NMI EXCLUSIVE: Count one more superdelegate for Barack Obama  —  New Mexico Democratic superdelegate Laurie Weahkee announced today she's backing Barack Obama.  —  SANTA FE — If Sen. Barack Obama needs a mere 170 more delegate votes to clinch the Democratic presidential nomination outright, he just got one vote closer.

Barack Obama sacks adviser over talks with Hamas  —  One of Barack Obama's Middle East policy advisers disclosed today that he had held meetings with the militant Palestinian group Hamas - prompting the likely Democratic nominee to sever all links with him.  —  Robert Malley told The Times …

From The “If McCain Did This” Files  —  Obama, below, is tired, nothing more.  —  But if John McCain did this — if he mistakenly said he'd visited 57 states — the media would be all up in his grill, accusing him of a senior moment.  Just saying....

Kennedy: No veep slot for Clinton  —  It's fun to think about, but there are so many obstacles, and Ted Kennedy isn't buying, he said on Bloomberg Television's “Political Capital With Al Hunt,” which airs this weekend. … Ouch.

Rahm Emanuel: Obama Is Our Presumptive Nominee  —  One of the most influential (and thus far subdued) voices in the Democratic primary all but declared the contest over on Friday morning.  —  “At this point, Barack is the presumptive nominee,” said Rep. Rahm Emanuel during the New Yorker's magazine conference.

Killing by the numbers  —  In 2007 elite U.S. snipers executed an unarmed Iraqi prisoner in cold blood.  Have the insidious tactics that led to atrocities in Vietnam reemerged in Iraq?  —  Genei Nesir Khudair al-Janabi, an Iraqi vegetable farmer, walked down to the ramshackle pump house along the banks of the Euphrates.

Damsel of Distress  —  This is an amazing story.  The Democratic Party has a winner.  It has a nominee.  You know this because he has the most votes and the most elected delegates, and there's no way, mathematically, his opponent can get past him.  Even after the worst two weeks of his campaign …

John McCain called out by Jed Bartlet's aides  —  JERSEY CITY, N.J. — It turns out that hobnobbing with liberal blogger Arianna Huffington and the cast of NBC's “The West Wing” on the left coast can be a risky proposition for a Republican with White House ambitions.

Gallup Daily: Obama Not Yet Pulling Away  —  Democratic nomination preferences remain evenly divided  —  PRINCETON, NJ — According to Gallup Poll Daily tracking, Democratic voters remain closely divided in their presidential nomination preferences, with 48% favoring Barack Obama and 46% backing Hillary Clinton.

Fox News Assistant Fired For Red Carpet Disclosure  —  TVNewser Exclusive: A 24-year-old Fox News Channel production assistant was fired this morning for something she said during the red carpet arrivals at the Time 100 Gala last night.  —  Insiders tell us the assistant, identified as Jennifer Locke …

The Conservative Revival  —  For years, American and British politics were in sync.  Reagan came in roughly the same time as Thatcher, and Clinton's Third Way approach mirrored Blair's.  But the British conservatives never had a Gingrich revolution in the 1990s or the Bush victories thereafter.

The Realities for Hizbollah — and does this mean Ann-Margret's NOT coming?  (Updated)  —  This line in the Washington Post's article on Lebanon jumped out at Abu Muqawama for obvious reasons. … That pretty much sums up the tactical realities in Beirut.

McCain planning climate change tour  —  Sen. John McCain really does want to tempt the Republican base. ...  We've gotten our hands on an advanced transcript of this weekend's “The Chris Matthews Show” on NBC and the British Broadcasting Corporation's Katty Kay offered this nugget during the show's …

DeDapper's Blog: Fossella Resignation Could Come Soon  —  Several top New York Republicans said that Congressman Vito Fossella's resignation will come within the next 72 hours — if not late Friday then certainly by Monday.  —  There was political concern about how best to preserve the seat …