Gates caller says she didn't cite race  —  Woman laments media accounts  —  The woman whose report of a possible house break-in led to the arrest of Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. said she never mentioned race during her 911 call and is “personally devastated” …

Palin's “Mad as Hell” Speech  —  Outgoing Alaska Governor Lashes Out at Media in Resignation Address, But Will It Work in the Long Term?  —  (CBS) This story was written by CBS News digital journalist Scott Conroy and director of political coverage Steve Chaggaris.

An Incoherent Truth  —  Right now the fate of health care reform seems to rest in the hands of relatively conservative Democrats — mainly members of the Blue Dog Coalition, created in 1995.  And you might be tempted to say that President Obama needs to give those Democrats what they want.

GOP headache: The birther issue  —  When lawmakers return home for recess in August, they can expect to hear tough questions from constituents on the economy, health care and government spending.  —  But Republicans are preparing for something else: the birthers.

GOP headache: The birther issue  —  So far, Hoekstra hasn't faced any such questions.  —  “When you're in a state with 15.2 percent unemployment,” he said, “most people have other things on their mind than this.”  —  But as if to illustrate the touchiness of the subject, Hoekstra quickly added: “Not that this isn't important.”

Pelosi unpopular?  'I don't care'  —  House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is one of the most despised political figures in the country.  —  And, frankly, she doesn't give a damn.  —  “No, I don't care,” Pelosi told POLITICO last Thursday, laughing heartily as she walked beneath the Capitol dome and plunged into a crowd of tourists.

Amid New Scrutiny, John Yoo Rebuts Critics of Detainee Memos  —  Quietly but Forcefully, Author of Detainee Memos Rebuts Critics  —  Some public figures, if their judgment and ethics come under fire, retreat into solitude.  Then there is John C. Yoo.  —  The former Justice Department official …

Mike Stark on Capitol Hill: Know Your Birthers  —  Mike Stark has been up on the Hill all week whipping Democrats to hold fast on the public plan, and in his spare time, he decided to ask Republicans if Barack Obama was born in the United States.  Not only do they not want to answer — they run.

What the NYT's 8,100-word Valerie Jarrett profile didn't tell you  —  Here is a perfect example of why I wrote Culture of Corruption (officially out today — I'll be launching on Hannity radio and TV.)  —  Over the weekend, the New York Times published a massive, 8,100-word profile …

It's Shepard Smith time  —  With his ratings soaring, the Fox News anchor enjoys his moment - and becomes a lightning rod  —  NEW YORK - Commercial break.  The cameras have stopped rolling on the set of “Studio B,” the 3 p.m. newscast on the Fox News Channel.

The War We'd Like to Forget  —  It was the kind of symbolic moment that George W. Bush must have yearned for during the Iraq war's darkest days.  Nuri Kamal al-Maliki, the prime minister of a sovereign (sort of), stable (up to a point) and democratic (within limits) Republic of Iraq came …

Conyers Sees No Point in Members Reading 1,000-Page Health Care Bill—Unless They Have 2 Lawyers to Interpret It for Them  —  (CNSNews.com) - During his speech at a National Press Club luncheon, the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, Democratic Congressman John Conyers (D-Mich.) …

Finally, Action on Gay Soldiers  —  Blogs and Stories  —  The Daily Beast has learned that the Senate, prompted by Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, will hold hearings on “Don't Ask, Don't Tell”—a first since 1993, despite Obama's campaign promises.  —  After determining she didn't have enough votes …

Climate study puts Incas' success down to 400 years of warm weather  —  Supreme military organisation and a flair for agricultural invention are traditionally credited for the rise of the Incas.  However, their success may have owed more to a spell of good weather — a spell that lasted for more than 400 years.

Obama administration reveals evidence of global warming kept secret under Bush.  —  The Obama administration has “released more than a thousand intelligence images of Arctic ice,” following a declassification request by the National Academy of Sciences.  These high-resolution spy photos …

Tenacious G  —  Inside Goldman Sachs, America's most successful, cynical, envied, despised, and (in its view, anyway) misunderstood engine of capitalism.  —  Illustrations by Darrow (Goldman Sachs figure), Gluekit (small figures).  —  Thirty floors up in the black-tinted box …

An Artery of Opium a Vein of Taliban  —  Sangin, Afghanistan

Twitter Not Blocked In White House, As It Turns Out  —  Yesterday we wondered about Robert Gibbs' statement that Twitter was blocked on White House computers: If it was, then how did the White House Twitter feed get updated?  We did some web-sleuthing and discovered that not only were Tweets off …