Obama, McCain clash at GOP lunch  —  President Barack Obama battled with Senate Republicans in a tense closed-door meeting Tuesday, facing tough criticism from his GOP adversaries — including John McCain — on issues ranging from health care to border security.

The decisive action Obama can take  —  As I noted this morning, there's been a palpable shift in the tone of media coverage of Obama's handling of the Gulf spill, with newly-aggressive news orgs raising more questions about whether the admistration has ceded too much control to BP.

Obama heckled over 'Don't ask, don't tell' — again  —  President Barack Obama was heckled by a protester Tuesday night while at a fundraising event for Sen. Barbara Boxer (D) in San Francisco.  —  The protester was upset with the pace of the repeal of the “Don't ask, don't tell” policy barring openly gay military service members.

STATEMENT BY THE EMBASSY OF MEXICO  —  Regarding the Administration's decision to send 1,200 National Guard servicemen to the US Southern border, the Government of Mexico trusts that this decision will help to channel additional US resources to enhance efforts to prevent the illegal flows …

Chris Christie to teacher: If you don't like my education budget, find a new job  —  I begged for video on Twitter, my friends, but none is forthcoming.  What can I say?  I tried. … Elsewhere today, he warned about New Jersey becoming a new Greece.  In lieu of a clip of the exchange …

Sarah Palin's strange, unprofessional and paranoid grudge  —  Sarah Palin took to her Facebook account today to inform her readers that Joe McGinniss, an award-winning reporter and author, had rented the house next door.  —  I saw Ben Smith flag this earlier today but did not really appreciate …

Folks says Haley campaign consulted him on breaking silence about ‘inappropriate sexual relationship’  —  Blogger Will Folks said Tuesday that GOP gubernatorial candidate State Rep. Nikki Haley and her campaign asked him for advice on how they should handle the news of their inappropriate relationship when he broke it.

As Ugly as It Gets  —  I confess that when I first saw the May 17 picture of Iran's president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, joining his Brazilian counterpart, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, and the Turkish prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, with raised arms — after their signing of a putative deal …

Poll Finds Americans Pessimistic, Dissatisfied with Washington  —  CBS News Poll analysis by the CBS News Polling Unit: Sarah Dutton, Jennifer De Pinto, Fred Backus and Anthony Salvanto.  —  Americans are frustrated with nearly everyone in Washington - including President Obama, Congress …

Mitch McConnell to Rand Paul: Shut your yapper!  —  The continuing implosion, better known as Rand Paul's post primary campaign, will be taking a break from self-immolation it appears.  —  Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell is telling fellow Kentuckian Paul to shut his pie hole.

U.S. Pledges to Help South Korea in Bid for U.N. Action  —  SEOUL, South Korea — With political and military tension increasing daily on the Korean Peninsula, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Wednesday that Washington would stand beside Seoul as it seeks redress …

Rush Limbaugh's Conservative Charge … In the early 1970s, if you were a resident of McKeesport, Pa., who turned your radio to WIXZ-FM in the morning, you might hear a voice belonging to a DJ named “Bachelor Jeff” Christie giving you the weather report in between Top 40 tunes.

U.S. Is a Top Villain in Pakistan's Conspiracy Talk  —  ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — Americans may think that the failed Times Square bomb was planted by a man named Faisal Shahzad.  But the view in the Supreme Court Bar Association here in Pakistan's capital is that the culprit was an American “think tank.”

Panel Suggests Signs of Trouble Before Rig Explosion  —  In the hours before the Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded last month in the Gulf of Mexico, there were strong warning signs that something was terribly wrong with the well, according to a Congressional committee that was briefed on the accident by executives from BP.

Experts Propose Plugging Oil Leak with BP Executives  —  WASHINGTON (The Borowitz Report) - At a conference of oil leak experts in Washington today, attendees proposed plugging the massive oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico with executives of BP, the company responsible for the catastrophic spill.