Pat Dollard

The Hill: NEW ORLEANS – A top House Republican campaigner says his party is set to gain more seats than it won in the 1994 election. Rep. Tom Price (R-Ga.) told the Ballot Box that he has pegged the GOP gains in this year’s election at 56 seats, which would be more than the 54 [...]

Devil Ball: In his February public apology, Tiger Woods vowed he would show more respect to the game of golf. No more fist pumping, no more club tossing and no more profanity-laden outbursts after bad shots. He made it about 42 holes. During Saturday’s third round of The Masters, Woods repeatedly cursed at himself loudly [...]

Time: The president of Poland was killed in a plane crash on Saturday in western Russia, setting off a new cycle of grievances between Russia and Poland on a day that was supposed to serve the cause of reconciliation between them. President Lech Kaczynski, his wife and some of his top security officials were among [...]

The Hill: Senate Democrats want confirmation proceedings for a new Supreme Court nominee to take no longer than Sonia Sotomayor’s. Democrats are already readying arguments and data to press for as quick a confirmation as possible. Aides close to the process say they want the confirmation of Stevens’s successor to follow the same general schedule [...]

BANGKOK (AP) – A crackdown on anti-government protesters in Thailand’s capital Saturday left at least 15 people dead and more than 650 injured, with no progress toward ending a monthlong standoff with demonstrators demanding new elections. It was the worst violence in Bangkok since more than four dozen people were killed in an antimilitary protest [...]

CHEBOYGAN, Mich. (AP) – Even as tea party activists gloat over Rep. Bart Stupak’s decision to retire after becoming one of their top targets for defeat, it’s far from certain that his constituents will elect a successor who shares their antipathy to government spending. Michigan’s northernmost district has a history of electing moderates more concerned [...]

Fox News: An Indiana public school board is not giving up its school prayer without a fight. In a rare decision, Greenwood High School is fighting to keep its years-long tradition of holding a student-led prayer during graduation ceremonies. “For us to just kowtow and just say, ‘Yes, sir. Sorry, sir,’ well, we’re not going [...]

BANGKOK, April 10 (AP) – (Kyodo)—(EDS: UPDATING WITH DEATH OF SOLDIERS, GOV’T CALL FOR CEASEFIRE, NEW CASUALTY TOLL, GRENADE ATTACK ON GOV’ HOUSE) The Thai government proposed a ceasefire with antigovernment protesters after confrontations throughout the day took an ugly turn Saturday evening when protesters fired weapons and threw makeshift bombs at soldiers, reportedly killing [...]

Clearly, Obama’s delay in sending troops, and not sending as many as McChrystal wanted, in order to “punish”, “scare” or “leverage” Mr. Karzai, was, as well, part of this “big mistake”… New York Times: U.S. Now Trying Softer Approach Toward Karzai WASHINGTON — After more than a year of watching America’s ability to influence President [...]

MOSCOW (AP) – Polish President Lech Kaczynski and some of the country’s highest military and civilian leaders died Saturday along with dozens of others when the presidential plane crashed as it came in for a landing in thick fog in western Russia. Russian and Polish officials offered conflicting death tolls but agreed there were no [...]

Times Online: If some lambs look dishevelled this spring, it is because they are in the process of “shearing” themselves. The Exlana breed, developed in the South West, moults naturally in spring and the wool is allowed to compost. The project leader, Peter Baber, 54, who runs a farm in Christow, Devon, said: “The value [...]

All will be told in the investigation and the integrity thereof. Let’s see how well the Russians cooperate with the Poles. AP: Last year, Poland was the only EU nation to avoid recession and posted economic growth of 1.7 percent. It has become a firm U.S. ally in the region since the fall of communism—a [...]

The Hill: NEW ORLEANS — Big-name Republicans aren’t joining Newt Gingrich’s call to rebrand the GOP the “Party of Yes.” The former House Speaker kicked things off Thursday by urging the GOP to ditch the “party of no” label by focusing on its own ideas, rather than merely saying no to the Democrats. On Friday, [...]

BANGKOK (AP) – Soldiers and police in riot gear advanced on the two main rally sites held by anti-government protesters in the Thai capital on Saturday, vowing to clear one of them by nightfall. Clashes between protesters and troops thus far have already injured dozens of people. The deployment came after protesters were pushed back [...]

MOSCOW (BNO NEWS) — Polish President Lech Kaczynski and his wife were killed when the presidential plane crashed near an airport in western Russia. A total of 132 people were on board the Tupolev 154 aircraft, according to the Russian Investigation Committee. The governor of Smolensk Oblast confirmed there were no survivors in the accident, [...]