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.

BP hives off ‘toxic’ oil spill operation  —  Chief executive Tony Hayward hands responsibility for clean-up to American as new containment cap is placed on top of leak  —  BP is to hive off its Gulf of Mexico oil spill operation to a separate in-house business to be run by an American …

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.

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.

Glimpses of Kagan's Views in Clinton White House  —  WASHINGTON — A new cache of documents from Elena Kagan's days as an adviser to President Bill Clinton shows that she frequently scribbled notes in the margins of memorandums yet rarely expressed forceful views.

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.

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.

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.

Obama Knew the Spill Was Hopeless  —  Blogs and Stories  —  As the president visits the Gulf anew, Richard Wolffe reports that he was first briefed in April on how bad the spill would be.  Plus: the real reason the White House is so mad at Carville—and why Obama would rather talk about the economy.

Eyewitnesses, both activists and reporters, contradict Israeli account  —  As Israel releases detained activists and journalists after the assault on the Gaza relief flotilla, they are beginning to tell their version of events.  The story has so far been dominated by Israeli offical releases and …

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 …

AR-Sen: Halter maintains narrow lead, 49%-45%  —  Research 2000 for Daily Kos. 6/2-4.  Likely Democratic primary voters.  MoE 4% (5/24-26 results)  —  Democratic primary  —  Blanche Lincoln (D) 45 (44)  —  Bill Halter (D) 49 (47)  —  Undecided 6 (9)  —  Favorable/Unfavorable (among Democrats)

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 …

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 …

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 …