Apple's Tim Cook, tech execs meet with Barack Obama to talk surveillance  —  President Barack Obama hosted Apple CEO Tim Cook, AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson, Google computer scientist Vint Cerf and other tech executives and civil liberties leaders on Thursday for a closed-door meeting about government surveillance, sources tell POLITICO.

Rand Paul on Republicans' Voter Appeal and the Federal Reserve  —  How seriously are you thinking about the White House?  —  At this point we're thinking about ways to grow the Republican Party and won't make any decision about whether that involves me running or not for about a year.

Weiner mocks reporter, scolds staff as cameras roll at campaign event  —  “I just have a feeling I like stepped into a Monty Python bit,” Anthony Weiner said as a British journalist questioned him about his campaign to become New York City mayor.  He then offered to present an impromptu weather forecast.

The Bourne Hypocrisy: Matt Damon's Peculiar School Choice  —  The movie star's explanation for sending his four daughters to private school is disingenuous.  —  Oscar winner Matt Damon has earned millions successfully playing a super spy, tortured genius, rugby icon, and poker player.

Silent Circle Preemptively Shuts Down Encrypted Email Service To Prevent NSA Spying  —  “We knew USG would come after us”.  That's why Silent Circle CEO Michael Janke tells TechCrunch his company shut down its Silent Mail encrypted email service.  It hadn't been told to provide data to the government …

NSA loophole allows warrantless search for US citizens' emails and phone calls  —  Exclusive: Spy agency has secret backdoor permission to search databases for individual Americans' communications  —  The National Security Agency has a secret backdoor into its vast databases under …

How Dumb Is Immigration Debate?  This Dumb.  —  Everything you know about immigration, particularly unauthorized immigration, is wrong.  —  So says Princeton University's Doug Massey, anyway.  Massey is one of the nation's preeminent immigration scholars.

Fox News Poll: Majority calls implementation of ObamaCare ‘a joke’  —  Majorities of Americans think the new health care law is going to increase their medical costs and their taxes — and add to the federal deficit as well.  Those are some of the reasons why voters say — by a two-to-one margin …

Harry Reid: Conference would lead to ‘win’  —  Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) declared Friday that the Senate's immigration bill would “win” if the two chambers ever went into bicameral negotiations to pass a comprehensive reform bill.  —  During an interview on KNPR …

Boxer Sends Open Letter to San Diego Mayor Bob Filner  —  Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) today sent an open letter to San Diego Mayor Bob Filner.  The text of the letter follows:  —  Dear Bob,  —  We've known each other for a long time, and have worked together …

EXCLUSIVE: Alec Baldwin Set To Host New MSNBC Primetime Show (UPDATED)  —  Mediaite has learned from a senior source in the cable news industry with knowledge of MSNBC's programming that actor Alec Baldwin is getting his own weekly show in MSNBC's primetime lineup.

Scott Brown's Younger Brother Arrested Heavily Armed, Impersonating Police … Bruce Brown, the brother of former senator Scott Brown, is shown in this NECN.com video.  —  NECN.com  —  Bruce W. Brown, the younger brother of former Mass. Senator Scott Brown, was arrested last night heavily armed …

TOP 10 QUESTIONS JOURNALISTS WON'T ASK PRESIDENT OBAMA AT PRESS CONFERENCE  —  President Barack Obama rarely makes himself available to the mainstream media.  They adore him anyway.  At rare press conferences, such as the one scheduled for noon Friday at the White House …

‘Muslims peaked in the Dark Ages.  But since then?’:  Richard Dawkins embroiled in Twitter row over controversial comments  — The author of The God Delusion tweeted that the world's Muslims had won fewer Nobel Prizes than Trinity College, Cambridge  — His comments sparked anger among …

Candy Crowley on Clinton documentary: ‘Life more difficult’  —  In the wake of news that NBC plans a four-part drama about the life of Hillary Clinton and that CNN has commissioned a documentary on her, both television networks have had to deflect criticism that these are designed to bolster a potential Clinton presidential run.

Durbin's enemies list  —  Rather than accusing political enemies of flouting federal law, Sen. Dick Durbin is suggesting that he may publicly expose them to public outrage over the killing of Trayvon Martin. … “It is absolutely unacceptable to single out any political group — right …

EXCLUSIVE: Oklahoma Congressman Comes Out As A Birther  —  AFTON, Oklahoma — Although Freshman Rep. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) believes President Obama may secretly be a Kenyan who forged his birth certificate, he thinks it's too late to do anything about it.  —  During a town hall meeting …

Phony Fear Factor  —  We live in a golden age of economic debunkery; fallacious doctrines have been dropping like flies.  No, monetary expansion needn't cause hyperinflation.  No, budget deficits in a depressed economy don't cause soaring interest rates.  No, slashing spending doesn't create jobs.