up body parts of a missing man.  And now, the suspect admits to committing acts of cannibalism on that body.

CNN's Ashleigh Banfield: Pedophilia, Incest Often ‘Not By Choice,’ But Being Gay Is ‘A Lifestyle Choice’  —  On Thursday morning, Early Start co-anchor Ashleigh Banfield felt compelled to weigh in on a story involving New Hope Baptist Church's Pastor Curtis Knapp, who made headlines for saying …

Presidential Polling in June: Flip a Coin Instead?  —  “I know nothing except the fact of my ignorance.”  — Socrates  —  With all of the polls, models and history at their disposal, political analysts should be able to figure out who is going to win a November presidential election by June, right?

Asian-Americans, Affirmative Action, and Fisher v. Texas  —  The Chronicle of Higher Education reports that several Asian-American groups have filed an amicus brief opposing the University of Texas' affirmative action program, which is being challenged in Fisher v. Texas, an important affirmative action case before the Supreme Court:

Turner's Kent ‘Very Unhappy’ With Ratings Dive at CNN  —  Backs Cooper, Morgan, Burnett, but other shows may be replaced  —  Turner Broadcasting CEO Phil Kent admitted to being “very unhappy” with CNN's primetime ratings, but said it won't resort to tricks to increase viewership.

Wal-Mart ending membership in conservative group  —  (Reuters) - Wal-Mart Stores Inc, the world's No. 1 retailer and the biggest seller of firearms in the United States, is dropping out of a U.S. conservative advocacy group that has been a lightning rod over voting and gun laws.

Kaiser Health Tracking Poll — May 2012  —  The May Health Tracking Poll focuses on the public's perceptions and reactions to women's reproductive health reemerging as a heated issue in policy debates and news and its potential impact on the upcoming presidential election.

Video: Famous Chicago political organizer ... outorganized?  ; Update: Romney holds surprise presser of his own outside Solyndra  —  “Clearly, not what they expected, not what they planned.”  —  This sums up perfectly the first month of the general election campaign.

Runoff Draws Big Money and Heated Words  —  Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst stood at a lectern at the Intercontinental Hotel in Houston after Tuesday night's primary and spoke to supporters as if he had scored a victory.  —  Though he had indeed drawn more votes than his eight opponents …