Shiite Militias Cling to Swaths of Basra and Stage Raids  —  BAGHDAD — Shiite militias in Basra openly controlled wide swaths of the city on Saturday and staged increasingly bold raids on Iraqi government forces sent in five days ago to wrest control from the gunmen, witnesses said …

Philly Mayor: Obama Pastor Talk Beyond Pale  —  Mayor Michael Nutter Tells ABC News He Would Have Quit Church if His Pastor Made Such Remarks  —  Sen. Hillary Clinton's most prominent African-American supporter in Pennsylvania says that had he been a member of Sen. Barack Obama's church …

Disloyalty That Merits An Insult  —  Last Friday the New York Times asked me to comment on New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson's endorsement of Sen. Barack Obama for president.  For 15 years, Richardson served with no small measure of distinction as the representative of New Mexico's 3rd Congressional District.

Clinton Vows To Stay in Race To Convention  —  She Stresses Finding Solution On Michigan, Florida Votes  —  In her most definitive comments to date on the subject, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton sought Saturday to put to rest any notion that she will drop out of the presidential race …

Liberal bloggers declare war in Philly over media, McCain  —  The primary battle between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama seems far from over (no matter what the numbers say), the war in Iraq just marked its grim 5th anniversary with renewed bloodshed, and a host of issues from domestic spying …

Gallup Daily: Obama Still on Top, 50% to 43%  —  McCain beats Clinton in fall ballot, but is in a statistical tie with Obama  —  RINCETON, NJ — For the second consecutive Gallup Poll Daily tracking report, Barack Obama holds a statistically significant lead over Hillary Clinton …

BOR Exclusive: TX Presidential Primary Convention Results  —  TIP JAR - If you've enjoyed our coverage, please donate to TexBlog PAC and support our efforts across Texas!  —  The following is the reporting of the entire BOR staff.  —  How to Submit Convention Results to Burnt Orange Report

Neither McCain nor Obama  —  “So what are you thinking about November?” my friend asked me on the walk to Chipotle today.  —  “Well, Obama's going to be the Democratic nominee, and I can't see voting for him,” I said.  “He's just too liberal on abortion and other issues that mean a lot to me.

Obama's Latest Ad  —  I have never entirely understood the urge to specially tax so-called “windfall profits.”  And I'm not sure that I believe that the Senator has the best plan to achieve energy independence.  Still, it's a pretty good commercial, and should appeal to a lot of voters, including a lot of centrists.

‘21’ Holds Winning Hand At Box Office; ‘Superhero’ Is Superflop; ‘Stop-Loss’ DOA  —  SATURDAY AM: Friday's domestic gross showed that Hollywood can't boost the slumping box office this spring break even though 30% of students are out of school.  No. 1 is Sony Pictures's based-on-a-true-story 21 …

Why Blog?  Reason No. 92: Book Deal  —  THIS is how it happens.  —  A guy starts a clever blog in January and calls it Stuff White People Like.  The site contains a list of cultural totems, including gifted children, marathons and writers' workshops, that a certain type of moneyed and liberal American might be expected to like.

“Stop these abortions.”  —  Out in western Pennsylvania, the issue of abortion can strike a nerve.  Democrats there often describe themselves economic liberals and social conservatives who favor gun rights and oppose abortion rights.  —  So, it was not unusual to see a woman stand near …