The Hill Articles: April 30, 2012

Lobbying World Meghan McCain eyes her fave TV zombie, chickens out ‘Idol’ contestant not so sure about Santorum What’s in Air Force One’s bathroom? Capitol Hill vet tries hand at art world TV stars stay mum on political picks Lohan gets testy on escalator ride VP talk trails Ayotte after Romney rally Ducking questions Pulling plug on Ex-Im bank would damage US defenses Carrie Ann Inaba Ethics charges against Rep. Bachus dropped Capitol Police Files OVERNIGHT MONEY: Top policymakers hash out their economic forecasts McCain on Bin Laden raid: ‘The thing about heroes, they don’t brag’ Sebelius gets moving with former Olympian Pro-Berman super-PAC makes huge ad buy OVERNIGHT TECH: Consumer groups slam Hulu decision to switch to pay model OVERNIGHT HEALTH: Abortion-rights opponents see setbacks in 3 states OVERNIGHT ENERGY: Drilling down on gas ‘fracking’ Obama’s meeting with Japanese PM leaves base issues unresolved Double whammy for Florida Dems as DOJ, local court green light new maps Return to normalcy Romney makes secret stop to grieving police station Domestic barbarism Weyants World: May 1, 2012 Federal housing regulator postpones decision on principal reductions PETA doesn’t take offense to Obama’s dog-eating jokes Delta Airlines buys oil refinery to save money on gas DAY’S END ROUNDUP Republicans reportedly cool to new federal rules on horse racing Chris Christie on being VP: Romney ‘might be able to convince me’ Oklahoma court tosses ‘personhood’ amendment Finding a bumper sticker DSCC hits Rep. Berg on farms, Medicare in ad touting Heitkamp Report: Military under-reporting attacks by Afghan allies Va. lawmaker wants Congress to wade into fight over DC Metro expansion to Dulles airport Microsoft denies softening of CISPA support Doctors: Proposal on Medicare overpayments would impose burden Sen. Schumer calls on House Republicans to pass Violence Against Women reauthorization McCain, Levin call for GAO review of littoral combat ship GOP lawmaker vows to take up Chinese activist’s cause in Senate Obama: Bin Laden anniversary time to remember ‘what we as a country accomplished’ GOP lawmaker mocks new Obama reelection slogan Brennan: Bin Laden left distraught by drone strikes, al Qaeda losses Homeownership rate hits 15-year low Boehner, former Presidents G.W. Bush, Clinton fundraise for Flight 93 memorial Obama says he hasn’t spiked football to mark anniversary of bin Laden’s death Obama administration walks fine line with Chinese human-rights activist White House defends drone strikes Obama: Highway bill used to be the ‘easiest bill to pass in Washington’ Rep. Berman wins Los Angeles Times endorsement over Rep. Sherman Lohan gets testy on escalator ride Tea Party lawmaker ‘very excited to be on the Mitt train’ Romney: ‘Even Jimmy Carter’ would have given order to kill bin Laden Report: Falcone to step down from LightSquared Federal judge halts Texas law against Planned Parenthood Holmes Norton: More female agents will break up Secret Service ‘good old boys’ network’ Romney: Obama administration hasn’t ‘been talking to small businesses’ Action required on influenza research Consumer bureau names head of diversity office Pakistan threatens to pull out of NATO summit over US drone attack Romney: ‘Of course’ I would have given order to kill bin Laden Obama slams House GOP on highway bill Joe the Plumber snags endorsement from Allen West Officer sues Capitol Police for challenging her fitness Georgetown, despite controversy, to continue providing contraceptive coverage Huffington: bin Laden ad ‘despicable’ Freshman Rep. Amash ‘dominated’ House GOP in Twitter challenge EPA official resigns over ‘crucify’ remarks Republicans propose ban on abortion coverage by state insurance exchanges FCC report: Google engineer deliberately snooped on Wi-Fi, but did so alone Romney warns ‘regulators just multiplying like proverbial rabbits’ on stump in NH Obama goes Round Two with Boehner, this time over highway spending bill Iran calls F-22 deployment in United Arab Emirates a US-Israeli ‘plot’ Obama press conference with Japanese prime minister Santorum stays mum on meeting Lindsay Lohan US labor union, Mexican lawyers file complaint against Alabama immigration law Rep. King: Obama should not campaign on bin Laden success Interior readies next round of drilling-safety rules GOP puts forward ‘Violence Against Women’ reauthorization bill App lets users report racial, religious profiling by TSA Air wars begin in race to replace Giffords Rep. West rips guests for ‘living it up’ at correspondents’ dinner Consumer spending ticked up at a slower pace in March DeMint backs Flake in Arizona Senate race Don’t let GSA scandal taint our federal workforce Obama: ‘There’s silence at this point’ during bin Laden raid GSA scandal fuels distrust of the government CMS: Obama health law has saved seniors $3.4 billion on prescription drugs White House signals shift on sales of F-16 fighters to Taiwan America’s profligate greed FCC’s political ad rule disappoints supporters and foes alike Judge Andrew Napolitano, Sarah Palin and Rick Perry should form a new Federalist Party House Dems look to block employer access to social-network data Medical debt collector, under fire from lawmakers, denies pressuring patients Former Democratic mayors back Brown over Warren Gas-giant CEO declares victory over coal, slams Obama on Keystone News bites: Microsoft tries again A streetcar named Google Romney ad hits Obama for ‘broken promises’ on spending, economy News bites: Looking east Obama Web video touts successes, unveils new 2012 slogan: ‘Forward’ News bites: Conflicts arise as insurers expand News bites: Energy attack ads knocked for inaccuracy, hurdles for coal, and more Opinion: Condoleezza Rice would be game changer as Romney VP pick One year later, Obama campaign looks for lasting bin Laden bounce Bill Clinton, Obama team up at fundraiser to hammer Romney