After A Twitter Win, Romney Meets The Online Right  —  A united front against Obama and the liberal media.  But: Huffington Post broke news of the meeting.  —  At the Republican National Committee yesterday, conservative online writers and bloggers who arrived to meet with Romney were also shown …

Why it matters that Obama dated a composite and ate a dog  —  There was a brief media firestorm yesterday when Vanity Fair broke the news that Obama's famous “New York girlfriend” was a fiction.  She appears in his 1995 memoir, Dreams From My Father, described in some detail by her appearance, voice and mannerisms.

Letters from Abbottabad: Bin Ladin Sidelined?  —  Authors: Don Rassler, Gabriel Koehler-Derrick, Liam Collins, Muhammad al-Obaidi, Nelly Lahoud  —  This report is a study of 17 de-classified documents captured during the Abbottabad raid and released to the Combating Terrorism Center (CTC).

Activist Chen Guangcheng: Let Me Leave China on Hillary Clinton's Plane  —  In an exclusive interview with The Daily Beast's Melinda Liu, blind dissident Chen Guangcheng says he's been abandoned by American officials at a Chinese hospital and begs to leave the country on Hillary Clinton's plane.

Horror!... Neo-Nazi #Occupy Phoenix Protester Goes On Shooting Rampage - 5 Dead  —  Back in October we reported that Neo-Nazi Jason Todd Ready was patrolling the #Occupy Phoenix camp with AR-15′s.  —  Neo-Nazi Jason Todd (J.T.) Ready pictured on left patrolling the Occupy Phoenix protest …

CNN Ratings Decline Stirs Worries  —  “Maybe CNN is just like an emergency room.”  —  That is what a longtime CNN employee theorized last year, during one of the channel's predictable defeats in the Nielsen ratings.  —  When elections and explosions happen, people tune in to CNN …

Another Misleading Edit Costs Another NBC News Employee Her Job  —  Lilia Luciano, a Miami-based NBC News correspondent, is no longer working for the network, TVNewser has learned.  —  Luciano last reported for NBC News March 31.  Until that point, she had been reporting mainly on the Trayvon Martin story.

T. Boone Pickens: Biggest Deterrent To U.S. Energy Plan Is Koch Industries  —  Investor T. Boone Pickens has made a fortune over the years running an energy-oriented hedge fund, and in recent years he's been placing big bets on the natural gas and wind industries.

EXPOSED: Romney Campaign Silenced Gay Spokesman To Avoid Confronting Hate Groups, Misled Reporters  —  When presumptive GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney's openly gay foreign policy spokesman resigned under pressure from right-wing anti-gay groups, the campaign sought to minimize …

Issa sends out draft contempt order against Holder, says ‘Furious’ response ‘cannot stand’  —  Republican Rep. Darrell Issa has circulated a lengthy pair of documents making the case for holding Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt of Congress over his “refusal” to cooperate in an investigation …

Bachmann: 'He Can't Beat Obama ... Not Going to Happen'  —  Michele Bachmann has finally decided to endorse Mitt Romney - 119 days after she dropped out of the race.  —  The endorsement will come at a joint Romney-Bachmann appearance on Thursday.  No doubt Bachmann will talk about the importance …

Video: The freaky quadruple deaky “tanning mom” clip  —  It's come to this.  —  Via Mediaite, I've been looking around all day for a palate cleanser.  And now, at last, I've found it.  Trust me: Whatever you have on your news palate right now, this'll clean it right out.  Doesn't matter how important it is.

Russia threatens to strike NATO missile defense sites  —  Russia's most senior military officer said Thursday that Moscow would preemptively strike and destroy U.S.-led NATO missile defense sites in Eastern Europe if talks with Washington about the developing system continue to stall.

Rajan on Lessons from Recession  —  Tyler Cowen can't heap enough praise on this paper from Raghuram Rajan.  —  I am loathe to use such language, but at this late date I think it helps to be direct.  The paper reads to me like nonsense on stilts.  Ostensibly its about the ineffectiveness …

My Grandfather Had High Cheekbones ‘Like All the Indians Do’  —  Speaking to a reporter on a local news station in Boston, Democratic Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts cited her ancestor's “high cheekbones” (quoting an aunt) as evidence of her Native American heritage:

RNC campaign parodies Obama '08 sticker  —  The Republican National Committee is getting ahead of President Obama's official campaign kickoff in Ohio and Virginia on Saturday with a media blitz labeling his re-election drive the “Hype & Blame” tour.  —  The RNC will sell “Hype & Blame 2012” …

Mitt Romney Commissioned Pro-America Pins, Made Them In China  —  At a fundraiser in Virginia last night, Mitt Romney touted his experinece running the Salt Lake City Olympic Games in 2002 — a familiar refrain — but also introduced a new rhetorical line about something more specific: lapel pins.

GOP voters want Santorum, Rubio for VP  —  Republican voters would like to see Rick Santorum or Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) standing at Mitt Romney's side this fall, a new poll found.  —  A Reuters-Ipsos poll released Thursday found Santorum and Rubio are the top choices among Republican voters to be Romney's running mate.

Gov. Bentley accepts $100,000 grant from Verizon for state's emergency relief fund  —  HUNTSVILLE, Alabama — Gov. Robert Bentley accepted a $100,000 donation from Verizon Wednesday afternoon at the Huntsville Museum of Art for the Governor's Emergency Relief Fund, which was established days …

Early Look at 2013 VA-Gov Race  —  If Mark Warner wants to be the next Governor of Virginia...he's probably going to be the next Governor of Virginia.  PPP's newest poll finds him blowing away the Republican field of candidates with a 53-33 lead over Ken Cuccinelli, a 53-32 advantage over Bill Bolling …

Study: Campaign ads much more negative than four years ago  —  (CNN) - If you think the current race for the White House seems more negative than the 2008 presidential campaign, a new study indicates you're right.  —  According to a political advertising analysis by the Wesleyan Media Project …