Clinton Bloc Becomes the Prize for Election Day  —  Now that a would-be first female president is ending her quest for the White House, the race is more about women than ever before.  —  With Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton's ending her campaign for the Democratic nomination …

The Sleazy GOP Attack Machine Kicks Into High Gear: Welcome to “F**K Whitey” and “RadicalVille”  —  It's only been three days since Sen. Barack Obama historically won the Democratic nomination for president of the United States.  But the Republican venom against the candidate and his wife Michelle is starting to spew.

Oil Prices Take a Nerve-Rattling Jump Past $138  —  The rise in oil prices turned into a stampede on Friday with futures jumping a staggering $11 a barrel to set a record above $138 a barrel.  The unprecedented surge came as the dollar fell sharply against the euro and a senior Israeli …

Black Group Offended by Delivery of T-Shirt  —  The president of the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation is disturbed by an offensive t-shirt the group received in the mail Wednesday, the day after Barack Obama claimed his party's presidential nomination.  The shirt has a cartoon image …

Voting for Commander in Chief  —  There can only be one.  —  It would be hard to design a better test for the job of commander in chief than the real-life test senators John McCain and Barack Obama have undergone in the last two years.  As the situation in Iraq deteriorated during 2006 …

City's Top Crane Inspector Is Arrested  —  The city's chief crane inspector was arrested on Friday and charged with taking bribes to approve cranes under his review and for taking money from crane operators who sought to ensure that they would pass the required licensing exam, an official involved in the case said.

Clinton to Publicly Withdraw, Support Obama  —  After a tumultuous 17-month journey, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.) will formally withdraw as a presidential candidate today, publicly declaring her support for Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.) for the first time since he secured the Democratic nomination.

Dems yank global warming bill  —  Apparently three days of debate was enough for what many senators called “the most important issue facing the planet.”  —  With little chance of winning passage of a sweeping 500-page global warming bill, the Senate Democratic leadership is planning to yank …

How today's media would have covered D-Day  —  Today is the 64th anniversary of D-Day.  —  Two items for you to commemorate.  —  1) First, read Ronald Reagan's unforgettable Pointe du Hoc speech on the 40th anniversary.  —  2) Watch this brilliant video produced last year by The Combat Report …

We need a new business cycle vocabulary  —  Today's employment report wasn't as bad as the markets seem to have thought: the big jump in the unemployment rate was due to a jump in labor force participation — maybe by teens looking for gas money? — rather than a large drop in employment.