ENSIGN TO RESIGN FROM OFFICE  —  Washington, D.C. - Senator John Ensign today announced his resignation as the 24th United States Senator from the state of Nevada.  In a letter to Vice President Joe Biden tomorrow, Senator Ensign will state that his resignation from office is effective as of May 3, 2011.

Nation's Mood at Lowest Level in Two Years, Poll Shows  —  Americans are more pessimistic about the nation's economic outlook and overall direction than they have been at any time since President Obama's first two months in office, when the country was still officially ensnared in the Great Recession …

9/11 Responders To Be Warned They Will Be Screened By FBI's Terrorism Watch List (EXCLUSIVE) … WASHINGTON — A provision in the new 9/11 health bill may be adding insult to injury for people who fell sick after their service in the aftermath of the 2001 Al Qaeda attacks, The Huffington Post has learned.

Krauthammer: Trump is running  —  Conservative columnist Charles Krauthammer says Donald Trump reached out to him after a piece he wrote that laced into the developer's potential 2012 bid — a phone call he said convinced him The Donald is running for president.

Media's Spotlight Shines Less Brightly on Palin  —  One of the few pieces of statistical evidence that we can look toward at this early stage of the presidential campaign is the number of media hits that each candidate is receiving.  Apart from being interesting unto itself, it's plausible that this metric has some predictive power.

Obama wobbly on Libya  —  Opponents of the Vietnam War — that seemingly endless, inconclusive, increasingly unpopular and ever-more-deadly and costly conflict — called it a “quagmire.”  They said it was unwinnable and should never have been fought, and that America must avoid similar future wars.

[Proclamation] Gov. Perry Issues Proclamation for Days of Prayer for Rain in Texas  —  Gov. Perry Issues Proclamation for Days of Prayer for Rain in Texas  —  Gov. Rick Perry has proclaimed the three-day period from Friday, April 22, to Sunday, April 24, as Days of Prayer for Rain in the State of Texas …

'Don't say gay' bill clears Senate panel  —  Register or log in using your account on these websites.  —  Web Search powered by YAHOO! SEARCH  —  NASHVILLE - After some convoluted maneuvers, a Senate committee Wednesday approved a bill that will prohibit teachers from discussing homosexuality …

Debt elimination is a national priority  —  Seeking to put our economy on the path to prosperity and fiscal responsibility, the House passed the Fiscal Year (FY) 2012 budget, which aims to cut $6.2 trillion in government spending over the next ten years.  The Senate must still approve a budget …

Democrats Sue to Force U.S. Election Agency to Reveal Political Donations  —  WASHINGTON — Unable to stanch the flow of corporate money to Republican causes, Democrats tried a new tack on Thursday by bringing a lawsuit against the Federal Election Commission to force the disclosure of tens of millions of dollars in secret donations.

Joanne Kloppenburg's Really Bad Poker Tell: She KNOWS She Didn't Win Election  —  Check out that pregnant pause at 1:33 in.  This re-count is a sham.

Iraq Troop Talks Falter  —  Allies Want U.S. to Stay Past Withdrawal Date but Baghdad Fears Unrest  —  WASHINGTON—Senior U.S. and Iraqi military officials have been in negotiations about keeping some 10,000 American troops in Iraq beyond the scheduled withdrawal of all U.S. forces at year's end …

Michel Martelly officially declared Haitian president  —  Mr Martelly says he wants to work closely with the opposition  —  Popular Haitian singer Michel Martelly has been officially declared the next president of Haiti.  —  Official results showed Mr Martelly won 67.6% of the vote …

Trump's White House bid gets press, but fails to drive up ‘Apprentice’ ratings  —  If Donald Trump's flirtation with running for president is a bid to boost ratings for his reality TV show, it doesn't appear to be working.  —  Trump, the real estate mogul who hosts “The Apprentice,” …

Inhofe Claims Fracking Has ‘Never’ Contaminated Water Supply One Day After Spill Contaminates Stream  —  Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-OK) is perhaps Congress' most reliable defender of dirty energy and evangelizer against the “hoax” of global warming.  This morning, he took his message …

Israel: New Gaza flotilla has ties to Hamas, terrorist organizations  —  Israel's ambassador to UN warns the organization not to allow new flotilla, planned for May, to launch; U.S., Germany also call on flotilla organizers to find other ways to deliver aid to Gaza.

Sebastian Junger Remembers Tim Hetherington  —  The death of an incomparable photojournalist, killed on April 20 while covering the conflict in Libya, is recounted by his collaborator, confrère, and friend.  —  Tim, man, what can I say?  For the first few hours the stories …

Response to Glenn Beck  —  This week Glenn Beck has taken to his radio show to attack me as a Progressive, which he has said is the same as a “cancer” and a “Nazi.”  What did I do that apparently caused him to link me to a fatal disease and a form of government that murdered millions of innocent Jews?

Radioactive iodine found in breast milk of Japanese mothers  —  The breast milk of four Japanese mothers has been found to contain small quantities of radioactive iodine.  —  The government faced calls for a full investigation into the impact of the nuclear disaster on mothers and babies following the discovery.

Millionaire Tax Didn't Chase the Rich From New Jersey, Study Says  —  Anti-tax advocates contend that higher taxes on the wealthy lead to millionaire flight.  They say this has been seen in Maryland, Rhode Island, New Jersey and New York.  The rich are mobile, they say.

Candidates reach recount deal  —  Some areas to get hand tally in court race  —  By Jason Stein and Bill Glauber of the Journal Sentinel  —  Madison — Backing off stronger stances, Supreme Court Justice David Prosser and Assistant Attorney General JoAnne Kloppenburg found …