WaPo cancels lobbyist event  —  Washington Post publisher Katharine Weymouth said today she was canceling plans for an exclusive “salon” at her home where for as much as $250,000, the Post offered lobbyists and association executives off-the-record access to “those powerful few” …

Things That Make You Go Hmmm  —  John Schwenkler was kind enough to engage Andrew once again over the origins of Trig:  —  [Is] it still possible to think that the Palins might have pulled off the greatest con in American political history by pretending to be the parents of a Downs Syndrome baby …

Sanford's mental state questioned  —  Gov. Mark Sanford is acting like a love-struck teenager.  —  Or, maybe he has a deeper personality disorder, some experts speculate.  —  As the saga of Sanford and his Argentine lover continues, the public, the governor's political rivals and some allies …

New GOP ad: The stimulus isn't working  —  From Boehner's office, an odd, hokey first effort at pushing a meme that could deliver the House to the GOP if it's still true next November.  There's too much in the way here to focus on the message — split-screen, soundtrack, cornpone narrator …

A ‘coup’ in Honduras?  Nonsense.  —  Don't believe the myth.  The arrest of President Zelaya represents the triumph of the rule of law.  —  TEGUCIGALPA, HONDURAS -  —  Sometimes, the whole world prefers a lie to the truth.  The White House, the United Nations, the Organization of American States …

McKinney held in Israel, to be returned to U.S.  —  JERUSALEM (CNN) — Former U.S. Rep. Cynthia McKinney — who was aboard a ship the Israeli navy intercepted this week — is in a detention center and will be returned to the United States, the U.S. Embassy said.

Now they want Reagan's name off the airport  —  At Wednesday's Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority Board meeting, chairman H.R. Crawford - a former District Council member and Marion Barry confidante - told fellow Board members that he has heard talk on Capitol Hill …

New CBO Score for the Affordable Health Choices Act: $611 Billion Over 10 Years  —  HELP Committee Democrats Release New Cost Estimate, Strong Public Option & Provision on Employer Responsibility  —  Senator Edward M. Kennedy, Chairman of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) …

Judge Acquits Lori Drew in Cyberbullying Case, Overrules Jury  —  LOS ANGELES — A federal judge on Thursday overturned guilty verdicts against Lori Drew, issuing a directed acquittal on three misdemeanor charges.  —  Drew, 50, was accused of participating in a cyberbullying scheme …

Saddam Hussein Said WMD Talk Helped Him Look Strong to Iran  —  Saddam Hussein told an FBI interviewer before he was hanged that he allowed the world to believe he had weapons of mass destruction because he was worried about appearing weak to Iran, according to declassified accounts of the interviews released yesterday.

Dawn of the Revolt  —  My travels with Mousavi.  —  May 23rd: Tehran's Azadi Indoor Stadium, 20 days before the election.  The press had difficulty getting in the gates.  “All full,” the guards kept telling us.  And full it was, overflowing in fact, for a Mir Hossein Mousavi campaign rally.

California Starting to Pay With I.O.U.'s  —  LOS ANGELES — Its budget gap growing and its political process for addressing the gap unhinged, California will begin Thursday to pay vendors and taxpayers with i.o.u.'s, only the second time the state has adopted the emergency payment method since the Great Depression.

Make the Ask  —  This magazine has made no secret of its high regard for Barack Obama.  Which makes it all the more distressing for us to observe the approach that his administration is taking on gay rights.  During the campaign, Obama said all the right things (well, almost all …

Obama Administration to Involve NSA in Defending Civilian Agency Networks  —  The Obama administration will proceed with a Bush-era plan to use National Security Agency assistance in screening government computer traffic on private-sector networks, with AT&T as the likely test site …

Agreements must be honored  —  Dov Weissglass slams Obama Administration's denial of Israeli agreement with Bush  —  On May 1 and 16, 2003, during discussions of Israel's reservations in respect to the Road Map initiative, it was agreed that there will be no construction at Jewish communities in Judea …

BREAKING: Obama Administration Wants CIA Torture Report Withheld Until August 31  —  Word's coming now that the Obama administration is seeking to withhold the CIA's 2004 inspector-general report on the implementation of its former “enhanced interrogation regime” until August 31.

Poll: Obama slipping further on economy  —  Rasmussen's new poll, taken before the release of June's unemployment numbers, shows significant slippage for Barack Obama on the economy, his central issue.  Only 42% of American voters give him excellent or good marks on handling the economy, the lowest ratings he has yet received.