Scientists Project Path of Radiation Plume  —  A United Nations forecast of the possible movement of the radioactive plume coming from crippled Japanese reactors shows it churning across the Pacific and touching the Aleutian Islands on Thursday before hitting Southern California late Friday.

Two Charged in Tea Party Election Fraud  —  Men were officials in Oakland Co. Democratic Party  —  PONTIAC, Mich. (WJBK) - Two former leaders of the Oakland County Democratic Party are facing a total of nine felonies for allegedly forging election paperwork to get fake Tea Party candidates on November's ballot.

Why I am an amoral, family-hating monster...and Newt Gingrich isn't  —  Today is my wedding anniversary.  I've been married to the same woman for 31 years, without ever straying.  Newt Gingrich has been married 3 times, divorced one wife while she was recovering from surgery, and has had extra-marital affairs.

Trump Would Spend $600 Million On Presidential Bid  —  “I don't like the crying,” he said of Boehner.  “I do not like it.  I don't understand it.  I really like him as a person.  I think the crying is an emotional thing that frankly, probably makes him a very nice man.

Libya: US urges tough United Nations resolution  —  Pro-Gaddafi forces have been gaining ground eastwards along the coast  —  The US has said the UN should consider more than just a no-fly zone over Libya, amid Security Council division on a draft resolution.

Mitt's backers: ‘RomneyCare’ overblown  —  Mitt Romney's supporters on Capitol Hill are giving him political cover for the healthcare plan he signed into law as governor, even as his competitors for the GOP presidential nomination ramp up their attacks on “RomneyCare.”

Rep. David Wu crashed car in Northwest Portland last year, says he fell asleep  —  U.S. Rep. David Wu crashed his vehicle into a parked car in Northwest Portland last year, but passed a police field sobriety test and the incident never showed up in a police report.  —  No one was injured after the Feb. 19, 2010 incident.

The Limits of Common Sense  —  Why toleration of outrageous speech is necessary for political freedom.  —  Our Monday column on union thuggery prompts this response from reader John Benjamin: … Let's begin by rehearsing the Leiter statement in question.

Republican lawmaker blames 11-year-old victim of alleged gang rape  —  Elected officials should know better than to blame the victim of a sex crime.  —  While it's a common tactic of abusers, it's something no one expected of Republican Florida state Rep. Kathleen Passidomo.

Washington Post apologizes for plagiarized articles  —  The Washington Post apologized Wednesday for publishing two articles in March that “contained substantial material that was borrowed and duplicated, without attribution, from The Arizona Republic newspaper.”

Conservatives: We Are Being Outworked And Out-Organized In Wisconsin Recall Campaigns … WASHINGTON — Both national and Wisconsin-based Republican operatives tell the Huffington Post the party is being dramatically outworked and out-organized by Democrats in the recall campaigns being launched against state Senators.

Palin to make first visit to Israel this weekend  —  Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R) will make a two-day visit to Israel this weekend, according to multiple media reports Thursday.  —  During her visit, the potential 2012 presidential candidate will meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyhau …

Clinton says no to second term  —  (CNN) - Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told CNN's Wolf Blitzer she does not want to serve a second term as secretary of state or run for president of the United States.  —  Blitzer sat down with the former 2008 presidential candidate in Cairo.  —  Full transcript:

IDF, settlers save Arab baby  —  Saving life after massacre: IDF troops, paramedics save life of Palestinian woman giving birth in settlement where Fogel relatives sitting Shiva.  Soldier: It felt amazing to hold girl in my arms, know we did something good  —  Latest Update:

To Balance a Budget: As Easy as Cutting Waste, Fraud and Abuse?  —  Sen. Blumenthal: Entitlements Should be Reformed Without Touching Social Security or Medicare benefits  —  Senator Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., says when it comes to balancing the budget, you better not touch Social Security.

Obama in campaign mode: ‘Delivered on change that we can believe in’  —  President Obama boldly proclaimed Wednesday that he had fulfilled his most daring but abstract 2008 campaign pledge: “Change we can believe in.”  —  Obama told a gathering of top donors and Democratic officials that …

Long Pause for Japanese Industry Raises Concerns About Supply Chain  —  TOKYO — Japan's vaunted “just in time” approach to business has become “wait and see.”  —  Much of Japan's industry seemed to remain in a state of suspension Wednesday, as the devastation from an earthquake and tsunami …

Lawmakers Find a Path Around an Earmarks Ban  —  Representative Timothy H. Bishop of eastern Long Island reached out to a top colonel in the Army Corps of Engineers a few weeks ago seeking help on something that might have slipped under the radar: dredging Lake Montauk.

Tax Plan Aims for 25% Cap  —  Republican Ways and Means Chief Also Would End or Trim Popular Deductions  —  The chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee wants to cut the top U.S. tax rate to 25% for individuals and corporations, and cut or eliminate many popular deductions.

Joy Behar: 'I'm Sure People In Concentration Camps Made Jokes About Each Other and The Nazis'  —  Joy Behar on Wednesday made a staggeringly stupid comment on “The View” that is so inane it requires no additional setup.  —  “I'm sure people in concentration camps made jokes about each other, about the Nazis, about their situation.

Harlem Is Losing a Piece of Clinton  —  When Bill Clinton officially began his post-presidency in Harlem in 2001, he was greeted with open arms — thousands of them.  At a plaza near his new office, at 55 West 125th Street, a crowd of 2,000 residents and civic leaders gathered on a hot July afternoon …

Evan Bayh: Dudley Do-Right does well  —  To listen to him tell it, Evan Bayh didn't leave the Senate; the Senate left him.  —  He announced his retirement last year in a speech condemning the capital's bitterly partisan culture.  He took to the pages of The New York Times to bemoan the corrosive role of money in politics.

Wasserman Shultz: GOP's Anti-Abortion Bill Is ‘Nothing Short Of A Tax Increase’ On Women And Small Businesses  —  House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) has insisted that Republicans “do not want to raise taxes on anyone” because the American people demanded: “stop tax hikes.”

GOP leaders, mainline caucus fume at conservative ‘no’ votes on three-week CR  —  GOP leaders and much of the mainline party caucus that voted for a three-week continuing resolution Tuesday are fuming at the 54 conservative Republicans who voted no — and the right-wing activists who cheered them on.

Is AOL Skirting Worker-Protection Law With Mass Layoff?  —  Last week, as you might already know, AOL laid off over 200 U.S.-based employees, the vast majority of them from its Manhattan-based media operation.  But that's not the full tally of those who will lose their jobs as a result …

Gov. Bobby Jindal launches first campaign TV ad  —  Gov. Bobby Jindal doesn't have a declared opponent for this fall, but starting Thursday he will begin making his case for re-election in a TV ad that will run in media markets around the state.  —  The ad, a transcript of which was released …