BELTWAY CONFIDENTIAL  —  White House: Libya fight is not war, it's ‘kinetic military action’  —  In the last few days, Obama administration officials have frequently faced the question: Is the fighting in Libya a war?  From military officers to White House spokesmen up to the president himself …

CNN Exclusive: Bachmann to form exploratory committee in June, possibly earlier  —  Washington (CNN) - CNN has exclusively learned that Rep. Michele Bachmann will form a presidential exploratory committee.  The Minnesota Republican plans to file papers for the committee in early June, with an announcement likely around that same time.

Dear Reuters, You Must Be Kidding  —  This is from a Reuters story on the Jerusalem bombing earlier today: … Those Israelis and their crazy terms!  I mean, referring to a fatal bombing of civilians as a “terrorist attack”?  Who are they kidding?  Everyone knows that a fatal bombing …

'I'm through whining about a liberal press,' says Sarah Palin  —  Sarah Palin insists she's done complaining about the liberal media.  —  Speaking to Greta Van Susteren on Fox News Wednesday night, the former Alaska governor shrugged off what she contends is a double standard in the way conservative women are treated.

Romney Aims for Fund-Raising Edge  —  Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney has quietly launched a 15-city push to secure financial commitments from big-money “bundlers,” hoping to reveal a fund-raising network that would establish him as the prohibitive frontrunner for the Republican nomination for president.

Rep. Weiner sinks meat hooks into health-care law's attackers  —  Democrats would be better off if more of them acted like Weiners.  —  As the first anniversary of the health-care law approached this week, many Democratic lawmakers went to ground, leaving unanswered Republican accusations …

Egypt Air removes Israel from map  —  Jordan stretches to sea in online map by Egypt's largest airline, though it continues to fly to Israel  —  Egypt Air, the largest airline in Egypt, has removed Israel from the map - literally.  On its website, Ynet has learned, Jordan's land reaches the Mediterranean Sea.

Liberal Bias at NPR?  —  Surveys show that millions of conservatives choose NPR, even with powerful conservative alternatives on the radio.  —  On the day NPR chief executive Vivian Schiller lost her job, I was reporting from Egypt.  That evening, I had dinner with employees from NPR's Cairo bureau.

Ohio Voters Divided On Second Term For Obama, Quinnipiac University Poll Finds; But Voters Like Him More Than Gov. Kasich  —  Ohio voters are split 45 - 46 percent on whether President Barack Obama deserves a second term, but they favor him over an unnamed Republican 2012 challenger 41 …

Buried Provision In House GOP Bill Would Cut Off Food Stamps To Entire Families If One Member Strikes  —  All around the country, right-wing legislators are asking middle class Americans to pay for budget deficits caused mainly by a recession caused by Wall Street; they are attacking workers …

My position on Libya  —  It is deeply troubling that there is so much confusion, lack of foresight, and little resolve coming from the President and his administration about what our mission and goals must be in the Libya engagement.  —  On March 3rd, President Obama said publicly that “it's time for Gadaffi to go.”

Unsustainable budget threatens nation  —  Repeated battles over the 2011 budget are taking attention from a more dire problem—the long-run budget deficit.  —  Divided government is no excuse for inaction.  The bipartisan National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform …

Durbin is wrong about Muslim rights  —  In the wake of Rep. Peter King's largely toothless hearings on the radicalization of American Muslims, Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin is now scheduling Senate hearings on “Muslim rights.”  According to the Washington Times, Durbin claims that …

New Problems at Japanese Plant Subdue Optimism  —  The Japanese electricians who bravely strung wires this week to all six reactor buildings at a stricken nuclear power plant succeeded despite waves of heat and blasts of radioactive steam.  —  The restoration of electricity at the plant …

Business groups press Treasury to shift on corporate tax holiday  —  A coalition of American-based corporations calling for a tax holiday on overseas profits say the Obama administration is looking at the issue from the wrong perspective.  —  The question, they say, is not whether …

Rebel Insider Concedes Weaknesses in Libya  —  BENGHAZI, Libya — After the uprising, the rebels stumbled as they tried to organize.  They did a poor job of defining themselves when Libyans and the outside world tried to figure out what they stood for.  And now, as they try to defeat …

Worldwide Approval of U.S. Leadership Tops Major Powers  —  U.S. also remains top desired destination for potential migrants  —  WASHINGTON, D.C. — The United States continues to achieve higher global approval ratings than China, Russia, Japan, France, the United Kingdom, and Germany.

Discord Among Allies  —  Many people were taken aback when France emerged as one of the most pugnacious advocates of military action in Libya, especially Americans who were accustomed to French criticism over Iraq and French foot-dragging over Afghanistan.  Without President Nicolas Sarkozy's early …

Rights Are Curtailed for Terror Suspects  —  New rules allow investigators to hold domestic-terror suspects longer than others without giving them a Miranda warning, significantly expanding exceptions to the instructions that have governed the handling of criminal suspects for more than four decades.