Rodent scurries by as Obama lauds Wall Street vote  —  WASHINGTON - In his battle with the titans of Wall Street, President Barack Obama almost got upstaged by a rat.  —  But he didn't even seem to notice.  Assuming that's what it was, scurrying in front of his podium Thursday in a sun-drenched Rose Garden.

Rand Paul's trial by misfire  —  When Kentucky Republicans cast their lot with Rand Paul, they figured they'd found a genuine outsider who wouldn't kowtow to the old ways of Washington.  —  They were right about that.  —  Just days after roaring through the Republican Senate primary …

Exclusive: President Obama To Replace Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair*  —  ABC News has learned that President Obama will replace the Director of National Intelligence, Admiral Dennis Blair (ret.) His resignation will come as soon as tomorrow, sources tell ABC News.

And The Winner of The Everybody Draw Mohammad Contest is...  To remind readers of the stakes: In recent months, a Swedish cartoonist that sketched Mohammed as a “roundabout dog” as part of a planned street installation was assaulted during a lecture and, the following week, two extremists attempted to burn his house down.

Lost Decade Looming?  —  Despite a chorus of voices claiming otherwise, we aren't Greece.  We are, however, looking more and more like Japan.  —  For the past few months, much commentary on the economy — some of it posing as reporting — has had one central theme: policy makers are doing too much.

The Story of an Angry Voter  —  Let's imagine a character named Ben.  A couple of decades ago, Ben went to high school.  —  It wasn't easy.  His parents were splitting up.  His friends would cut class to smoke weed.  His sister got pregnant.  But Ben worked hard and graduated …

Chuck DeVore has a staunch conservative record  —  The Senate candidate is a veteran of politics who portrays himself as an outsider.  —  Chuck DeVore argues that his military experience gives him an edge over his primary rivals.  (Gary Friedman / Los Angeles Times)

Arizona Digs In  —  Repeated attacks on the citizens of Arizona by President Obama and many others have done nothing to dim Arizona's support for immigration law enforcement.  On the contrary: a remarkable 71 percent of Arizona voters now support that state's new immigration law, up from 64 percent last month.

Immigration crackdown for Illinois  —  Feds to step up enforcement  —  In the midst of an outcry over illegal immigration and Arizona's new crackdown, a top Department of Homeland Security official visiting Chicago on Wednesday said his agency intended to step up enforcement in places such as Illinois.

Constitution is this year's big best-seller  —  Demand for copies of the U.S. Constitution is skyrocketing.  —  The increased interest comes amid the rise of the Tea Party movement and as both parties cite the Constitution to advance their agendas.  —  The pocket edition of the Constitution …

The New Term for the War on Terror  —  If you blinked, you might have missed it.  The Obama administration has unofficially rebranded “war on terror” phrase that dominated public discourse throughout the Bush administration.  The replacement phrase, carefully chosen, is “CVE” — Countering Violent Extremism.

'I'm a Marxist' says Dalai Lama, but agrees capitalism has helped China  —  TIBETAN spiritual leader the Dalai Lama says he's a Marxist, yet credits capitalism for bringing new freedoms to China, the communist country that exiled him.  —  “Still I am a Marxist,” the exiled Tibetan Buddhist leader …

The Fruits of Weakness  —  WASHINGTON — It is perfectly obvious that Iran's latest uranium maneuver, brokered by Brazil and Turkey, is a ruse.  Iran retains more than enough enriched uranium to make a bomb.  And it continues enriching at an accelerated pace and to a greater purity (20 percent).

Democrats point the finger at Obama's chief of staff for immigration reform's poor progress  —  Rahm Emanuel, who in the past referred to the issue as the ‘third rail of American politics,’ has argued privately that it's a bad time to push an immigration bill.

In Spill's Aftermath, Conflict of Interest Worries  —  Local environmental officials throughout the Gulf Coast are feverishly collecting water, sediment and marine animal tissue samples that will be used in the coming months to help track pollution levels resulting from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

Paul Calls White House Pressure On BP ‘Un-American,’ Says That ‘Sometimes Accidents Happen’  —  In an interview on ABC News' Good Morning America today, host George Stephanopoulos pressed GOP Kentucky Senate candidate Rand Paul on “how far” he would “push” his anti-government views.

THE SITUATION ROOM  —  Interview with Mexican President Felipe Calderon; Analysis of Special Election Results  —  THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT.  THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.  —  WOLF BLITZER, HOST: Thanks very much, guys.  —  Happening now, the presidents …