Kagan's friends: She's not gay  —  Elena Kagan is not a lesbian, one of her best friends told POLITICO Tuesday night, responding to persistent rumors and innuendo about the Supreme Court nominee's personal life.  —  “I've known her for most of her adult life and I know she's straight,” …

Alan Mollohan loses primary fight  —  West Virginia Democratic Rep. Alan Mollohan lost his bid for a 15th term tonight at the hands of state Sen. Mike Oliverio, a defeat that further affirms the anti-incumbent sentiment coursing through the country.  —  Mollohan hadn't faced a serious primary fight …

David Cameron is new UK prime minister  —  Conservative leader David Cameron has become the UK's new prime minister after the resignation of Gordon Brown.  —  Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg will be his deputy after they agreed to the UK's first coalition government in 70 years.

Specter-Sestak Dem Primary Too Close To Call, Quinnipiac University Pennsylvania Poll Finds; Toomey Has Big Lead In Republican Primary  —  U.S. Rep. Joe Sestak continues his stretch run in the Pennsylvania U.S. Senate primary and now trails incumbent Sen. Arlen Specter by a too-close-to-call 44 …

PalinMania II scheduled after midterms  —  In a move sure to capitalize on the buzz — if not the reality — of a potential Sarah Palin presidential bid, HarperCollins is putting out her second book in the weeks after November's midterm elections.  —  The book, titled, “AMERICA BY HEART …

CNN Contributor Erickson Draws Ire From All Sides  —  MACON, Ga. — In his seven weeks as one of CNN's newest contributors, Erick Erickson has made scarcely more than a dozen appearances on the network.  —  But his every utterance — every Twitter message, blog post and radio rant …

Afghanistan's Karzai to urge caution as U.S. pushes to empower local leaders  —  The U.S. strategy in Afghanistan is built around the belief that all good counterinsurgency is local.  In recent months, American officials have focused their plans on pushing power and money down to district, tribal and village leaders.

U.S. Investigates Morgan Stanley  —  Prosecutors Look at Mortgage Securities; Firm Says It Hasn't Been Contacted  —  U.S. prosecutors are investigating whether Morgan Stanley misled investors about mortgage-derivatives deals it helped design and sometimes bet against, people familiar with the matter said …

CBO ups health care cost projections  —  Congressional Budget Office estimates released Tuesday predict the health care overhaul will likely cost about $115 billion more in discretionary spending over ten years than the original cost projections.  —  The additional spending …

9th Congressional District special election headed for runoff  —  Tom Graves of the tiny northwest Georgia town of Ranger and Lee Hawkins of Gainesville are headed for a runoff for the 9th Congressional District seat.  —  With all the precincts reporting Tuesday night …

CD11: Goehring wants to thin ‘liberal’ herd  —  Congressional District 11 GOP candidate Brad Goehring is drawing fire for his confrontational Facebook statement today: … Check out all the comments; 57 when I looked a few minutes ago. … LAV 3:23 p.m. Screen shot posted below.  LAV 4:08 p.m.)

Alabama candidate denounces ‘lie’ that he believes in evolution  —  Evolution has obviously been a political issue for a while, but I'm not sure I've ever seen an attack ad like this one before: It mocks a candidate for the Republican nomination for governor of Alabama for believing in the theory.

Carter wins state Senate race  —  State election results show Atlanta attorney Jason Carter will follow in his grandfather President Jimmy Carter's political footsteps.  —  Carter captured 5,559 votes — or 65.6 percent — in the race for Senate District 42 in DeKalb County on Tuesday.

Jeb Bush Sees Rising Star in Wisconsin  —  Republican Scott Walker Touts ‘Brown Bag’ Approach to Government  —  Wisconsin Republicans have yet to nominate a candidate for governor.  Indeed, the state's primary is not until Sept. 14.  But two national GOP heavyweights …