Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R) held a unique town hall meeting Wednesday night -- on Facebook. Pawlenty's Facebook fan page was set up with a special "Town Hall" tab where visitors could click onto avirtual webchat of sorts. Pawlenty was shown seated between an American flag and a Minnesota state flag.

He read about a dozen questions from viewers from the national to the local level, including one on national security issues and another on school budget cuts in Minnesota.

Also, like lots of new technology, there was a minor glitch about midway through the event, Twincities.com reported. The screen went black temporarily, but all viewers had to do was refresh their browsers to continue watching the meeting.

Pawlenty's Facebook page status now reads: "That was a blast. I think we should do more Facebook town halls in the future. Thanks to all who participated and we'll do the best we can to get more questions in during future events."

Pawlenty is considering a  run for president in 2012.

Visitors to Google's search page surely noticed on Thursday the company had apparently changed its name to Topeka.

But Google fans, rest assured: it's only the search giant's latest April Fools joke, and something of a wonky one at that.

The quip stems from Google's decision this year to launch a high-speed broadband testbed. Competition to partner with Google on that project has been fierce, as cities across the country see the testbed program as a way to stimulate their local economies. It has led some mayors to take drastic steps to stand out.

Among them is Topeka, Kansas Mayor Bill Bunten, who led his city's charge last month to rename the locale "Google, Kansas."

It surely got Google's attention, it seems, which wrote in a blog post on Thursday that it felt compelled to "honor that moving gesture." Its solution: change its name, too, to Topeka.

"We didn’t reach this decision lightly; after all, we had a fair amount of brand equity tied up in our old name," Google wrote. "But the more we surfed around (the former) Topeka’s municipal website, the more kinship we felt with this fine city at the edge of the Great Plains".

There's more to Google's post, including a surprisingly comprehensive history of Topeka and a section on how to and how not to use the company's new name (i.e.: "Before our blind date, I did a Topeka search on him" beats "Before our blind date, I topeka'd him with AltaVista," Google notes). 

Platinum album-selling country singer and registered Democrat Toby Keith was a bit surprised when he was featured in ads for Sarah Palin's new show on Fox News Channel, "Real American Stories."

Keith's spokesman told Hitflix late Wednesday that the singer was "never contacted by Fox," and that he had "no idea what interview [the footage] is taken from.

"They're promoting this like it's a brand new interview. [Keith] never sat down with Sarah Palin," he said.

Keith is the second celebrity in as many days to protest the use of an old interview he gave to Fox News Channel as a means to promote Palin's show, which premieres Thursday night.

Rapper and actor LL Cool J learned late Tuesday that an interview he conducted with a Fox News Channel reporter in 2008 was also being repackaged for the show and used to promote its opening episode. LL complained publicly about what he characterized as a 'misrepresentation' on his Twitter account. Fox News Channel announced Wednesday that LL had been edited out of the episode.

Press releases sent out by Fox News Channel about the first episode touted interviews and profiles of Keith, LL, and former GE CEO Jack Welch, in addition to military veterans and other "real Americans."

Fox News Channel told Mediaite they had spoken to members of Keith's team, including publicist Elaine Schock, about using the interview.

Vice President Joe Biden has been given his own ice cream flavor.

"Chip off the Old Biden" is a chocolate chip ice cream that's made at The Spotted Cow, an independent ice cream shop in Peoria, Ill., where the veep made an unscheduled stop on Wednesday.

Biden was accompanied by Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood and Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), who sat and chatted with patrons at the cafe, including owners Frank and Donna Abdnour. Earlier in the day, Biden got an unscheduled five minute shoeshine at the popular spot George's Shoeshine.

Having foods named after you is something Biden's boss, President Barack Obama, knows something about: Since he first appeared on the national stage, Obama has been the inspiration for everything from omelets (the Barack Obamelet is an omelet with chili inside) to cocktails (the Obamatini has pineapple juice and Thai chili sauce).

Rep. Hank Johnson (D-Ga.) is afraid that the U.S. Territory of Guam is going to "tip over and capsize" due to overpopulation.

Johnson expressed his worries during a House Armed Services Committee hearing on the defense budget Thursday.

Addressing Adm. Robert Willard, who commands the Navy's Pacific Fleet, Johnson made a tippy motion with his hands and said sternly, "My fear is that the whole island will become so overly populated that it will tip over and capsize."

Willard paused and said: "We don't anticipate that."

Like other islands, Guam is attached to the sea floor, which makes it extremely unlikely that it will tip over, even if there are lots and lots of people on it. Guam is 30 miles long and up to 9 miles wide in certain spots, with a population of 175,000 civilians. The military is proposing the addition of 8,000 U.S. servicemembers and their families.

Reached for comment, a spokesman for Johnson said the lawmaker had visited Guam, and his concern was that the influx of military personnel would overwhelm the island's infrastructure and ecosystem.

The comment comes 1:20 into the clip.

House Budget Committee Chairman John Spratt (D-S.C.) has been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease.

Spratt's doctor told him that he's in the early stages of the degenerative disorder "but the symptoms are mild and the progression is slow," Spratt said in a statement on Wednesday.

"The chief symptom is an occasional tremor in my right hand, which responds to medication and is mostly a nuisance," he said. "The other symptom is in my posture, which is bent a bit, but I hope to correct it with exercise."

He said that his doctor said his health wasn't a reason to decide against running for re-election.

“None of these symptoms affects me mentally or physically," Spratt said. "In January, for example, I made a long trek across the world to Afghanistan, with no limits on our itinerary."

Spratt said he disclosed the diagnosis to address "rumors" about his health as he runs for reelection. He said he would seek a 15th term in the House Wednesday.

He noted that last year he had bone spurs on his foot that caused him to hobble and surgery involving his prostate.

“But to dispel any doubt, the problem in no way involved cancer," he said. "This operation was also a success."

Spratt is set to be a pivotal player for the remainder of the 111th Congress. As Budget Committee chairman, he will shepherd the budget resolution in the House this spring. Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has also named him to the White House fiscal commission, which President Barack Obama has asked to produce a plan to rein in the nation's debt.

Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.) has been hospitalized for the second time this month.

The Georgia Republican was admitted to the Piedment Hospital in Atlanta last night after "doctors found an irregular heartbeat during a routine appointment to check Isakson’s progress in recovering from a bacterial infection," his office said in a statement.

That bacterial infection caused Isakson to be hospitalized last week.

Isakson also had a blood clot in his leg due to a lack of movement during his recovery.

“It is common to find a blood clot in someone who has been in bed recovering for a week as Senator Isakson has. It is routine procedure to admit that patient into the hospital while they are being treated for the clot, and I expect Senator Isakson will remain here for a few days,” said Dr. Charles Brown III, Isakson's cardiologist.

Fox News Channel on Wednesday confirmed that it has edited out rapper and actor LL Cool J from the first episode of Sarah Palin's new show, "Real American Stories" after the musician complained that his appearance was misrepresented.

Fox featured LL (who's real name is James Smith) in promotional materials for the show, along with former GE CEO Jack Welch and country singer Toby Keith. But the footage of an interview that Smith gave to Fox News Channel (but not to Palin) was shot in 2008, for a separate purpose, and Smith was unaware that it had been repackaged and added to Palin's show.

LL tweeted Tuesday night:

Fox lifted an old interview I gave in 2008 to someone else & are misrepresenting to the public in order to promote Sarah Palins [sic] Show. WOW

In response to the comment, Fox New Channel issued the following statement Wednesday:

"Real American Stories features uplifting tales about overcoming adversity and we believe Mr. Smith’s interview fit that criteria. However, as it appears that Mr. Smith does not want to be associated with a program that could serve as an inspiration to others, we are cutting his interview from the special and wish him the best with his fledgling acting career."

Smith (pictured here in a promotional photo) stars on NCIS: Los Angeles.