NBC polls: Obama edges Romney in three key battleground states  —  President Barack Obama holds a narrow advantage over presumptive Republican nominee Mitt Romney in three of the most pivotal presidential battleground states — Florida, Ohio and Virginia — according to new NBC-Marist polls.

Has recall election made Scott Walker a GOP hero?  —  Democrats leapt at the chance to use Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker to send a message to all the budget-cutting, union-busting conservatives across the land: If you mess with Big Labor, there's a heavy price to pay.  —  But if you shoot at the king, you'd better not miss.

'Those of us who've spent time in the real world ...'  —  The Obama campaign has tried in a number of ways to define Mitt Romney as a guy who's out of touch with the reality most Americans experience, and at a campaign event in Denver last night the president trotted out this Mitt-just-doesn't-get-it line:

Bill Clinton — SURROUNDED By Porn Stars in Monaco  —  SURROUNDED  —  By Porn Stars  —  EXCLUSIVE  —  Bill Clinton just out-Clinton'd himself — posing with two famous porn stars in Monaco moments ago ... and one of them's a real up-and-comer.  —  Clinton's in a Monte Carlo casino right …

Two Dem recruits back away from Obama  —  National Democrats are upbeat about former North Dakota Attorney General Heidi Heitkamp's prospects as a Senate candidate.  And on the House level, Dems are optimistic that former Gabrielle Giffords aide Ron Barber will keep Giffords's open seat in Democratic hands.

Cory Booker got it right  —  The attacks on Newark, N.J., Mayor Cory Booker (D) by the more vitriolic liberal commentators for what he said about Bain Capital on this past Sunday's “Meet the Press” are just as indefensible as the Republican Party's cynical and dishonest attempt to exploit …

Man implicated himself in Etan Patz disappearance: Commissioner Kelly  —  A man is in custody for the 1979 disappearance of Etan Patz, NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly confirmed this morning.  —  Kelly issued a release stating that the man made statements to NYPD detectives implicating himself in the boy's disappearance.

Elizabeth Warren pulls even with Scott Brown in new poll  —  Elizabeth Warren, emerging from what many consider the roughest patch yet in her Senate campaign, has pulled into a virtual tie with US Senator Scott Brown, according to a new Suffolk University/7News poll.

Rachel Maddow fails the Carney test  —  Last night, MSNBC's Rachel Maddow attributed statements to Mitt Romney that he did not make.  —  In a segment pegged, ironically, to White House criticism of the Washington press corps, Maddow attempted to rise to the White House's challenge by calling …

Poll: Majority of black Marylanders back same-sex marriage  — Email this to a friend?  — Share this on Google+  —  Marylanders for Marriage Equality.  (Blade photo by Michael Key)  —  A new poll indicates that a majority of black Marylanders would vote for the state's same-sex marriage law in the likely November referendum.

Unabomber sends Harvard class update  —  Ted Kaczynski — the domestic terrorist known as the Unabomber, who is serving life in prison for sending deadly mail bombs — will not be able to attend his 50th class reunion at Harvard College.  But he did contribute a bizarre entry to the alumni report for the class of 1962.

Democrats stiffen spine on sequester  —  Power in Washington these days is most defined by saying “no,” which helps explain why Speaker John Boehner felt compelled last week — in the middle of May — to bring up a wintry debt ceiling fight more than six months away.

Real federal deficit dwarfs official tally  —  The typical American household would have paid nearly all of its income in taxes last year to balance the budget if the government used standard accounting rules to compute the deficit, a USA TODAY analysis finds.

On Health Care, Romney Goes Retro  —  Editor's Note: After looking at the economic platform of Mitt Romney's presidential campaign, this installment of our series on his policy plans examines the details of his health care agenda.  —  The gist: Repeal the Affordable Care Act …

Bill Clinton's glamorous fundraiser called “worst party ever” by angry guests  —  An exclusive event hosted by Bill Clinton and attended by a host of celebrity friends has been criticised after guests who paid up to £1,000 for tickets were left queuing outside for hours.

Romney defends class size stance to teachers  —  (CNN) - Mitt Romney, who is spending this week promoting a plan for America's public school system, spent Thursday morning defending his stance that smaller class sizes don't necessarily equate with better learning in schools.

Dem fundraiser honors 25th anniversary of Rep. Barney Frank's coming out  —  House Democrats will hold a fundraiser next week honoring the 25th anniversary of Rep. Barney's Frank (D-Mass.) coming out of the closet.  —  House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Democratic Congressional …

Santorum endorses Ted Cruz in Texas Senate race  —  Texas Senate candidate Ted Cruz on Thursday gained yet another high-profile endorsement, this time from Rick Santorum.  —  “Ted Cruz is spellbinding, a tremendous orator and principled,” Santorum said on Glenn Beck's radio show Thursday morning, according to Santorum's staff.