Rand Paul cancels Meet the Press appearance  —  After two days of bruising media coverage about his views on elements of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, the campaign of Kentucky U.S. Senate candidate Rand Paul tells me it has canceled the candidate's upcoming appearance on NBC's “Meet the Press” …

Blumenthal allies turn tables on NYT  —  What at first appeared to be a potentially career-ending New York Times exposé of Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal has generated a messy fight between the newspaper, Blumenthal's liberal supporters, and his leading Republican rival …

Economic Scene: Obama's Progressive Project Is Changing Washington  —  With the Senate's passage of financial regulation, Congress and the White House have completed 16 months of activity that rival any other since the New Deal in scope or ambition.  Like the Reagan Revolution …

Top Official Says Feds May Not Process Illegals Referred From Arizona  —  A top Department of Homeland Security official reportedly said his agency will not necessarily process illegal immigrants referred to them by Arizona authorities.

Key Al Qaeda Figure Accidentally Blows Himself Up, U.S. Officials Say  —  U.S. officials had been watching him, but Fox News' sources insist the U.S. had nothing to do with his death

D.C. Metro Police Escorted SEIU Protesters to Bank Of America Executive's Home  —  The family of Greg Baer, Bank of America executive, is located in a jurisdiction protected by the Montgomery County Police Department (MCPD), which responded promptly to a disturbance call from his neighborhood last weekend.

No habeas rights at Bagram  —  In a major victory for the Obama Administration's detention policy, the D.C. Circuit Court ruled on Friday that foreign nationals held at a U.S. military prison at Bagram airbase outside of Kabul, Afghanistan, do not have a right to challenge in U.S. courts their continued imprisonment.

Judge Weinstein Takes On Child Pornography Laws  —  In his 43-year career as a federal judge, Jack B. Weinstein has come to be identified by his efforts to combat what he calls “the unnecessary cruelty of the law.”  His most recent crusade is particularly striking because of the beneficiary …

Issa threatens Sestak with complaint  —  A leading House Republican is threatening to file an ethics complaint against Rep. Joe Sestak (D-Pa.) if he doesn't reveal who in the White House offered him a job to drop out of the Pennsylvania Senate primary.  —  Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) …

Officials ID West Memphis shooting suspects as father, teenage son … Welcome to earth.  Down here, juvenile offender's identities are usually protected.  Also, we normally wait until next of kin has been notified before we parade their bodies to be seen by millions...

Kevin Costner may hold key to oil spill cleanup  —  The actor has invested 15 years and $24 million in a cleanup system involving centrifugal oil separators.  BP and the Coast Guard plan to test six of the machines on the spill next week.  —  U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service specialists capture a laughing gull on Breton Island.

Irking accomplished.  Continue.  —  Draw Mohammed Day is over now, and we're getting the reactions now.  Some people didn't get it, including Greg Epstein. … Epstein completely misses the boat on this one.  No, it isn't like those crazy campus preachers who shout hellfire at passing students …

EXCLUSIVE: Bob Kerrey Tapped to Head MPAA  —  Former U.S. Sen. Bob Kerrey has been tapped to be the next chairman of the Motion Picture Association of America, TheWrap has learned.  —  Kerrey has won approval from the heads of the movie companies that make up the powerful Hollywood lobby …

Has Obama created a Social Security ‘death panel’?  —  If the press doesn't ask tough questions and stand up for the little guy, the powerful interests stacking President Obama's deficit commission will use it to cut the social programs that most help the middle class and the vulnerable.