CNN investigation: Obama born in U.S.  —  Editor's note: Tune in to “AC360°” on Tuesday beginning at 10 p.m. ET to see the remainder of Gary Tuchman's investigation into President Barack Obama's birthplace.  —  (CNN) — Was Barack Obama really born in America?

Knowledge Counts Pt. 3  —  I've noted several times that when it comes to issues like Medicare and Social Security, establishment journalism is most focused on whether political rhetoric is inflammatory than on whether it might be true.  Or put a different way, the details …

Why Republicans May Be Skipping 2012 Presidential Run  —  Haley Barbour's decision to forego a run for the presidency in 2012 puts him in the company of a half dozen top Republicans who have considered — and rejected — a challenge to President Obama next year.  —  The question is: why?

Dan Webster confronted by angry town hall crowd  —  (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel / April 26, 2011)  —  A town hall meeting held in Orlando by U.S. Rep. Dan Webster degenerated into bedlam Tuesday, with members of the crowd shouting down the freshman Republican congressman and yelling at one another.

Obama revealed: A moderate Republican  —  America is mired in three wars.  The past decade was the hottest on record.  Unemployment remains stuck near 9 percent, and there's a small, albeit real, possibility that the U.S. government will default on its debt.  So what's dominating the news?

Paul Krugman: For entitlement reform before he was against it  —  Not that you needed any more evidence that New York Times columnist Paul Krugman is a flip-flopping charlatan, but here's the latest.  —  Today, he assails GOP proposals to raise the Medicare age and, by extension, the Social Security retirement age.

Eric Holder rejects attacks on Paul Clement over DOMA defense  —  Attorney General Eric Holder is coming to the defense of former Solicitor General Paul Clement, after gay rights advocates criticized his decision to take on the defense of the Defense of Marriage Act in court.

Conversation with a Birther  —  This call to the show from Winston in Alabama confirms why the birther conspiracy will never go away, a fascinating look at why crazy beliefs endure.  Even after all the facts were explained to Winston, and after he appeared to agree that the facts were right …

Financiers Switch to GOP  —  Hedge-Fund Titans Who Backed Democrats Open Their Wallets for Republicans  —  Hedge-fund managers made a big bet on Barack Obama and other Democrats in 2008.  Now, with the 2012 contest gearing up, some prominent fund managers have turned their backs on the party and are actively supporting Republicans.

Katie Couric: I Am Leaving CBS Evening News  —  After weeks of widespread speculation about her future, Katie Couric is finally ready to go on the record.  —  “I have decided to step down from the CBS Evening News,” Couric tells PEOPLE exclusively.  “I'm really proud of the talented team …

Proposition 8 supporters say ruling should be voided  —  A group opposed to gay marriage says Judge Vaughn R. Walker should have disclosed that he was in a long-term same-sex relationship and recused himself from presiding over the Proposition 8 case.  —  Vaughn R. Walker presided over a 12 …

Dems Committing Fraud, Harassment in Green Bay  —  [Madison] - The Democrat Party of Wisconsin is using a fraudulent tactic to harass and intimidate constituents who favor recalling Democrat Senator Dave Hansen of Green Bay.  —  The Democratic Party has targeted for harassment people …

SETI Institute to shut down alien-seeking radio dishes  —  If E.T. phones Earth, he'll get a “disconnect” signal.  —  Lacking the money to pay its operating expenses, Mountain View's SETI Institute has pulled the plug on the renowned Allen Telescope Array, a field of radio dishes that scan …

Firefighters union to stop federal-level campaign contributions  —  The International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) announced Tuesday it would stop giving political contributions to federal candidates and campaigns.  —  In a statement, IAFF General President Harold Schaitberger …

Update on PlayStation Network and Qriocity  —  Thank you for your patience while we work to resolve the current outage of PlayStation Network & Qriocity services.  We are currently working to send a similar message to the one below via email to all of our registered account holders regarding …

President Obama to Congress: “I Hope We Can All Agree That, Instead of Continuing to Subsidize Yesterday's Energy Sources, We Need to Invest in Tomorrow's”  —  This afternoon the President wrote a letter to leaders of both parties in Congress on the subject of tax breaks for oil companies.

Jindal's big haul  —  (CNN)-Republican Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal raised $1.7 million for his campaign war chest in the first quarter of this year, according to reports filed with the Louisiana Ethics Administration.  —  And though he doesn't yet have a challenger for his gubernatorial re-election race …

More Than 1 Billion People Are Hungry in the World  —  But what if the experts are wrong?  —  For many in the West, poverty is almost synonymous with hunger.  Indeed, the announcement by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization in 2009 that more than 1 billion people are suffering …

U.S. Effort to Remove Drug CEO Jolts Firms  —  A government attempt to oust a longtime drug-company chief executive over his company's marketing violations is raising alarms in that industry and beyond about a potential expansion of federal involvement in the business world.

GOP's gamble on the budget pays off, so far  —  WASHINGTON — A new USA TODAY/Gallup Poll finds that House Republicans, who took a political risk in passing a controversial budget blueprint last week, have survived so far with some key advantages intact as Congress moves toward the debate …

“The Confederacy is Cool!”  Says Large Number of Southern Republicans  —  For the last few weeks, Public Policy Polling has been questioning GOP voters in the South on a variety of issues, from their thoughts on Republican presidential candidates, to their views on interracial marriage.

College Teams, Relying on Deception, Undermine Gender Equity  —  Ever since Congress passed the federal gender-equity law known as Title IX, universities have opened their gyms and athletic fields to millions of women who previously did not have chances to play.

‘Hub’ Schlafly, TV engineer who helped invent teleprompter, dies at 91  —  Hubert J.  “Hub” Schlafly Jr., a television engineer who aided countless politicians and performers when he helped invent the scrolling public-speaking crutch known as a teleprompter, died April 20 of undisclosed causes …