Gov. Sanford Admits Affair and Explains Disappearance  —  COLUMBIA, S.C. — Mark Sanford, the governor of South Carolina, said he had conducted an extra-marital affair with a woman in Argentina, ending a mystery over his week-long disappearance that had infuriated lawmakers and seemed to put his rising political career in jeopardy.

On Fox, Mark Sanford “(D)” holds press conference  —  Previously:  —  Media outlets - including Fox - misidentify as Democrats several Republicans facing scandal, poor poll numbers  —  EXPAND ALL EXPAND 1ST LEVEL COLLAPSE ALL

First on the CNN Ticker: Barbour to head RGA  —  WASHINGTON (CNN) — Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour has assumed the chairmanship of the Republican Governors Association, CNN has learned.  —  Barbour immediately takes over as head of the national Republican campaign organization following South Carolina …

Source: “There Is Some Evidence [Sanford] Was Not Alone”  —  Things are still murky on the Mark Sanford story.  But it's looking increasingly likely that Sanford's trip to Argentina was about more than a scenic drive down the coast.  —  “There is some evidence he was not alone,” a source in South Carolina politics told TPMmuckraker.

Upon Return, Sanford Admits Extramarital Affair  —  At a news conference in Columbia, S.C., Gov. Mark Sanford has now admitted that he had an extramarital affair with someone in Argentina, as he attempted to explain his mysterious disappearance from the state last week.

FIRST THOUGHTS: SANFORD'S TANGO  —  From Chuck Todd, Mark Murray, Domenico Montanaro, and Ali Weinberg  —  *** Sanford's tango: Well, it turns out that South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford (R) wasn't hiking the Appalachian Trail after all.  Instead, he was in — get this — Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Bastard  —  It's the only fitting word for a man who abandons his wife and four sons on Father's Day weekend to indulge his “overdrive” on an Argentinian fling.  —  Mark Sanford: Bastard.  —  If you missed Sanford's rambling, surreal disaster of a press conference, consider yourself lucky.

The Crucifixion of Nico Pitney  —  Okay, that's a bit of an exaggeration but the Huffington Post reporter is getting tweaked this morning for the question he posed to President Obama at yesterday's White House Press Conference.  It was an odd moment because normally, of course …

EXCLUSIVE: U.S. contacted Iran's ayatollah before election  —  Administration overture to Khamenei ridiculed in sermon  —  Prior to this month's disputed presidential election in Iran, the Obama administration sent a letter to the country's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei …