Gov. Sanford not heard from since Thursday  —  The whereabouts of Gov. Mark Sanford have been unknown to state officials since Thursday, and some state leaders are questioning who is in charge of the executive office.  —  Neither the governor's office nor the State Law Enforcement Division …

US says hot dog diplomacy still on with Iran  —  WASHINGTON (AFP) — The United States said Monday its invitations were still standing for Iranian diplomats to attend July 4 celebrations at US embassies despite the crackdown on opposition supporters.  —  President Barack Obama's administration …

Family, friends mourn Iranian woman whose death was caught on video  —  Neda Agha-Soltan, 26, ‘was a beam of light’ and not an activist, friends say.  The video footage of her bleeding to death on the street has turned her into an international symbol of the protest movement.

Iranian protester pleads for U.S., world to intervene  —  An Iranian student protester in Tehran made a passionate plea for help from the world community this morning in a phone call to CNN's “American Morning.”  —  For safety reasons, CNN can only identify the student by his first name, Mohammad.

Under Misspelled Banner, Buchanan And White Nationalist Brimelow Argue For English-Only Initiatives  —  On Saturday, Pat Buchanan hosted a conference to discuss how Republicans can regain a majority in America.  During one discussion, panelists suggested supporting English-only initiatives …

Poll: Americans Less Upbeat About Stimulus Bill's Impact  —  Expectations for President Obama's stimulus package have diminished, with barely half of Americans now confident the $787 billion measure will boost the economy, and the rapid rise in optimism that followed the 2008 election has abated …

Analysis: Supreme Court Invalidates Section 5's Coverage Scheme [Updated 2:15]  —  Though the Supreme Court by a wide margin today formally declined to resolve a challenge to the constitutionality of Section 5, the reality is far different.  The decision unambiguously served notice …

McCain's Iran Neda speech raises domestic political stakes for Obama  —  Here's anew video involving the violent events in Iran and the politics they are now forcing within the United States.  —  The video is from C-SPAN of Arizona Republican Sen. John McCain, who over the weekend …

Gawker Says ‘Hi’ to Fox News Stalker; He Drives Away Like a Coward  —  We finally met Bill O'Reilly's stalker-producer Jesse Watters on Saturday.  It was a fleeting and civil encounter—jovial, even—but ultimately unsatisfying.  We asked him some questions about his stalking, and then he drove away, because he's a coward.

Understanding Obama on Iran  —  Call me thick, but I continue to be baffled by a lot of the commentary, cited by Rich and others, which gives as the rationale for President Obama's diffidence his purported determination to preserve the opportunity to negotiate with the mullahs on their nuclear program.

Rights, Responsibilities and Love  —  On Sunday, The Meriden Record-Journal published the following op-ed by Senator Chris Dodd  —  Public officials aren't supposed to change their minds.  But I firmly believe that it's important to keep learning.  Last week, while I was in Connecticut meeting …

Fenty: 4 Killed in Deadliest Crash in Metro History; Rescues Still Underway  —  WASHINGTON - Metro confirms two trains have collided on the Red Line between the Takoma and Fort Totten stations, killing four people and injuring 66 others, including two patients with life-threatening injuries.

Villaraigosa bows out of California governor's race  —  The mayor says he wants to devote his full attention to Los Angeles.  —  Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa announced on national television today he would not be running for California governor in 2010 after flirting with a bid for higher office for months.

Obama Invites Gay Rights Advocates to White House  —  As advocates for gays and lesbians intensify their criticism of the White House, President Obama has invited some of their leaders to an East Room reception next Monday to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall Rebellion …

Republicans are trying to shoot their own feet  —  What in name of Pierre S. duPont IV do the Republicans in the State Legislature think they are doing?  It's got to be the most ludicrous political strategy ever conceived, certainly in this state.  —  Republicans want to spare every teacher …

Grassroots Bipartisanship on Health Care  —  As a follow-up on Nate's fine work (here and here) on polling about the “public option” in health care reform, it's worth emphasizing that the two most credible surveyors of public opinion on this subject, the Kaiser Family Foundation and CBS/New York Times …

Climate change fantasies  —  A while back I wrote about anti-green economics — the insistence, by opponents of policies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, that the economic cost of cap-and-trade would be immense and unsupportable.  I cited Robert Samuelson, who ridiculed the Environmental Defense Fund …

Iranian leaders will always believe Anglo-Saxons are plotting against them. … - There is nothing at all that any Western country can do to avoid the charge of intervening in Iran's foreign affairs.  The deep belief that everything—especially anything in English—is already and by definition …

Scientology: The Truth Rundown, Part 1 of 3 in a special report on the Church of Scientology  —  After L. Ron Hubbard died, David Miscavige became Scientology's leader.  Former church executives say Miscavige beat his staff.  Church officials say the defectors are lying.  —  Reuters/Corbis (2006)]

Supreme Court Ends Plame Case Against Cheney, Libby, Bush Officials  —  The high court decides not to take a case dismissed by lower court that the outing of CIA agent Valerie Plame caused suffering for Plame and her husband, Joe Wilson.  —  FOXNews.com  —  The Supreme Court announced Monday …

No Country for Burly Men  —  How feminist groups skewed the Obama stimulus plan towards women's jobs.  —  A “man-cession.”  That's what some economists are starting to call it.  Of the 5.7 million jobs Americans lost between December 2007 and May 2009, nearly 80 percent had been held by men.

Muslim Mob Attacks Church and Loots Christian Homes in Egypt  —  (AINA) — An Egyptian Muslim mob attacked a church on Sunday, 6/21/2009 in the village of Ezbet Boshra-East, El-Fashn, smashing its windows and assaulting Copts with clubs and white weapons, wounding 25 Copts, in the presence and with the instigation of the State Security.

Corker Impatiently Blows Off Meeting With Sotomayor Because She Was Slowed By Temporary Disability  —  Last Thursday, Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN) was scheduled to meet with Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor.  Yet when Sotomayor was delayed because of her recent injury, Corker decided …