Anjem Choudary warns that royal wedding celebrations in London are potential targets for radical muslims.  FULL POST

CNN's Larry King says the "birther" issue is bad for Donald Trump and doubts his "good friend" will run for president.  FULL POST

(CNN) – Republican Rep. Ron Paul said Tuesday his fellow Republicans' reluctance to get into the presidential race may have more to do with President Obama strengths than his weaknesses.

In an exclusive interview for CNN's "In the Arena" with Eliot Spitzer to be broadcast at 8 p.m. ET Tuesday, the Texas congressman said the potential Republican presidential contenders are being "cautious."  FULL POST

CNN's Larry King discusses his May 1 special "Unthinkable: the Alzheimer's Epidemic," with Ron Reagan and Maria Shriver.

CLICK HERE to read our fascinating OFF-SET interview with Harry Johns, President and CEO of The Alzheimer's Association, the leading, global voluntary health organization in Alzheimer care and support, and the largest private, nonprofit funder of Alzheimer research.

EXCLUSIVE: Air traffic controllers asleep on the job: at least 5 incidents have been reported in the past month. And when it happened in Miami, two pilots were left to fend for themselves in one of the nation's busiest airspaces until a fellow controller blew the whistle.

Controller Carrie DeLeon immediately reported her sleeping colleague, a move that may have saved lives but cost her co-worker his job. FULL POST

EXCLUSIVE:  Possible GOP presidential candidate Ron Paul says young people should be able to opt out of entitlements like Medicare.

Watch the full interview tonight "In The Arena" at 8 p.m. ET/7 p.m. MT on CNN.

And CLICK HERE to read an excerpt from Paul's new book, "Liberty Defined," that covers his views on abortion. FULL POST

 On Sunday May 1, 2011, CNN will air the first Larry King special, “Unthinkable: the Alzheimer’s Epidemic,” premiering at 8pm ET/PT.

Alzheimer’s is the sixth-leading cause of death across all ages in the United States, but many Americans still do not know much about this illness. The one-hour special will look into Alzheimer’s disease, who gets it and why, the race to find effective treatments and a possible cure.

Larry King is scheduled to appear In The Arena on Tuesday, April 26, 2011.

King will be joined by people who have been touched by Alzheimer’s disease and will include interviews with former First Lady Laura Bush and California’s former First Lady and Alzheimer’s activist Maria Shriver; actors Seth Rogen, and  Angie Dickinson; TV host Leeza Gibbons; football star Terrell Owens and  son of President Ronald Reagan, Ron Reagan. Neurosurgeon and CNN chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta will explain what Alzheimer’s is and how this disease affects the human brain.

ONLY ON THE BLOG: Answering today’s six OFF-SET questions is Harry Johns, President and CEO of The Alzheimer's Association, the leading, global voluntary health organization in Alzheimer care and support, and the largest private, nonprofit funder of Alzheimer research. Before joining the Alzheimer’s Association, Johns spent more than 22 years with the American Cancer Society.

An estimated 5.4 million people are living with Alzheimer’s. Are those numbers growing each year?  If so, why?

According to the Alzheimer’s Association® 2011 Alzheimer’s Disease Facts and Figures report, that number could grow to as many as 16 million Americans living with Alzheimer’s disease by 2050.  Age is the greatest risk factor for Alzheimer’s and advances in modern medicine have resulted in Americans living longer than ever before. 

 However, Alzheimer’s is not a normal part of aging and we don’t currently have any way to cure, prevent or even slow the progression of this disease. Alzheimer’s is the 6^th leading cause of death in the United States, and investments made in Alzheimer’s research must be adjusted to correspond with the magnitude of this underfunded public health threat. FULL POST

Republican Texas Rep. Ron Paul will announce on Tuesday the formation of a presidential exploratory committee at an event in Des Moines, Iowa, CNN has learned. While Paul is announcing an exploratory committee, he has not made a final decision about launching a campaign for the White House in 2012.

Rep. Paul is scheduled to appear In The Arena on Tuesday, April 26, 2011.

BLOG EXTRA: Here is an excerpt from Ron Paul's book, "Liberty Defined," courtesy Grand Central Publishing, 2011.

                                                     Abortion

On one occasion in the 1960s when abortion was still illegal, I witnessed, while visiting a surgical suite as an OB/GYN resident, the abortion of a fetus that weighed approximately two pounds.

It was placed in a bucket, crying and struggling to breathe, and the medical personnel pretended not to notice.

Soon the crying stopped. This harrowing event forced me to think more seriously about this important issue. FULL POST

ONLY ON THE BLOG: Answering today’s five OFF-SET questions is Michael V. Hayden, a principal at the Chertoff Group, a security and risk-management firm created by former Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff.

Hayden was Director of the CIA from 2006 to 2009, and Director of the National Security Agency from 1999 to 2005.

In an OP-ED essay in The Washington Post (4-22-10) you and Michael Chertoff pose some extremely challenging questions: after the United States and NATO forces win in Libya, what kind of country will Libya become, who will run it—and how long will the U.S. involvement be to reach the political objectives that President Obama has articulated?

First of all, when you imagine a Libya without Moammar Gadhafi’s regime, what is your best hope?

Tough question.   Not too many models out there for Arab, non-monarchical, non-autocratic states.   Best hope is that Libya remans unified, none of its territory is particulary "ungoverned" and there is enough stability to allow its considerable oil wealth to be turned to building a physical and political infrastructure.

We read about an Interim Transitional National Council, a Justice and Democracy Party of Libya, a National Conference for the Libyan Opposition, various religious and military leaders, plus ex-patriots who have returned or want to.  Do you sense where Libya’s next leader will emerge from?

No one knows.  We're looking for a Jefferson (or even an Adams) but what we got are ex-regime officials, Benghazi intellectuals, returning expatriates and apparently, even a former Gitmo detainee.  As this shakes out we need to be careful–support those who share our values, but we shouldn't be beguiled by someone just because he speaks English or mimics Western ways. FULL POST

Today’s Number of the Day is 300,000.

That’s the annualized number of signed contracts for new homes, based upon March sales.

Compare that to March 2005—you may remember that was before the recession-when the annual rate was 1.43 million houses.

That shows you just how far we have fallen, and just how slow the current housing market is.

Meanwhile, home prices sank 3.3% in February to just above the post-crisis lows reached in April 2009. That’s the eighth straight month of declines.

Home values are down 32% from their peak set in May of 2006, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller index of home prices in 20 cities.

This explains why home construction has dropped so dramatically. With few buyers and low prices–it is hard to just to justify the risk of spec building.

Here’s one more number: according to a Harvard study to be released on Tuesday, 10.1 million people-around 26 percent –spent more than half of their pre-tax income on rent and utilities in 2009. That’s the highest level of spending in 50 years, as rents rise and incomes decline.

The schizophrenia in our economy continues with the stock market booming based on corporate earnings that are partially driven by overseas profits and partially driven by cost reductions—while the middle class continues to see income stagnant and its asset base—other than its stock market closings—decline.

Maybe we need some therapy, in addition to a better economy. FULL POST