MSNBC Trashes Obama's Address: Compared To Carter, “I Don't Sense Executive Command”  —  Chris Matthews, Keith Olbermann and Howard Fineman react to President Obama's Oval Office Address on the oil spill.  Here are the highlights of what the trio said: Olbermann: “It was a great speech …

Sharron Angle needs time to prepare for media's questions, says senior Republican  —  The top Senate Republican campaign strategist promised Tuesday that reporters would have “complete access” to Sharron Angle, the GOP nominee in Nevada, “in a few weeks,” but not now.

8 House members investigated over fundraisers held near financial reform vote  —  The Office of Congressional Ethics is investigating eight lawmakers who held fundraisers within 48 hours of a major House vote on a Wall Street reform bill or received substantial donations from business people …

Exclusive: Al Gore Cheats with Larry David's Ex  —  Al Gore's split from wife Tipper after 40 years of marriage was a shock to everyone who thought theirs was the ideal marriage.  Now Star can exclusively reveal that the former Vice President was having an affair with Larry David's ex-wife — for the past two years!

Estimates of Oil Flow Jump Higher  —  A government panel on Tuesday released yet another estimate of the amount of oil flowing from BP's damaged well, declaring that as much as 60,000 barrels a day could be spewing into the Gulf of Mexico.  —  That is roughly 2.5 million gallons of oil a day …

Seattle officer punches girl in face during jaywalking stop  —  SEATTLE — Seattle police are investigating what they call an assault of an officer in South Seattle.  —  However, a police officer is seen punching a 17-year-old girl in the face during the incident captured by a video camera on Monday.

Nightmare vision for Europe as EU chief warns ‘democracy could disappear’ in Greece, Spain and Portugal  —  Democracy could ‘collapse’ in Greece, Spain and Portugal unless urgent action is taken to tackle the debt crisis, the head of the European Commission has warned.

Outlaw the burning of the American flag  —  On Monday, folks across America gathered together to celebrate our national flag.  For 233 years now, the Stars and Stripes has been a unique symbol of freedom and democracy across the globe - the representation of all we are and all that we stand for.

Dems flirt with backing Crist  —  The emergence of a politically unknown billionaire self-funder in the Florida Senate race is prompting top Democrats in the state to say publicly what some have been whispering for weeks: If Jeff Greene, who got rich betting on the collapse of the housing market …

Extreme Makeover  —  President Barack Obama's point-man for his latest approach to the Muslim world is John Brennan, the White House's counterterrorism czar, recently described by the Washington Post as one of the president's most trusted advisers.  Two weeks ago Brennan explained …

Poll: Enthusiasm dips for Democratic voters  —  USA TODAY's Susan Page mentioned findings from a new USA TODAY/Gallup Poll in today's analysis of President Obama's Oval Office address, including a widening “enthusiasm gap” between Democrats and Republicans looking at the November elections.

Housing starts drop to five-month low in May  —  (Reuters) - Housing starts fell more than expected in May to their lowest level in five months, a government report showed on Wednesday, as a popular homebuyer tax credit that had buoyed construction activity over the past two months expired.

Letter From Istanbul  —  Turkey is a country that had me at hello.  I like the people, the culture, the food and, most of all, the idea of modern Turkey — the idea of a country at the hinge of Europe and the Middle East that manages to be at once modern, secular, Muslim, democratic …

More straight talk from Chris Christie - The day of reckoning is here  —  Dude, this guy needs no explanation because he does it so well himself.  I'll be honest, I can't get enough of Christie.  I need this guy to be president right freaking now!!!!  It's painful to hear such great words coming …

Puzzling complexity  —  Imagine a jigsaw puzzle of 1 billion pieces.  They are scattered randomly across a pasture that is 1 million miles square.  If someone assigns you the task of finding all these pieces, how would you do so?  —  One option is to search for each of these billion pieces by yourself.