Republican centrists warn Reid's tough tactics could backfire  —  Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has deployed unusually tough tactics to pressure Republicans to back Wall Street reform — a move that could shore up his liberal base, but one that GOP centrists say is counterproductive.

What America is Michael Gerson living in?  —  In the Washington Post, columnist and former Bush speechwriter Michael Gerson pronounces the new Arizona immigration law “understandable — and dreadful.”  Gerson says states do not have the authority “to take control of American immigration policy …

Laura Bush Opens Up About Fatal Crash  —  Laura Bush has finally opened up publicly about the mysterious car accident she had when she was 17, a crash that claimed the life of a high school friend on a dark country road in Midland, Tex.  —  In her new book, “Spoken from the Heart,” …

Why reporters are down on Obama  —  One of the enduring story lines of Barack Obama's presidency, dating back to the earliest days of his candidacy, is that the press loves him.  —  “Most of you covered me.  All of you voted for me,” Obama joked last year at the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner.

Poll finds Americans in an anti-incumbent mood as midterm elections near  —  Members of Congress face the most anti-incumbent electorate since 1994, with less than a third of all voters saying they are inclined to support their representatives in November, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.

Brown apology for ‘bigoted’ jibe  —  Gordon Brown describes pensioner as a ‘bigoted woman’  —  Gordon Brown has apologised after being caught on microphone describing a voter he had just spoken to in Rochdale as a “bigoted woman”.  —  Sixty-five-year-old Gillian Duffy had challenged …

Obama is a Bully: Kneale  —  Will someone please rein in our relentlessly hectoring President?  Barrack Hussein Obama has taken his gift for inspirational oratory—one of the traits that got him elected—and turned it into something darker and more insidious.  —  Bam is a bully.

Texas gov. shoots, kills ‘wily’ coyote during jog  —  AUSTIN, Texas — Pistol-packing Texas Gov. Rick Perry has a message for wily coyotes out there: Don't mess with my dog.  —  Perry told The Associated Press on Tuesday he needed just one shot from the laser-sighted pistol he sometimes carries …

Police state: How Mexico treats illegal aliens  —  This is what a “police state” looks like  —  My syndicated column today responds to Mexican President Felipe Calderon's demagoguery on Arizona's immigration enforcement law.  Calderon has a long history of bashing the U.S. …

Democrats Take New Tack to Rally Base  —  Concerned About Possible Midterm Losses, Party Will Step Up Minority Outreach and Warn of GOP Vote Suppression  —  Increasingly concerned about a demoralized base, Democratic Party leaders are accusing opponents of trying to delegitimize President Barack Obama …

Spain's Debt Rating Cut, Heightening Concerns Over Europe  —  The ratings agency Standard & Poor's lowered the debt rating of Spain on Wednesday, its third downgrade of a European country in two days.  —  The downgrade came one day after the S.& P. cut the ratings of Greek and Portuguese debt …

'When we understand that slide, we'll have won the war:' US generals given baffling PowerPoint presentation to try to explain Afghanistan mess  —  Its coloured charts, graphs and bullet-points are supposed to make the most incomprehensible data crystal clear.

Suntanned women to be arrested under Islamic dress code  —  Iran has warned suntanned women and girls who looked like “walking mannequins” will be arrested as part of a new drive to enforce the Islamic dress code.  —  Brig Hossien Sajedinia, Tehran's police chief, said a national crackdown …

Fisher Opens Big Lead In Ohio Dem Senate Primary, Quinnipiac University Poll Finds; Dem Voters See Him As More Likely To Win In November  —  Ohio Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher has a commanding 41 - 24 percent lead over Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner in the race for the Democratic U.S. Senate nomination …

City workers banned from official travel to Arizona  —  San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom announced today a moratorium on official city travel to Arizona after the state enacted a controversial new immigration law that directs local police to arrest those suspected of being in the country illegally.

George Will On Hispanics  —  We've seen, repeatedly, that Fred Hiatt thinks it's not a problem if George Will wants to use his Washington Post column to mislead people about facts.  But Will's decided to enter a new kind of loathesomeness with this characterization of where one might meet a Hispanic:

Coast Guard Will Try Burning Oil Spill as It Nears Land  —  NEW ORLEANS — Crews responding to the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico will soon light some of the petroleum on fire in an attempt to burn it off before it reaches shore.  —  A Coast Guard spokesman said on Wednesday morning …