Friday's Daily Brief

Friday, April 8, 2011 Government Shutdown Threat Prompts Obama, GOP To Scramble To Strike Budget Deal POLITICS WATCH: New Twists In Wisconsin Supreme Court Election EDUCATION Behind New York's School System Shakeup WORLD Missile From Gaza Hits School Bus, Israel Retaliates GREEN 'Unusual Event' Declared At U.S. Nuke Plant TECHNOLOGY A Guide To iPhone 5 Rumors: 10 Predictions So Far BLOG POSTS Michael Smerconish: Donald Trump, Birthers, and O.J. Simpson Every time I hear Donald Trump talk about President Obama's birth certificate, I think of O.J. Simpson. The conspiracy theory invented by Simpson's defenders was every bit as loopy as the fantasies concerning Obama. Will Bunch: It May Take 27 Years to Undo the Damage Glenn Beck Caused in 27 Months With all his outlandishness, it's easy to forget how Glenn Beck rationalized once out-there ideas to millions of American conservatives, and how those ideas have thwarted progressivism from virtually the day Obama took office. Cathleen Falsani: Showtime Reveals Skeletons in the Catholic Church's Closet In its new Sunday night series, The Borgias, Showtime has found the magic combination for ultimate crowd appeal in a scintillating soap opera about a bad-boy pope. Paul Carr: The Strip Diary, Day Four: An Expert Video Guide to Gentlemen's Club Etiquette This Vegas adventure is supposed to be a learning experience -- so I decided it was time to man up and learn the correct etiquette for visiting a strip club. Dan Collins: Blame Mayor Bloomberg for Cathie Black Fiasco Cathie Black is out. Thank the Lord. Rather than beating up on the newly departed schools chancellor, let's be grateful that this train wreck ended before it did more damage.

MOST POPULAR ON HUFFINGTONPOST.COM Obama Issues Veto Threat As Government Shutdown Looms Ashley Judd Details Molestation, Drug Abusing Family In New Memoir LIVE UPDATES: Government Shutdown Looms As Budget Deal Remains Unreached ON TWITTER 'Unusual Event' Declared At U.S. Nuke Plant Will Ferrell Reveals Big 'Office' Details Government Shutdown Not Yet Averted As White House Meeting Fails To Produce Deal ON FACEBOOK Republicans Threatening Shutdown Over Planned Parenthood WATCH: New Twists In Wisconsin Supreme Court Election WATCH: Bill Maher's New Rule For Pro-Lifers