Schumer: Obama's ‘counter-productive’ Israel policy ‘has to stop’  —  New York Senator Chuck Schumer harshly criticized the Obama Administration's attempts to exert pressure on Israel today, making him the highest-ranking Democrat to object to Obama's policies in such blunt terms.

SEC staffers watched porn as economy crashed  —  WASHINGTON - Senior staffers at the Securities and Exchange Commission spent hours surfing pornographic websites on government-issued computers while they were being paid to police the financial system, an agency watchdog says.

Redactions Revealed: The Six Secrets You Need to Know From the Obama Subpoena Request  —  Former governor Rod Blagojevich's defense team asked Thursday to issue a trial subpoena to the President of the United States of America.  —  The motion, intended to be heavily redacted …

Potential Supreme Court pick Garland could find foes on left  —  Unlike several other possible candidates to succeed retiring Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens, U.S. Court of Appeals Judge Merrick B. Garland probably won't face conservative opposition.  Instead, it could be liberals lining up against him.

VIDEO: Bank Lobbyists Huddle For Another Secret Meeting With GOP Senators  —  Earlier today, President Obama traveled to New York to tell the nation's most influential bankers to call off their “battalions of financial industry lobbyists” and embrace a new regulatory structure meant to avert another economic crisis.

Don't Cry for Wall Street  —  On Thursday, President Obama went to Manhattan, where he urged an audience drawn largely from Wall Street to back financial reform.  “I believe,” he declared, “that these reforms are, in the end, not only in the best interest of our country, but in the best interest of the financial sector.”

Liberty, Tyranny, and the Globe — By: NRO Staff  —  I don't know Jim Manzi, but given his out-of-nowhere rant, you'd think I ran over his dog or something.  Feel free to read my book, and the chapter Manzi distorts and cherry-picks, yourself.  You don't need Manzi to interpret it.

Cheney: Telling Leahy to ‘f*ck’ himself was ‘sort of the best thing I ever did.’  —  In 2004, then-Vice President Dick Cheney had a “frank exchange of views” with Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) on the Senate floor over Cheney's ties to Halliburton and President Bush's judicial nominees.

Hoyer Sees Election Trouble for House Democrats  —  Nationally-recognized election prognosticator Charlie Cook isn't the only one who sees the majority for House Democrats slipping away.  Today, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer agreed, but said that he and others will mount a strong campaign …

Key local to back Henry, likely foiling Stern succession plans  —  A giant New York-based local union is poised to vote to support California labor leader Mary Kay Henry (above) for the presidency of America's largest union today, three sources familiar with the union said …

David Cameron edges second leaders' debate, according to Times poll  —  David Cameron scored a narrow victory over Nick Clegg in the second leaders' debate last night after an impassioned contest turned personal.  —  The Tory leader scraped a win — on 37 per cent to Mr Clegg's 36 per cent — according to a Populus poll for The Times.

The Government War  —  In these columns I try to give voice to a philosophy you might call progressive conservatism.  It starts with the wisdom of Edmund Burke — the belief that the world is more complex than we can know and we should be skeptical of handing too much power to government planners.

Democrat “Outs” Another Democrat For Being Straight  —  If you've been looking for further proof that American politics is going thoroughly bonkers as partisans claw for increasingly personal labels to hurl at and discredit foes or those who don't agree — it's a lot easier doing …

Franklin Graham Regrets Army's Decision to Rescind Invite to Pentagon Prayer Service  —  Evangelist Franklin Graham said Thursday that he regrets the Army's decision to rescind its invitation to him for the Pentagon's National Day of Prayer service on May 6, but expressed “strong support” for the U.S. military.

Alcoa's loves green, but not the environment  —  Earth Day is no longer about planting a tree or learning about conservation as much as it's about lobbying for government policy.  That's because, frankly, government policy is where the money is — as aluminum giant Alcoa made clear in its latest quarterly report.

Report says health care will cover more, cost more  —  WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama's health care overhaul law is getting a mixed verdict in the first comprehensive look by neutral experts: More Americans will be covered, but costs are also going up.  —  Economic experts at the Health …

Galleon Probe Turns to Goldman, Buffett Deal  —  Government Suspects Goldman Director Told Galleon of Berkshire's 2008 Investment  —  A Goldman Sachs Group Inc. director tipped off a hedge-fund billionaire about a $5 billion investment in Goldman by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc …

Fox News Poll: Obama Approval Up; Most Say Stop Blaming Bush  —  A Fox News poll released Thursday finds 66 percent of voters think President Obama should start taking responsibility.  That's more than three times as many as the 21 percent who think it's right to continue to blame …

Spitzer slated for red-carpet rebirth  —  The documentary's buzzy premiere is slated for the Tribeca Film Festival this weekend, and the publicists say the main character himself might show up — not some rock star or heiress, but Eliot Spitzer, the fallen former governor of New York.

U.S. Faces Choice on New Weapons for Fast Strikes  —  WASHINGTON — In coming years, President Obama will decide whether to deploy a new class of weapons capable of reaching any corner of the earth from the United States in under an hour and with such accuracy and force that they would greatly …