ICYMI, former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and his wife Maria Shriver have separated after 25 years of marriage.

The story was broken here on LATimes.com.

ICYM the Los Angeles Times follow-up here, they are separated because Schwarzenegger admitted fathering a child a decade ago with their family maid.

Now Mark Barabak, the news organization's top political reporter, explains how the story came to be reported by a team, written, verified and published.

In this video below, the veteran Barabak talks with CNN's Howard Kurtz about the old-fashioned "shoe leather" used in researching the stories and why the news organization chose not to name the maid in its initial coverage.

-- Andrew Malcolm

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Photo: Harpo Productions (2003).

It was a happy occasion Monday during President Obama's hasty visit to Ireland to see what is deemed his ancestral hometown of Moneygall and stop by Ollie Hayes' pub for a pint.

Yes, during all the official hoo-hah in Dublin the president's motorcade had a limo problem that paralyzed its movement briefly, driving the security folks crazy for a few minutes (See full video below) because a POTUS is not supposed to be exposed to unsecured public like those who videoed the accident.

Thousands had waited hours in Moneygall (Pop. 298) to see the Dunham descendant and Obama worked the crowd's perimeter several times. Obama is a beer fancier and has flown in some favorite Chicago brews at times. And remember when he tried to patch up that confrontation between a Cambridge cop and professor? That wasn't a Tea Summit.

Monday it's what happened inside the Moneygall pub that may not go down too smoothly with the American distributors of Ireland's world-famous Guinness.

The president got to reminiscing good-naturedly about a previous encounter with the tasty liquid.

"The first time I had Guinness," Obama said, "is when I came to the Shannon airport. We were flying into Afghanistan and so stopped in Shannon. It was the middle of the night. And I tried one of these and I realized it tastes so much better here than it does in the States."

Oops.

Then the commander-in-chief blithely added: "What I realized was, is that you guys are -- You’re keeping all the best stuff here!”

And now the video.

-- Andrew Malcolm

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Photo: Pool, Getty Images

Sarah Palin.

A judge would rule it hearsay.

The entertainment industry would label it gossip.

But for New York magazine, it's a perfectly usable quote featuring some Republican-or-other who's "close to (Roger) Ailes" -- could be his tailor or the guy who does his taxes, for all we know -- saying, among other things, the Fox News Channel boss "thinks Sarah Palin is an idiot. He thinks she's stupid."

This little bomb was tucked into a long, rambling article about Ailes, Palin, Glenn Beck and the familiar topic of the possible future implosion of Fox News. FNC fired back in....

The media spotlight has moved on from Indianapolis now, after Gov. Mitch Daniels aborted his anticipated campaign for the Republican presidential nomination in a Saturday midnight email that shocked supporters across the country.

Daniels acknowledged that his family was opposed to the grinding run, so he dropped it.

Now most of the attention focuses on Newt Gingrich's campaign here and Tim Pawlenty's newly announced bid here and Jon Huntsman's informal campaign swing through New Hampshire.

But little noticed as the political parade marches toward the state fairs this summer and the Iowa caucuses and primaries next winter are the newly abandoned supporters of Daniels.

"Well," said Max Eden, head of the Student Initiative to Draft Daniels, "the rapture took Mitch from 2012. His better angels had the last word, and he put his family first. His choice attests to half the reason why students at 65 colleges rallied to urge him to run: He is a good man."

Among those students is Hannah Thoreson, a 21-year-old physics major at ....

Tim Pawlenty

Thanks, Mary, for your very kind words and for your tremendous love and support. After serving eight years as Minnesota's governor, I was very much looking forward to life with Mary, and our daughters, in the Midwestern home we love. 

But with Mary's encouragement and wise counsel, we came to a different conclusion. And that brings me here today with this announcement.
           
I'm Tim Pawlenty, and I'm running for president of the United States.
 
We live in the greatest country the world has ever known. But, as we all know, America is in big trouble, and it won't get fixed if we keep going down the same path. If we want a new and better direction, we need a new and better president.
 
President Obama's policies have failed. But more than that, he won't even tell us the truth about what it's really going to take to get out of the mess we're in.
 
I could stand here and tell you that we can solve America's debt crisis and fix....

Simple commencement addresses can be tricky for politicians to give well and for their aides to write.

The point of the graduation ceremony, of course, has nothing to do with the politician. Likely no one in attendance will remember a single word uttered during the ceremonies.

The politician is there to lend import to the school (at the cost of a mere honorary degree and hopefully not at great length) and to the families also celebrating the end of tuition bills from that institution.

So, the politician must shine the light on graduates and their ecstatic families, while casually revealing something positive about himself, without appearing to hog the happy moment's spotlight.

To be honest, however, that happy spotlight is the only reason the politician is there, especially in places like, say, New Hampshire as the Republican primary season gets rolling.

Former ambassador to China and Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman was at....

As The Ticket's 65,000-plus Twitter followers here and 6,800 Facebook fans here know, we regularly share our daily picks of the late-night jokes of interest, usually before broadcast each night. Feel free to pass them on to friends using the Share buttons above. Normally, we publish these on Monday mornings.

Letterman: On Monday no more smoking in New York City public places. So after today if you’re holding something smoking in New York City, it better be a gun.

Leno: President Obama wants Israel to go back to pre-1967 borders. Now, Native Americans are demanding Obama go back to pre-1492 borders.

Leno: You heard about that whole world-coming-to-an-end thing, right? Look, I love Oprah too. But it was just a TV show.

Letterman: Oprah has taped her last show. I hope to God she's taken care of her money. I do. Because I think Steadman may be sucking her dry.

Leno: President Obama's approval rating went up after the SEALs....

In the ratings derby among the news roundtable shows on Sunday mornings, putting the proper bait on the hook can make all the difference when it comes to reeling in a few extra viewers.

And while having a big mouth might be bad for a presidential candidate, an explosive quote is the catch of the day for a lucky interviewer.

Last week, David Gregory of NBC's "Meet the Press" landed a big one in the person of new GOP presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich.

The Clinton-era speaker of the House made an unforced, perhaps fatal, campaign error in his nascent White House bid by criticizing the Medicare reform portion of fellow Republican Rep. Paul Ryan's budget plan, referring to it as "radical change" and "right-wing social engineering."

Gingrich either didn't realize, didn't care or just didn't think about Ryan being the current fair-haired boy of the Republican wing of the House, with his bold budget proposals (and bolder blue eyes) and snappy videos.

In May 15 ratings released late last week, "Meet the Press" was again on top of the Sunday morning blabfests with 3.17 million viewers, including 1.01 million of those in the core Adults 25-54 demographic.

Keeping the momentum going, on May 22, Gregory brought in Ryan, who delivered a spirited retort to Gingrich and a strong defense of his own budget plans.

Ryan liked his appearance so much, he posted it on YouTube.

Meanwhile, CBS' "Face the Nation," which came in second last week with 2.28 million viewers, and 650,000 in that 25-54 group, aimed to boost its fortunes by booking Gingrich for Round 2.

Host Bob Schieffer jumped right into Gingrich's comments of last week and didn't quite seem to buy his explanations and apologies. So, Gingrich didn't apologize again, but he did explain again.

Schieffer then gave Gingrich a chance to critique President Obama's Middle East strategy speech of  last Thursday, a chance the former speaker enthusiastically grabbed.

Things didn't get really testy until the end, when Schieffer just couldn't let go of Gingrich's hefty Tiffany's bill.

ABC's "This Week" was third last week with 1.99 million viewers, and 638,000 ages 25-54.

And it may be third this week, since Christiane Amanpour, true to her roots as a foreign correspondent, booked neither Gingrich nor Ryan.

Instead, she went for King Abdullah II of Jordan to discuss his role in Middle East politics. Click here for a look.

That's called counter-programming or tone-deaf for American audiences, and we'll see if it worked later in the week, when Sunday's ratings come out.

In fourth place last week was "Fox News Sunday," with Chris Wallace, which attracted 1.36 million viewers and 558,000 ages 25-54.

But, that's only the numbers for the show's airings on the Fox Broadcasting Network affiliates. It picked up a couple million or so more from its three Sunday cable airings on Fox News Channel.

"Meet the Press" also picks up viewers from re-airing on corporate sibling MSNBC.

On May 22, "Fox News Sunday" kept to the GOP-candidate theme, but went for newly announced Herman Cain, a "tea party" favorite who has lots of ideas on taxes and the debt and no firm plan yet on Afghanistan.

When Wallace pressed, Cain said in essence that he just couldn't come up with a plan for the conflict until he is sworn in and actually eyeballs the intelligence and reports from the field that only the president sees.

That issue is at the end of this clip.

It's up to voters to decide whether Cain's assertion is a dodge or common sense.

-- Kate O'Hare

Media critic Kate O’Hare is a regular Ticket contributor. She also blogs about TV at Hot Cuppa TV and is a frequent contributor at entertainment-news site Zap2it. Also follow O'Hare on Twitter @KateOH

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Photos: William B. Plowman / NBC (Gingrich); PaulRyan.House.gov (Ryan); Paul Drinkwater / NBC (Gregory).

President Obama caught some intense heat for his Thursday remarks at the State Department that seemed to change the staunch American support for Israel. One result was a chilly Oval Office head-to-head Friday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Obama's full text Thursday is right here.

Not coincidentally, the Democrat spoke before the influential American Israel Public Affairs Committee crowd Sunday to reexplain his position. He was received politely, did not appear to back off his first statement and reiterated the United States' strong commitment to Israel. Full text below.

That's a commitment, not by the way, that has played a strong role in shaping the flow of political donations within American politics. Just saying.

Netanyahu is also addressing that crowd, as is Republican House Speaker John A. Boehner.

Related:

Obama, late for his own Middle East speech, keeps viewers waiting, globally

What they're saying about Obama's Middle East speech

President Obama's remarks to AIPAC about Israel, as provided by the White House

Good morning!  Thank you, Rosy, for your very kind introduction. But even more, thank you for your many years friendship. Back in Chicago, when I was just getting started in national politics, I reached out to a lot of people for advice and counsel, and Rosy was one of the very first. 

When I made my first visit to Israel, after entering the Senate, Rosy -- you were at my....

In a humble 164-word email to supporters early Sunday morning, Indiana's Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels said he would not pursue his party's nomination for 2012.

His decision came as a shock to many mainstream Republicans, who knew of the objections of his wife Cherie to the personal rigors and media scrutinty of a national campaign.

But they thought those concerns had been overcome in recent days of quiet lobbying.

Not so.

Here's the full Daniels message text, that will further roil the GOP field:

Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels non-candidacy message to supporters

I hope this reaches you before the public news does. If so, please respect my confidence for the short time until I can make it known to all.

The counsel and encouragement I received from important citizens like you caused me to think very deeply about becoming a national candidate. 

In the end, I was able to resolve every competing consideration but one, but that, the interests and wishes of my family, is the most important consideration of all. If I have disappointed you, I will always be sorry. 

If you feel that this was a non-courageous or unpatriotic decision, I understand and will not attempt to persuade you otherwise. I only hope that you will accept my sincerity in the judgment I reached.

Many thanks for your help and input during this period of reflection.  Please stay in touch if you see ways in which an obscure Midwestern governor might make a constructive contribution to the rebuilding of our economy and our Republic.    #### 

But you can say Yes to following The Ticket via Twitter alerts of each new Ticket item. Or click this: @latimestot. Our Facebook Like page is over here. We're also available on Kindle. Use the ReTweet buttons above to share any item with family and friends, while you can.

ABC's "This Week" with Christiane Amanpour: King Abdullah II, Jake Tapper, George Will, Jonathan Karl, Matthew Dowd and Donna Brazile.

Bloomberg's "Political Capital" with Al Hunt: Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.).

CBS' "Face the Nation" with Bob Schieffer: Newt Gingrich.

CNN Fareed Zakaria "GPS": Amr Moussa, Mohamed ElBaradei, Waleed Rashed, Ragia Omran, Noor Aman Nour and Sarah Abdelrahman.

CNN's "State of the Union" with Candy Crowley: Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill), Reps. Mike Rogers (R-Mich.) and C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger (D-Md.), Dick Armey, Ron Klain, Stephen Hadley, Israeli Amb. Michael Oren and Jane Harman.

Fox News Channel "Fox News Sunday" with Chris Wallace: Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Herman Cain, with Evan Bayh, Liz Cheney, Paul Gigot and Juan Williams.

NBC's "Meet the Press" with David Gregory: House Budget Committee Chairman Paul D. Ryan (R-WI).

-- Andrew Malcolm

Why wait until Sunday for politics? Click here now to follow The Ticket via Twitter alerts of each new Ticket item. Or follow us @latimestot. Our Facebook Like page is over here. We're also available on Kindle now. Use the ReTweet buttons above to share this item with friends.

Photo: Jonathan Ernst / Reuters (Cain).

For those worried about the 400 million Chinese students studying math and science around the clock to somehow surpass lazy American kids in failing schools, here's some good news.

Our colleague Brady MacDonald brings the uplifting word that authorities in China have officially, knowingly and wittingly allowed the importation of Hello Kitty, a feline-based cult of souvenirs and other merchandise.

Hello Kitty was first spotted by public health officials in Japan in 1974. In only two years it somehow crossed the immense Pacific Ocean to infect the minds of little girls across North America.

Since then, the annoying Hello Kitty virus has spread into countless products such as computers and toasters that burn the Hello Kitty kitty into each slice of bread.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have not even tried to control the epidemic of stupidity caused by the darling fictional cat with the perfect jaunty bow; they learned their lesson trying to stamp out Steamboat Willy.

Now, Brady tells us, the iconic kitty has spread into mainland China to accomplish the total domination that even the Imperial Japanese Army could not in the 1930s.

Construction starts in July on a 150-acre, $215-million theme park in Zhejiang province. An estimated 1 million volunteers a year will expose themselves to the Hello Kitty plague starting in 2014. That's a full year before Shanghai Disneyland is scheduled to open.

Over time, those Hello Kitty girls will grow into young women and have their own little girls to share the Hello Kitty paraphernalia with. Eventually, a growing majority of the proletariat's female minds will be infected with the commercialized cat and the rest of the world can resume its normal naptimes.

Related:

Ticket pic of the week: Better to fly over this thing than into it

Ticket pic of the week: A little father-son time in Libya

Ticket pic of the Week: Some foreign fans displeased with the NFL

Ticket pic of the week: A face in Japan to touch your heart

Ticket Pic of the week: Year of the Rabbit off to rough start for this guy

Ticket pic of the week: Even pandas need to play too

-- Andrew Malcolm

Don't forget to follow The Ticket via Twitter alerts of each new Ticket item. Or click this: @latimestot. Our Facebook Like page is over here. We're also available on Kindle.Use the ReTweet buttons above to share any item with family and friends.

Photo: Harmonyland in Japan