Obama Hits 50% In Florida, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Quinnipiac University/CBS News/New York Times Swing State Poll Finds  —  Word format Crosstabs by State  —  Watch Video: Assistant Director Tim Malloy discusses poll results  —  Clip Information and Download:  —  FLV File - Download For Website (1920x1080 / 125MB)

Five Things Everyone Should Know About GOP Senate Candidate Ted Cruz  —  Ted Cruz will protect this golf course from the United Nations and George Soros  —  Today, Texas Republican primary voters selected Ted Cruz as their candidate to replace retiring U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX).

Prolific, Elegant, Acerbic Writer  —  Gore Vidal, the elegant, acerbic all-around man of letters who presided with a certain relish over what he declared to be the end of American civilization, died on Tuesday at his home in the Hollywood Hills section of Los Angeles, where he moved in 2003, after years of living in Ravello, Italy.

Culture Does Matter  —  During my recent trip to Israel, I had suggested that the choices a society makes about its culture play a role in creating prosperity, and that the significant disparity between Israeli and Palestinian living standards was powerfully influenced by it.

On the Distributional Effects of Base-Broadening Income Tax Reform  —  This paper examines the tradeoffs among three competing goals that are inherent in a revenue-neutral income tax reform—maintaining tax revenues, ensuring a progressive tax system, and lowering marginal tax rates.

Badminton Players Disqualified for Throwing Matches  —  LONDON — Badminton officials took the extraordinary step of tossing out four pairs of women — two from South Korea and one each from China and Indonesia — for deliberately trying to lose their preliminary matches Tuesday night …

The Palin Effect  —  Sarah Palin may have done wonders for Tina Fey, MSNBC's ratings and the reality-television industry in general, but she's made this year's Republican veepstakes vastly less interesting to handicap.  The fear of repeating a Palin-style choice, a gamble that worked out badly …

Why Not in Vegas?  —  I'll make this quick.  I have one question and one observation about Mitt Romney's visit to Israel.  The question is this: Since the whole trip was not about learning anything but about how to satisfy the political whims of the right-wing, super pro-Bibi Netanyahu …

Win Olympic Gold, Pay the IRS  —  U.S. Olympic medal winners will owe up to $9,000 to the IRS.  —  WASHINGTON, D.C. — While 529 hardworking athletes proudly represent the United States in the 2012 Olympics, any medals and money they earn wearing red, white and blue will be taxed by the IRS.

Rep. King Goes Birther: Suggests Obama's Parents Telegrammed Fake Hawaii Birth Announcement From Kenya  —  Try as they may, Republicans just can't seem to kick their birther habit.  —  The latest GOPer to dabble in the ridiculous fantasy that President Obama wasn't actually born in the United States: Rep. Steve King (R-IA).

W.H. declines to address off-site meetings  —  MANSFIELD, Ohio — President Obama's campaign manager regularly used his personal email account while working in the White House but was diligent in copying his official email address to preserve records of the emails, Press Secretary Jay Carney said Wednesday.

Obama Supporters Barraged With Pleas for Cash  —  Each plea for money from President Obama and his allies has become more urgent and desperate than the last.  —  His campaign's chief operating officer said on Monday that “we've gotten our behinds handed to us.”

Harry Reid: Bain Investor Told Me That Mitt Romney 'Didn't Pay Any Taxes For 10 Years' … REACT:  —  FOLLOW:  —  Elections 2012, Harry Reid , Mitt Romney, Elections 2012, Video, Mitt Romney Taxes, Harry Reid Mitt Romney, Harry Reid Romney Taxes, Mitt Romney 2012, Reid Romney …

EXCLUSIVE VIDEO: Boris stuck on zip wire  —  Boris Johnson was left hanging today when he got stuck halfway down a zip wire at an event in Victoria Park.  —  The Mayor of London had to be pulled the rest of the way by teams on the ground at around 13:30 this afternoon.

Sarah Palin: It's a ‘shame’ about Dick Cheney  —  Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin said Tuesday that it's a “shame” former Vice President Dick Cheney considers her vice presidential selection a misfire, but she might be joining Cheney in skipping the Republican National Convention.

Burn Down the Suburbs?  —  President Obama is not a fan of America's suburbs.  Indeed, he intends to abolish them.  With suburban voters set to be the swing constituency of the 2012 election, the administration's plans for this segment of the electorate deserve scrutiny.

The Churchill Bust & Charles Krauthammer  —  Yesterday following his column, I sent the following email to Charles Krauthammer.  Charles asked that I make the email public and I have agreed.