‘An Accident of Time and Place’  —  Henry Louis Gates Jr. on his meeting with Sgt. Crowley at the White House.  —  “...I thank God that I live in a country in which police officers put their lives at risk to protect us every day, and, more than ever, I've come to understand and appreciate their daily sacrifices on our behalf.”

AP sources: Govt to suspend ‘cash for clunkers’ … WASHINGTON (AP) - Congressional officials say the government plans to suspend the popular “cash for clunkers” program amid concerns it could quickly use up the $1 billion in rebates for new car purchases.  —  The Transportation Department …

U.S. Adviser's Blunt Memo on Iraq: Time ‘to Go Home’  —  WASHINGTON — A senior American military adviser in Baghdad has concluded in an unusually blunt memo that the Iraqi forces suffer from deeply entrenched deficiencies but are now capable of protecting the Iraqi government, and that it is time …

Rove Had Heavier Hand in Prosecutor Firings Than Previously Known  —  Political adviser Karl Rove and other high-ranking figures in the Bush White House played a greater role than previously understood in the firing of federal prosecutors almost three years ago, according to e-mails obtained …

Baucus: ‘No idea’ how he'll vote on Sotomayor  —  Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.) said Thursday he hasn't made up his mind on whether he will vote to confirm Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor.  —  Baucus this summer has infuriated liberals on and off Capitol Hill by working to strike a deal with Republicans on healthcare reform.

Pelosi lashes out at private health insurance ‘villains’  —  A day after formally delaying a vote on a healthcare bill and having to accept a further weakening of a public option to compete with private insurers, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) lashed out at the health insurance industry …

Tax Burden of Top 1% Now Exceeds That of Bottom 95%  —  Newly released data from the IRS clearly debunks the conventional Beltway rhetoric that the “rich” are not paying their fair share of taxes and disproportionately benefited from the Bush tax cuts.  —  Indeed, the IRS data shows that in 2007 …

President Obama Names Medal of Freedom Recipients 16 Agents of Change to Receive Top Civilian Honor  —  WASHINGTON - President Obama today named 16 recipients of the 2009 Presidential Medal of Freedom.  America's highest civilian honor, the Medal of Freedom is awarded to individuals …

Detained Nigeria sect leader dies  —  The leader of an Islamic sect blamed for days of deadly violence in Nigeria has been killed in police custody, police officials have said.  —  Officials said Mohammed Yusuf was shot while trying to escape.  They had announced his capture hours earlier.

No Senate Finance bill before recess  —  That didn't last long.  —  A day after some unexpectedly positive signs for health care reform in Congress, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) said Thursday that his committee would be unable to complete work on a bill before the August recess.

The only thing weirder than the Birthers are the anti-Birthers, who blame the Birthers for being conspiracy theorists yet actively feed the conspiracy by refusing to call for President Obama to release his birth certificate.  —  The state official in Hawaii who manages such things has reiterated …

Disorderly Conduct: Conversation About Gates Arrest Precedes Arrest  —  A lawyer who moments earlier had been complaining to friends about police overreaction in the arrest of Harvard Professor Henry Louis Gates Jr., got a taste of the Gates treatment himself after loudly chanting …

Encore: Master thespian reads Palin's Twitter free verse  —  Back by popular demand.  These bits are actually less a testament to her goofiness than to the ability of Shatner's sublime hamminess to make anything funny.  Set it to bass and bongos and add a few patented melodramatic pauses and even …

Suborned in the U.S.A.  —  Throughout the 2008 campaign, Barack Hussein Obama claimed it was a “smear” to refer to him as “Barack Hussein Obama.”  The candidate had initially rhapsodized over how his middle name, the name of the prophet Mohammed's grandson, would signal a new beginning in American relations with the Muslim world.

57 signatures on anti-Blue Dog letter  —  About 50 House liberals have signed on to a letter calling the deal struck between the Blue Dogs and House leadership “totally unacceptable” — and have vowed to vote against it on the floor.  —  The point may be moot: Democratic leadership is spinning the deal …