Sources Question Governor's Story  —  Gov. Mark Sanford Says He Disappeared To Go Hiking  —  GREENVILLE, S.C. — WYFF News 4 has received exclusive information from sources who say they have information about Gov. Mark Sanford's whereabouts during a mysterious absence over the past several days.

Obama calls on HuffPost for Iran question UPDATE  —  In what appeared to be a coordinated exchange, President Obama called on the Huffington Post's Nico Pitney near the start of his press conference and requested a question directly about Iran.  —  “Nico, I know you and all across the Internet …

Tapes Reveal Nixon's View of Abortion  —  WASHINGTON — On Jan. 23, 1973, when the Supreme Court struck down state criminal abortion laws in Roe v. Wade, President Richard M. Nixon made no public statement.  But privately, newly released tapes reveal, he expressed ambivalence.

The End of the Beginning  —  TEHRAN — Iran's 1979 revolution took a full year to gestate.  The uprising of 2009 has now ended its first phase.  But the volatility ushered in by the June 12 ballot-box putsch of Iran's New Right is certain to endure over the coming year.  The Islamic Republic has been weakened.

About Last Night  —  I've been receiving a steady stream of favorable emails from Iranian-Americans regarding my appearance on Larry King last night.  They're delighted that I made it clear that Iran is different from the other countries in the region—better educated, more sophisticated …

Through the Looking Glass With Andrew Sullivan  —  Perhaps the single, common life goal of every intellectual, pseudo-intellectual, and intellectual aspirant, is to be a true Renaissance man — a genius whose force of will and flexible, dominating intellect allows him to master or nearly master …

David Westin Responds to Members of the Congressional Media Fairness Caucus  —  Dear Congressman Smith:  —  Thank you for your letter of today's date concerning our planned coverage tomorrow of health care reform in America.  I am pleased that you agree that the subject deserves extensive and careful coverage.

What Obama didn't mention  —  A couple of surprising words were missing from President Barack Obama's 55-minute news conference on Wednesday: “Iraq” — and “Afghanistan.”  —  Also MIA: “Korea,” “Pakistan,” “soldiers,” “surge” and “war” — as well as the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines.

Eliminating Prison Rape  —  It has been far too long in coming but, yesterday, the Federal Prison Rape Elimination commission released its report on elimination and prevention efforts regarding the biggest social problem nobody wants to talk about: prison rape.

U.S. Strike Said to Kill 60 in Pakistan  —  ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — An airstrike believed to have been carried out by a United States drone killed at least 60 people at a funeral in South Waziristan on Tuesday, residents of the area and local news reports said.

New All-Time Lows for Both CBS & ABC Evening Newscasts  —  Breaking: TVNewser has learned the CBS Evening News has once again set an all-time low last week with 4.89 million Total Viewers and 1.42 million A25-54 viewers.  But it was also the lowest (since records began in the 1991-'92 season) for ABC's World News with Charles Gibson.

Pessimistic executives cash out of shares  —  Growing pessimism about the prospects for a global economic recovery sent stock and commodity prices tumbling on Monday while new data showed that leading US corporate executives were cashing out of their share holdings at a rapid pace.

He Thinks You're Stupid  —  In his press conference today, President Obama talked about the cap-and-trade energy tax that the Democrats are trying to ram through Congress.  Obama's nose grew a couple of inches as he uttered this howler: … The idea that the energy tax will come to rest with …

Why Are Obama's Polls Slipping?  —  Today's presidential press conference was supposed to be held in the Rose Garden, but it got canceled because of the heat.  I suspect this was less a tender concern about the press corps, which would have to be seated long in advance of the president …

Would An Overhaul Hurt Health Care?  —  Reform Could Prompt Employers To Drop Plans, Choice Of Doctors Could Diminish  —  (CBS) Today the President again insisted that his health care reform won't force you to switch plans or doctors.  —  “What I'm saying is the government …

Mousavi, Celebrated in Iranian Protests, Was the Butcher of Beirut  —  He may yet turn out to be the avatar of Iranian democracy, but three decades ago Mir-Hossein Mousavi was waging a terrorist war on the United States that included bloody attacks on the U.S. embassy and Marine Corps barracks in Beirut.