Gingrich: Sotomayor ‘racist,’ should withdraw nomination  —  WASHINGTON (CNN) - Rush Limbaugh isn't the only one calling Sonia Sotomayor a racist.  Newt Gingrich is, too — and he's demanding that Obama's pick to the Supreme Court withdraw her nomination.  —  On Twitter, Gingrich pointed …

EXCLUSIVE: Sestak Intends To Run For Senate  —  Rep. Joe Sestak (D-PA) is privately telling supporters that he intends to run for Senate, TPMDC has confirmed.  —  “He intends to get in the race,” says Meg Infantino, the Congressman's sister, who works at Sestak for Congress.

It Sticks in My Craw  —  Most e-mailers were with me on the post on the pronunciation of Judge Sotomayor's name (and a couple griped about the whole Latina/Latino thing — English dropped gender in nouns, what, 1,000 years ago?).  But a couple said we should just pronounce it the way the bearer …

Biden talks Irish poetry, gets in a dig at Obama's teleprompters at Air Force Academy  —  On Tuesday, he did the economic recovery thing, touting the environmentally friendly jobs that President Obama's $787-billion stimulus package is creating.  —  Then, as the Ticket reported Tuesday …

It's Not About Bill  —  Bill Clinton loves to shop.  On a March day in an elegant crafts store in Lima, the Peruvian capital, he hunted for presents for his wife and the women on his staff back home.  He had given a speech at a university earlier and just came from a ceremony kicking off a program to help impoverished Peruvians.

Once Considered Unthinkable, U.S. Sales Tax Gets Fresh Look  —  Levy Viewed as Way to Reduce Deficits, Fund Health Reform  —  With budget deficits soaring and President Obama pushing a trillion-dollar-plus expansion of health coverage, some Washington policymakers are taking a fresh look …

Supervisor Asks Woman To Take Down American Flag  —  UPDATE: Hospital Says Woman May Re-Hang Flag (Read More Below)  —  MANSFIELD (CBS 11 News) ― Is it okay to show your patriotism at the office?  —  For one Arlington woman, the answer was “no” after she hung an American flag in her office just before the Memorial Day weekend.

Photos show President Barack Obama as Barry the freshman  —  Lisa Jack took pictures of the future president when he was an Occidental College student.  —  A public that wants to know everything about Barack Obama can thank Lisa Jack for a glimpse of what the future president …

AT&T May Have Swayed ‘Idol’ Results  —  LOS ANGELES — AT&T, one of the biggest corporate sponsors of “American Idol,” might have influenced the outcome of this year's competition by providing phones for free text-messaging services and lessons in casting blocks of votes at parties organized …

Majority of Americans Continue to Oppose Gay Marriage  —  PRINCETON, NJ — Americans' views on same-sex marriage have essentially stayed the same in the past year, with a majority of 57% opposed to granting such marriages legal status and 40% in favor of doing so.

Billions in new cuts loom for California — including eliminating welfare and closing most state parks  —  Faced with a ballooning deficit and a clear signal that voters won't pay more to fix it, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger released a budget plan Tuesday that would eliminate welfare …

Exploding debt threatens America  —  Standard and Poor's decision to downgrade its outlook for British sovereign debt from “stable” to “negative” should be a wake-up call for the US Congress and administration.  Let us hope they wake up.  —  Under President Barack Obama's budget plan, the federal debt is exploding.

President Obama Tries To Play “Rope-the-Dopes” With Judge Sotomayor  —  Michael Barone has his usual excellent take on the nomination of Judge Sotomayor.  Key conclusion: “[S]she clearly meets the minimal standards for the job.  Republicans are unlikely to prevent her confirmation.”

Sotomayor and Sisterhood  —  Sonia Sotomayor is either an injudicious advocate of identity politics or candidly realistic about the possibility of entirely objective decision-making.  “Whether born from experience or inherent physiological or cultural differences ... our gender and national origins …