Pakistani Taliban claim credit for failed NYC Times Square car bombing  —  Image from an audiotape purportedly from Qari Hussain Mehsud, who takes credit for the failed car bombing in New York City.  Qari Hussain is a senior leader and master bomb maker in the Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan.

New Technique Holds Hope for Oil Spill Cleanup  —  NEW ORLEANS — Officials in charge of the cleanup of a massive oil spill now approaching three Gulf Coast states said Saturday that a new technique in battling the leaks 5,000 feet beneath the sea showed promise.

W.H. C'spondents: Humor birthing room  —  President Barack Obama's approval ratings may be down among the American public.  At least, he said before a black-tie dinner crowd in Washington, he remains popular in “the country of my birth.”  —  That's the way the laugh-lines …

Crist says he's open to supporting a Democrat for Senate majority leader  —  Florida Gov. Charlie Crist (I) would not say Sunday which party he'd caucus with if elected to the Senate.  —  Crist, who left the Republican Party this week to pursue an independent bid for the state's open Senate seat …

Investigate this  —  Over the past week or so we have noted the fraudulent General Motors public relations blitz promoting its supposed repayment of the money it owes the United States government.  GM chairman and chief executive officer Edward Whitacre led off the blitz in the Wall Street Journal column …

Greece Gets Help but Is It Enough?  —  ATHENS - Greece announced Sunday that it had reached an agreement on a long-delayed rescue package that will require years of painful fiscal belt-tightening, but the deal probably will not defuse the potential threats to other European countries …

Hawaii Poll: Djou leads Democratic rivals in congressional race  —  Poll shows concerns over Hanabusa, Case splitting vote are real  —  Honolulu City Councilman Charles Djou has the advantage in the special election for Congress, a new Hawai'i Poll has found, giving Republicans the best opportunity …

Op-Ed Columnist: Who Can Mock the True Catholic Church?  —  Maybe the Catholic Church should be turned upside down.  —  Jesus wasn't known for pontificating from palaces, covering up scandals, or issuing Paleolithic edicts on social issues.  Does anyone think he would have protected clergymen who raped children?

LAPD estimate crowd at immigrant rights rally is about half of what was expected [Updated]  —  [Updated, 3 p.m.: Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck estimated that about 50,000 immigration rights activists participated in Saturday's May Day rally, about half of what police estimated earlier.