Deal Reached for Ending Law on Gays in Military  —  WASHINGTON — The White House and leading Congressional Democrats reached agreement Monday on legislative language and a time frame for repealing the military's “don't ask, don't tell” policy, but it was not clear whether the deal had secured …

Sources say Rob Simmons will drop out of U.S. Senate race tomorrow.  —  Rob Simmons will hold a press conference for this morning in New London to announce he's leaving the U.S. Senate race, sources said late today.  —  The former congressman and Vietnam War veteran lost …

U.S. Expands Secret Military Acts in Mideast and Beyond  —  WASHINGTON — The top American commander in the Middle East has ordered a broad expansion of clandestine military activity in an effort to disrupt militant groups or counter threats in Iran, Saudi Arabia, Somalia and other countries in the region …

Private pay shrinks to historic lows  —  Paychecks from private business shrank to their smallest share of personal income in U.S. history during the first quarter of this year, a USA TODAY analysis of government data finds.  —  At the same time, government-provided benefits …

The big offshore lie  —  The Obama administration, in the wake of the Gulf of Mexico disaster, has apparently decided that digging in on its misguided decision in March to expand offshore drilling is the way to go.  —  Interior Secretary Ken Salazar dug in to defend the administration's drilling plans last week.

The Next Bailout: $165B for Unions  —  Taxpayers could be on the hook for another $165 billion if a bill to bail out private union pension funds makes it through Congress.

Cell, Email Records Could Solve “Haley-gate”  —  Phone records, text messages, emails, voice mails ... these are the identifying markers of any love affair, and ground zero when it comes to any “he said, she said” battle in civil or criminal court.  —  Well ... we've got the ultimate …

Zev Chafets's ‘Rush Limbaugh: An Army of One,’ reviewed by David Frum  —  Sentinel.  229 pp.  $25.95  —  “Every great man has his disciples,” quipped Oscar Wilde.  “And it is always Judas who writes the biography.”  —  Not so for Rush Limbaugh.  Biographer Zev Chafets received unprecedented access …

Little Progress on Korea Dispute as China Talks End  —  BEIJING — China and the United States wrapped up two days of high-level meetings here on Tuesday with some modest trade and energy agreements but little progress on winning China's backing for international measures against North Korea over the sinking of a South Korean warship.

When Passengers Spit, Bus Drivers Take Months Off  —  It could be the cutbacks to the city's transportation system, or a general decline in urban civility.  Perhaps people are just in a collective bad mood.  —  What else could explain why New Yorkers — notoriously hardened to the slings …

Two Theories of Change  —  When I was in college I took a course in the Enlightenment.  In those days, when people spoke of the Enlightenment, they usually meant the French Enlightenment — thinkers like Descartes, Rousseau, Voltaire and Condorcet.  —  These were philosophers who confronted …

Inspector General's Inquiry Faults Regulators  —  WASHINGTON — Federal regulators responsible for oversight of drilling in the Gulf of Mexico allowed industry officials several years ago to fill in their own inspection reports in pencil — and then turned them over to the regulators …

BREAKING NEWS: Students in KKK robes cause stir at LCHS  —  A Lumpkin County High School history teacher was placed on administrative leave after she allowed a group of students to don homemade Ku Klux Klan costumes during an assignment on the history of racism in the United States.

CNN Poll: Nearly 8 in 10 favor gays in the military  —  (CNN) - Most Americans say people who are openly gay should be allowed to serve in the U.S. military, according to a new national poll.  —  A CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey released Tuesday indicates that 78 percent …

It's Like He Does it On Purpose — By: Jonah Goldberg  —  Thomas Friedman does it again.  He literally fantasizes about American becoming like China — but just for a day!  From Meet the Press yesterday: … Can someone please tell Tom Friedman that China only produces “suboptimal solutions” too.

Libtalker Pleads With Obama To Take Action On Oil Spill  —  THEY'RE WORRIED  —  Libtalkers Worry Public Outrage Shifting Toward Obama  —  Can blame for gross inaction on the Gulf oil spill be shifted away from Obama indefinitely?  Some on the left are clearly beginning to realize the anti-BP OUTRAGE …

Gates issues tepid endorsement of plan to repeal 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell'  —  Defense Secretary Robert Gates issued an endorsement Tuesday of a Democratic plan to repeal the military's 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' policy.  —  Washington (CNN) - Secretary of Defense Robert Gates issued …

Patrick says Obama critics are ‘almost at the level of sedition’  —  Governor Deval Patrick, even as he decried partisanship in Washington, said today that Republican opposition to President Obama's agenda has become so obstinate that it “is almost at the level of sedition.”