Backlash: Obama's Comments on Gates' Arrest Stirs Reaction  —  White House Says President Was Not Calling The Police Officer Who Arrested Gates Stupid  —  The Cambridge, Mass., police officer who arrested Harvard University professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. and the officer's union …

N.J. officials, N.Y. rabbis caught in federal money laundering, corruption sweep  —  NEWARK — A New Jersey assemblyman and the mayors of Hoboken and Secaucus were among public officials arrested this morning by FBI agents in an international money laundering and corruption probe that includes rabbis …

Senate Won't Vote on Health Care Overhaul Before Recess  —  WASHINGTON — The Senate will not vote on health care legislation before leaving for its summer recess, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Thursday, as he finally acknowledged out loud the inescapable political reality that has been clear for several days.

Obama's Fifth News Conference  —  Following is a transcript of President Obama's fifth news conference, the fourth given in prime-time, as provided by Federal News Service.  —  PRESIDENT OBAMA: Good evening.  Please be seated.  —  Before I take your questions, I want to talk for a few minutes …

Inside Bush and Cheney's Final Days  —  Hours before they were to leave office after eight troubled years, George W. Bush and Richard B. Cheney had one final and painful piece of business to conclude.  For over a month Cheney had been pleading, cajoling, even pestering Bush to pardon …

Conservative Activist Forwards Racist Pic Showing Obama As Witch Doctor  —  The election of our first black president has brought with it a strange proliferation of online racism among conservatives.  —  And we've got the latest example.  —  On Sunday night, Dr. David McKalip forwarded …

Dodd In Slump In Connecticut Reelection Bid, Quinnipiac University Connecticut Poll Finds; Obama Approval Down 8 Points  —  Connecticut Sen. Christopher Dodd trails former U.S. Rep. Rob Simmons, a likely Republican challenger 48 - 39 percent in the 2010 Senate race, but he is inching …

Dems raise concerns about Boxer  —  A big chunk of the House climate change bill is in the hands of Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Chairwoman Barbara Boxer — and some of its supporters are worried that she's not up to the task.  —  In private conversations …

North Korea launches attack on Clinton  —  BANGKOK, Thailand (CNN) — North Korea launched a scathing personal attack on U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Thursday after she likened the leadership in Pyongyang to “small children and unruly teenagers and people who are demanding attention.”

GOP: Going Over the Precipice  —  Because of a quirk in California's Constitution, the minority Republicans have managed to push through a budget that makes the state sicker and dumber.  Where is the Democrats' white knight?  —  The most basic principle of any democracy is that of majority rule …

Confidence in Obama Lifts U.S. Image Around the World  —  Most Muslim Publics Not So Easily Moved  —  Overview  —  View Slideshow (w/Andrew Kohut commentary)  —  The image of the United States has improved markedly in most parts of the world, reflecting global confidence in Barack Obama.

Democrats Block GOP Health Care Mailing  —  Democrats are preventing Republican House Members from sending their constituents a mailing that is critical of the majority's health care reform plan, blocking the mailing by alleging that it is inaccurate.  —  House Republicans are crying foul …