Bush takes swipes at Obama policies  —  Defends interrogations  —  Former President George W. Bush fired a salvo at President Obama on Wednesday, asserting his administration's interrogation policies were within the law, declaring the private sector not government will fix the economy and rejecting the nationalization of health care.

Health Care Reform in Danger  —  Health reform is, I think it fair to say, in danger right now.  The news out of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee was bad.  The Congressional Budget Office had scored a partial bill and the result was a total fiasco.

U.S. Struggling for Right Response to Iran  —  Obama Seeks Way to Acknowledge Protesters Without Alienating Ayatollah  —  The political unrest in Iran presents the Obama administration with a dilemma: keep quiet to pursue a nuclear deal with Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the country's supreme leader …

Senator questions firing of 3 inspectors general  —  Removal of 2 inspectors general prompts questions  —  WASHINGTON - — He was appointed with fanfare as the public watchdog over the government's multi-billion dollar bailout of the nation's financial system.

Robert Fisk: Secret letter ‘proves Mousavi won poll’  —  They were handing out the photocopies by the thousand under the plane trees in the centre of the boulevard, single sheets of paper grabbed by the opposition supporters who are now wearing black for the 15 Iranians who have been killed in Tehran …

In a Staff Shuffle, Signs of Obama's Direction on Mideast  —  WASHINGTON — So now Dennis B. Ross, the Obama administration's senior Iran policy maker, less than three months into his State Department job, is moving to the White House, administration officials say.

Court rejects DNA access claim  —  Splitting 5-4, the Supreme Court ruled Thursday that an individual whose criminal conviction has become final does not have a constitutional right to gain access to evidence so that it can be subjected to DNA testing to try to prove innocence.

Two sources: Supreme Court ruling on U.S. Senate race to arrive tomorrow!  —  PIM has now heard from two sources on different sides of the Minnesota U.S. Senate race recount scene that the final Minnesota Supreme Court ruling is expected to arrive tomorrow, Thursday, June 18th.

Iran protests: live  —  Another huge demonstration is expected today in defiance of the regime after, opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi called for a day of silent protest to mourn the victims of the unrest.  Follow live updates on the aftermath of Iran's disputed elections  —  7.21pm:

Olive Garden pulls Letterman ads  —  Following a week of back and forth between CBS late night comic David Letterman and Sarah Palin over a crude joke he told about the Alaska Republican governor's daughter, the Olive Garden restaurant says it is cancelling all of its scheduled ads on Letterman's “Late Show” for the rest of the year.

Global Insurance Fraud By North Korea Outlined  —  Government Has Collected Millions Of Dollars on Large, Suspicious Claims  —  For Kim Jong Il's birthday, North Korean insurance managers prepared a special gift.  —  In Singapore, they stuffed $20 million in cash into two heavy-duty bags and sent them …

Obama's Ratings Remain High Despite Some Policy Concerns  —  Health Care Views Similar to '93, But Fewer Favor Rebuilding System  —  A solid majority of Americans (61%) continue to approve of Barack Obama's job performance, although they express mixed views of several of his policies.

Have Democrats Disowned Gary Odom?  —  OK, Pith has been wondering all session what's up with Gary Odom.  Oddly, House Democrats have appeared to go about their business without the assistance of their elected leader.  —  That's been especially true since Odom gave that unfortunate interview …

Months After Ted Stevens Debacle, Justice Department Corruption Unit in Disarray  —  Two months after prosecutors abandoned the criminal conviction of former senator Ted Stevens, the Justice Department unit that polices public corruption remains in chaos, coping with newly discovered evidence …

U.S. Commission on Civil Rights Demands Answers on Voter Intimidation Case Dismissal  —  As was commented upon here at CONTENTIONS, and widely reported and remarked upon elsewhere, the Obama Justice Department took the unusual action last month of dismissing a default judgment …

Bailout Costs vs Big Historical Events  —  It is exceedingly difficult to convey exactly how much we are spending on all these bailouts.  Whenever I start talking trillions (versus mere billions), I get puzzled looks from people.  Humans have a hard time conceptualizing any number that large.