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 …

Iranian clerics seek supreme leader alternative  —  Clashes between protesters and police Saturday left at least 13 people dead (File)  —  Religious leaders are considering an alternative to the supreme leader structure after at least 13 people were killed in the latest unrest to shake Tehran …

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 …

Conrad Moves Closer To Public Health Care After Negotiations  —  Sen. Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) moved sharply toward public health care Monday, saying that he could “absolutely” support major parts of Sen. Chuck Schumer's compromise proposal for a public option after closed-door negotiations.

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 …

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.

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.

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.

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 …

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 …

Sotomayor Fight Eroding What's Left Of Latino Support For GOP?  —  New poll numbers really seem to bear out the fears of some Republicans: The GOP's quasi-opposition to Sotomayor seems to be hurting the party among Latinos in a big way.  —  The latest numbers from the nonpartisan Research 2000 …

What Roger Cohen Saw  —  Andrew writes of Roger Cohen: … On behalf of the “usual suspects,” let me just say this: Roger Cohen in no way “saw this coming.”  In fact, he made a name for himself internationally as one of the leading Western apologists for Khamenei and Ahmadinejad …

Obama ‘moved’ by Iran protest images  —  WASHINGTON (CNN) — Images of Iran's crackdown on street protests have “moved” President Obama, his spokesman said Monday.  —  At his daily media briefing, spokesman Robert Gibbs said Obama received briefings on the Iran situation and also followed events through television coverage.

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 …

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 …