Mark Sanford: Stephen Colbert Isn't On The Ticket  —  Former South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford (R), fresh off a GOP primary runoff victory in the campaign for an open House seat in the state, said on Wednesday that the only thing voters know about his opponent, Elizabeth Colbert Busch …

Proposal would allow state religion in North Carolina  —  A bill filed by Republican lawmakers would allow the state to declare an official religion, in violation of the Establishment Clause of the US Bill of Rights, and seeks to nullify any federal ruling against Christian prayer by public bodies in North Carolina.

Same-Sex Marriage Makes David Brooks Crazy  —  This morning's David Brooks column on same-sex marriage was one of the weirdest, most mean-spirited things I've ever seen in The New York Times.  —  Entitled “Freedom Loses One,” the article is a sarcastic broadside against . . . well …

Obama administration pushes banks to make home loans to people with weaker credit  —  The Obama administration is engaged in a broad push to make more home loans available to people with weaker credit, an effort that officials say will help power the economic recovery but that skeptics …

‘Illegal immigrant’ no more  —  The AP Stylebook today is making some changes in how we describe people living in a country illegally.  —  Senior Vice President and Executive Editor Kathleen Carroll explains the thinking behind the decision:  —  The Stylebook no longer sanctions the term …

Bill O'Reilly Blows Up At Laura Ingraham In Epic Segment Over His ‘Thump The Bible’ Comments  —  Bill O'Reilly tonight responded to criticisms from the right over his commentary last week that gay marriage opponents need to do more than just “thump the Bible” if they want to win the argument.

Conspiracy Theory Poll Results  —  On our national poll this week we took the opportunity to poll 20 widespread and/or infamous conspiracy theories.  Many of these theories are well known to the public, others perhaps to just the darker corners of the internet.  Here's what we found:

I Never Wanted to Take Your Guns Away  —  I disagree wholeheartedly with those who say that there are just too many guns out there to control and that more gun laws won't make a difference.  Change must start someplace.  I'm pretty sure that no worthwhile endeavor has ever been accomplished without …

Video shows Mike Rice's ire  —  NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. — In several dozen hours of video of Rutgers men's basketball practices obtained by “Outside the Lines,” coach Mike Rice is seen hurling basketballs from close range at his players' heads, legs and feet; shoving and grabbing his players …

Two Dominican maids complain about FBI's questions regarding Sen. Robert Menendez  —  Two maids allege that FBI agents from Miami tried to brow-beat them into making incriminating statements against U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez, during questioning about alleged sex parties at the Dominican Republic resort home …

The Great British class calculator  —  Traditional British social divisions of upper, middle and working class seem out of date in the 21st Century, no longer reflecting modern occupations or lifestyles.  —  The BBC teamed up with sociologists from leading universities to analyse the modern British class system.

Obama, Both Bushes, Clinton and Carter, the 'World's Most Exclusive Club,' to Reunite  —  President George W. Bush invited the entire Presidents Club membership to lunch at the White House to meet Obama before his Inauguration in January 2009  —  On April 25, President Barack Obama …

Michelle Obama interviewer: How does it feel to have a husband who is a sex symbol? … During an interview with Michelle Obama, the host of Entertainment Tonight asked her how she felt having a husband who was a “sex symbol” similar to former Presidents JFK and Bill Clinton.

Brian Brown: ‘Ours Is Actually a Libertarian Argument’ To Ban Gay Marriage  —  Like Rep. Louie Gohmert, Brian Brown of the National Organization for Marriage also participated in pastor Rick Scarborough's Tea Party Unity conference calls back in March, where he made the “libertarian” argument against legalizing same-sex marriage.

Prosecutor Cited Security As Reason For Withdrawing From Aryan Brotherhood Of Texas Case  —  Assistant U.S. Attorney Jay Hileman, who has withdrawn from a large federal racketeering case against alleged members of the Aryan Brotherhood of Texas prison gang, cited “security reasons” …

‘Bring it on, Boris!’  Pippa Middleton's Spectator diary  —  I thought the Haute Route was going to be easier than the Engadin, the cross-country ski marathon I recently completed in St Moritz.  I was very wrong.  It was sold to me as an 180km ski-touring trek from Chamonix to Zermatt.

Mary Schapiro and Lanny Breuer Give Us the Ultimate Dog-Bites-Man Story  —  They failed to prosecute a single Wall Streeter over the 2008 disaster.  Now it's home to mama.  —  As head of the Securities and Exchange Commission for the past four years, Mary Schapiro failed to win …

Ben Carson To Levin: White Liberals Are ‘The Most Racist People,’ They Don't Want Me To Leave ‘Plantation’  —  On his radio show last night, Mark Levin had on newfound conservative “hero” Dr. Ben Carson to discuss all the lashings he's received from the “left-wing media” over his views on gay marriage and religion.

Poll finds tight race for 2016 GOP nomination  —  A new poll looking ahead to the 2016 GOP presidential race shows a tight contest, with no clear frontrunner for the Republican nomination.  —  The national poll from Quinnipiac University released on Wednesday shows that GOP voters …

Karen Finney named new MSNBC weekend host  —  MSNBC has tapped Karen Finney as the host for a new afternoon program airing weekends from 4-5 p.m.  —  Finney, who served as the first African-American spokeswoman for the Democratic National Committee, has been an MSNBC political analyst and guest host on the network since 2009.