Exclusive: Conservative group offers support for $2M  —  The American Conservative Union asked FedEx for a check for $2 million to $3 million in return for the group's support in a bitter legislative dispute, then the group's chairman flipped and sided with UPS after FedEx refused to pay.

Uncle Pat: MSNBC's Knowing Promotion of White Supremacy and Racial Hatred  —  Pat Buchanan is a racist, white supremacist intent on stoking racial hatred.  There has never been any doubt of this, and throughout the confirmation process of Judge Sotomayor, he has repeated his unvarnished white supremacist views at every opportunity.

Gang Of Six Centrist Senators Demands Delay On Health Care Reform  —  A bipartisan group of centrist and conservative senators sent a letter to the Democratic and Republican leaders on Friday urging delay in consideration of health care reform.  —  The letter, obtained by the Huffington Post …

Gates: I'm looking at ways to ensure gays are not kicked out of military based on personal vendettas.  —  Earlier this month, Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced that he was considering a temporary solution that would allow gays to serve in the military until the “Don't Ask, Don't Tell” policy is changed by Congress.

What, and when, does Obama drink?  —  When President Barack Obama confessed his occasional urge to have a puff of a cigarette, inquiring minds wondered: Does Obama ever savor that smoke with a glass of cognac?  A splash of port?  Or even, perhaps, a good, old-fashioned ale?

McCaskill's Office Locks Doors, Pulls Blinds, Calls Cops & Forces Obamacare Protesters Off Public Property  —  Local Tea Party patriots held an anti-Obama Care protest at Senator Claire “ACORN” McCaskill's district offices on Delmar Boulevard today.  —  The protest was organized by Americans …

Tehran's streets erupt after a key cleric speaks  —  Ayatollah Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani's harsh rebuke of Ahmadinejad supporters is followed by renewed violence, suggesting the discontent over recent election results is as strong as ever.  —  Reporting from Tehran and Beirut …

Sanford communications director to resign  —  Gov. Mark Sanford's communications director, Joel Sawyer, said today he is leaving for an unspecified private-sector job, effective Aug. 5.  —  Sawyer said his decision to leave his $65,000-a-year job had nothing to do with Sanford's recent six …

Obama Needs to ‘Reset’ His Presidency  —  The president we have is very different from the man who campaigned for the office in 2008.  —  Printer  —  Friendly  —  Time out, Mr. President.  —  As we approach the August congressional recess, it's clear that our economic distress is deeper …

Some E-Books Are More Equal Than Others  —  This morning, hundreds of Amazon Kindle owners awoke to discover that books by a certain famous author had mysteriously disappeared from their e-book readers.  These were books that they had bought and paid for—thought they owned.

The Joy of Sachs  —  The American economy remains in dire straits, with one worker in six unemployed or underemployed.  Yet Goldman Sachs just reported record quarterly profits — and it's preparing to hand out huge bonuses, comparable to what it was paying before the crisis.  What does this contrast tell us?

Fox guest cites Bruno to argue against health care reform.  —  On Fox News this morning, host Megyn Kelly hosted Dr. Robert Goldberg of the Center for Medicine in the Public Interest to help her scaremonger about Democratic plans to reform America's health care system.

Zell Miller: Rahm should use ‘Gorilla Glue’ to keep Obama in his chair.  —  In 2004, then-Democratic Sen. Zell Miller (GA) threw his support behind President Bush with an angry speech attacking Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) at the Republican National Convention.  Apparently, the passage of time hasn't softened Miller's anger.

Michigan unemployment tops 15%  —  Government says jobless rate is the highest for a state since 1984.  Rate tops 10% in 15 states and District of Columbia.  —  NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — Michigan became the first state in 25 years to suffer an unemployment rate exceeding 15% …

‘Birther’ Movement Dogs Republicans  —  Kris Kobach campaigns in Wichita, Kans. (YouTube: WichitaLiberty)  —  Kris Kobach is a law professor with degrees from Harvard, Yale and Oxford, and a veteran of George W. Bush's administration who, after Sept. 11, helped craft the policy …

Moon landings have been faked?  Some think so  —  (CNN) — It captivated millions of people around the world for eight days in the summer of 1969.  It brought glory to the embattled U.S. space program and inspired beliefs that anything was possible.  —  It's arguably the greatest technological feat of the 20th century.

A Hollywood Blogger Feared by Executives  —  Right now, there's a good chance a Hollywood executive is leaning into a colleague's office and quietly asking, “Did you see what Nikki just wrote?”  —  That would be Nikki Finke, a well-traveled newspaper reporter who has found her moment as a digital-age Walter Winchell.

Summers: Google econ, get good news  —  Of all the statistics pouring into the White House every day, top economic adviser Larry Summers highlighted one Friday to make his case that the economic free-fall has ended.  —  The number of people searching for the term “economic depression” on Google is down to normal levels, Summers said.

Questions raised about councilman's conduct after discovery of racist e-mails  —  EDITOR'S NOTE: This article uses language that is offensive but necessary to show a pattern of conduct by an Atwater city councilman.  —  ATWATER — In the past several months Atwater City Councilman Gary Frago …

Giant squid terrorise California coast  —  Divers spooked by tales of assaults as swarms of aggressive jumbo flying squid invade the shallows off San Diego  —  Jumbo flying squid have invaded the shallow waters off San Diego, California, spooking scuba divers and beachgoers after washing up dead on the beaches.