Altered mural fuels racial debate in Prescott  —  A group of artists has been asked to lighten the faces of children depicted in a giant public mural at a Prescott school.  —  The project's leader says he was ordered to lighten the skin tone after complaints about the children's ethnicity.

Helen Thomas: Go home to Europe, Jews  —  Tony Snow once accused her of stating “the Hezbollah view” in her questions during the Israel/Lebanon war.  Little did he know how right he was.  Or maybe he did know: Watching this, it occurred to me that an 89-year-old reporter who's moved …

THIS JUST IN  —  With a bead of sweat rolling down the side of his face outside a Columbia bar, Republican S.C. Sen. Jake Knotts called Lexington Rep. Nikki Haley, an Indian-American Republican woman running for governor, a “raghead” several times while explaining how he believed she was hiding her true religion from voters.

Turkish ambassador calls for Hamas to take part in “final solution”  —  In an unfortunate turn of phrase, the Turkish ambassador to Washington twice said Friday that the terrorist group Hamas is a necessary and important part of the “final solution” to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Boehner to Bashing Beatle: Apologize!  —  Sir Paul McCartney's cheap shot aimed at former President George W. Bush at a White House event on Wednesday has prompted House Minority Leader John Boehner to demand an apology from the Beatle.  —  McCartney literally gushed over President Obama throughout his East Room concert.

What BP Is Doing About the Gulf Gusher  —  The ultimate solution is to drill a relief well.  In the meantime we believe we can substantially reduce the flow of oil.  —  Last week, I attended the memorial service for the 11 men who died aboard the Transocean Deepwater Horizon on April 20.

Israel Derangement Syndrome  —  To read Charles Krauthammer today is to enter a twilight zone of an alternate reality.  A country permanently occupying and colonizing a neighboring region, and treating its original inhabitants as dangerous interlopers, is the victim.

If Egypt were to accept Gaza refugees...  If Egypt were to accept Gaza refugees, how would that work out for both in short and medium time frames?  Suppose the US were to favor an open pipeline into Gaza; can Egypt do that, given Israeli ability to cordon the S. Gaza border closed again.

U.S. Added 431,000 Jobs in May, Mostly From Census  —  Employers added 431,000 nonfarm jobs nationwide in May, the biggest increase in a single month in a decade, the Labor Department said Friday.  But the bulk of the growth was in government jobs, driven by hiring for the Census, and private-sector job growth was weak.

Flotilla passengers: Go back to Auschwitz  —  Audio: IDF soldiers warn flotilla vessels they are nearing area under naval blockade, latter respond with anti-Semitic slurs  —  The IDF released on Friday an audio reproduction of the moments before Monday's raid on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla.

Obama to Nominate Clapper for DNI Tomorrow  —  President Obama intends to nominate Gen. James Clapper (Ret)., the current undersecretary of defense for intelligence, as Director of National Intelligence.  —  Pending weather, the announcement will be made in the Rose Garden tomorrow.

Democrat Tells Libtalker He Wants Republicans Sent To Prison  —  JAIL MY FOES  —  Grayson: Michael Steele Should Be Imprisoned  —  While it's already no secret that far-left Rep Alan Grayson (D-FL) is a loose cannon, there's no question his fiery rhetoric has been cranked up a few notches in recent days.

The Morning Plum  —  * There's no getting around the fact that the public is unhappy with Obama's handling of the Gulf spill: A new CBS poll finds that nearly two thirds of Americans want Obama to be doing more.  —  * Which prompts the question o' the day: Is it possible the public is unhappy …

Why Sarah Palin Endorsed Terry Branstad in Iowa  —  There's a simple answer to the question, I think.  He's going to be the next governor of Iowa, assuming that there are no stunning surprises next week and Chet Culver, the Democrat, doesn't mount a miraculous election year comeback.

The Dems' Secret Plan to Hold Congress  —  Democrats and Republicans don't agree on much these days.  But lately it seems that they've been willing to set aside their vast, irreconcilable differences and publicly concur on at least one thing: that the Democrats are going to do really, really badly in November's midterm elections.

Conservatives don't like FTC's journo plan  —  Conservative outlets are lashing out at the Federal Trade Commission after the agency released a draft proposal for “reinventing journalism.”  The 47-page document, spawned from a year-long project looking into the future of the news industry …

Bloody-Minded Union  —  Big Labor: Is there any low to which the SEIU won't stoop?  Now it's interrupting blood donations in a strike against the American Red Cross.  The Boy Scouts and Baptist churches are also on unions' enemies list.  —  Demanding higher wages and better benefits …

Justice Department's Civil Rights Division steps up enforcement  —  When Thomas E. Perez took over the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division in October, he found an office that was a shadow of its historic self.  —  Nearly 70 percent of the lawyers had left between 2003 and 2007 …

Seniors are Strongest Advocates for Change in 2010  —  This year, older Americans want to rock the political establishment.  People ages 50 and older have a more negative view of congressional incumbents than do younger people.  Nearly a third of those ages 65 and older say they would be more likely …