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Chris Cillizza / The Fix:
SANFORD RETURNS! — Gov. Mark Sanford is set to return to South Carolina tomorrow. AP Photo/Mary Ann Chastain — South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford will return to the state tomorrow after spending the last five days hiking the Appalachian Trail, according to a statement released by his office this morning.
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Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:
Sanford Story Takes More Serious Turn — Late Monday evening, Gov. Mark Sanford's office revealed that he is hiking on the Appalachian Trail. — On the face of it, that solves the mystery. But this article from The State, South Carolina's main newspaper, suggests some more troubling possibilities to the story.
Jimmy Orr / Christian Science Monitor:
Sanford disappears to hike Appalachian Trail (on Naked Hiking Day) — We're not suggesting that the formerly missing Governor of South Carolina specifically ditched his family and security detail to go hiking on Naked Hiking Day. But that's what he ended up doing.
The Huffington Post:
Sanford's Hiking Trail Got Stimulus Money He Opposed — Gov. Mark Sanford has spent a good part of South Carolina's past legislative session railing against, and even actively turning down, portions of Barack Obama's stimulus package. And when the session ended with Sanford losing his fight …
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The Politico:Missing Gov. sparks political fight
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Scott Wilson / Washington Post:
Iran Unrest Reveals Split In U.S. on Its Role Abroad — Iran's post-election tumult has exposed the sharply divergent ways in which the Obama administration and its Republican opponents view the nature of American power and the president's role in speaking to political dissent outside the borders of the United States.
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Agence France Presse:
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 …
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Fox News:
Hot Dog Diplomacy: Iranian Diplomats Still Welcome at July 4 Parties — State Department spokesman Ian Kelly said there's been no thought of taking back offers for Iranian officials to join the Independence Day festivities, even as the Islamic Republic's leaders threaten violence against protesters …
Michael O'Brien / The Hill's Blog Briefing Room:Gibbs: White House may reevaluate position if Iran escalates
Andrew Malcolm / Top of the Ticket:
Why Obama's sudden news conference today? And what he'll say — You don't need to be a basketball-loving president of the United States to know that if you're trying to block opponents' shots in your end, you sure aren't increasing your own totals. You can't score points on D.
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Andrew Malcolm / Top of the Ticket:9 of 10 Americans worry about Obama's spending deficits: Poll
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Right Wing News
Washington Post:
At Least Nine Killed in Red Line Crash — The number of people killed in last night's deadly Red Line crash has risen to at least nine, Metro officials said this morning, shortly after five bodies were removed from the mangled wreckage. — The train that slammed into the back of another during …
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Myglesias / Matthew Yglesias:Metro Crash — Fort Totten Station (CC photo by katmere)
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MoJo Blog Posts
Farnaz Fassihi / Wall Street Journal:
Son's Death Has Iranian Family Asking Why — TEHRAN—The family, clad in black, stood at the curb of the road sobbing. A middle-aged mother slapped her cheeks, letting out piercing wails. The father, a frail man who worked as a doorman at a clinic in central Tehran, wept quietly with his head bowed.
Jenny Booth / Times of London:
Iranian authorities scramble to negate Neda Soltan ‘martyrdom’ — The Iranian authorities have ordered the family of a student shot dead in Tehran to take down mourning posters as they struggle to stop her becoming the rallying point for protests against the presidential election.
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Paul Kane / Washington Post:
Approval Ratings for Pelosi Hit a New Low — A month after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's showdown with the CIA over interrogation techniques, just 38 percent of Americans approve of her job performance, while 45 percent disapprove, according to a Washington Post-ABC News poll released yesterday.
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FiveThirtyEight
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Christopher Hitchens / Slate:
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 …
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Josh Kraushaar / The Politico:
Rubio's curious Tweet — Twitter hasn't always been a politician's best friend — see Republican Rep. Pete Hoekstra's comparison of House Republican floor rebellions to the uprising in Iran or Newt Gingrich calling Sonia Sotomayor a “racist.” — Florida Senate candidate Marco Rubio …
Al Kamen / Washington Post:
Dennis Ross Expands His Portfolio — Remember when the Washington Institute for Near East Policy announced Jan. 7 how happy they were that Dennis B. Ross, a senior official in the pro-Israel think tank, was going to get some kind of uber-job, “designed especially for him,” …
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Greg Sargent / The Plum Line:
Obama's Political Operation To Launch Big Database Of Health Care Stories — In a major new effort to throw Obama's campaign apparatus into the push for health care reform, the White House's political operation is set to launch a massive new online data bank of thousands of health care stories …
Robert Tait / Guardian:
Iran bans election protest footballers — Ali Karimi, Mehdi Mahdavikia and two others are ‘retired’ after sporting green wristbands in World Cup qualifier in Seoul — Their gesture attracted worldwide comment and drew the attention of football fans to Iran's political turmoil.
Amanda Terkel / Think Progress:
Bolton Slams Obama For Being ‘Timid’ On Iran, Then Admits U.S. Options Limited Because Of Bush's Failures — Yesterday on Fox News, Sean Hannity and former U.N. ambassador John Bolton joined the right-wing chorus hitting President Obama's response to the Iranian election crisis.
Discussion:
The Reaction
Michael Slackman / New York Times:
Top Clerical Council in Iran Rejects Plea to Annul Vote — CAIRO — Iran's most powerful oversight council has refused to nullify the contested presidential election just one day after it announced that the number of votes in 50 cities exceeded the number of eligible voters there by three million …
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