Who's In Charge?:  Against Gov. Jindal's Wishes, Oil-Sucking Barges Stopped by Coast Guard  —  59 Days Into Oil Crisis, Gulf Coast Governors Say Feds Are Failing Them  —  Eight days ago, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal ordered barges to begin vacuuming crude oil out of his state's oil-soaked waters.

Utah firing squad death announced on Twitter  —  Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff uses Twitter to get his message out  —  It was a very modern way to announce a very old-fashioned death.  —  Shortly after midnight in the US state of Utah, Attorney General Mark Shurtleff picked up his Apple iPhone …

GOP Senate Nominee Sharron Angle Breaks Her Silence … LAS VEGAS - As Sharron Angle greeted supporters at Stoney's Restaurant in Las Vegas, 8 News NOW Reporter Nathan Baca approached her to ask about her Social Security plan.  —  Her website calls for “transitioning out” Social Security and Medicare.

Republican Backpedals From Apology to BP  —  WASHINGTON — Representative Joe L. Barton had to be truly sorry by the time he apologized for his apology on Thursday.  —  In the four hours between his televised apology to BP — for what he called a $20 billion “shakedown” …

EXCLUSIVE: Alert Issued for 17 Afghan Military Members AWOL From U.S. Air Force Base  —  FILE: Air traffic controllers from the 37th Operations Support Squadron prepare to navigate F-16 Falcons down the runway on Lackland Air Force Base.  —  A nationwide alert has been issued for 17 members …

Jobs bill blocked in Senate  —  The Senate effectively rejected a slimmed-down package of jobless benefits and state aid late Thursday, rebuffing President Obama's call for urgent action to bolster the economic recovery.  —  Sens. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) and Joseph I. Lieberman (I-Conn.) …

That '30s Feeling  —  Suddenly, creating jobs is out, inflicting pain is in.  Condemning deficits and refusing to help a still-struggling economy has become the new fashion everywhere, including the United States, where 52 senators voted against extending aid to the unemployed despite …

Obama and the vision thing  —  Barack Obama doesn't do the mundane.  He was sent to us to do larger things.  You could see that plainly in his Oval Office address on the gulf oil spill.  He could barely get himself through the pedestrian first half: a bit of BP-bashing, a bit of faux-Clintonian …

Pelosi yanks campaign finance bill  —  Following a rebellion by two important factions of rank-and-file House Democrats, Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has pulled a campaign-finance bill opposed by a broad coalition of special interest groups, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

Giannoulias Campaign Aide Manhandles Videographer  —  More rough tactics were on display last night in Washington DC as a hotheaded campaign workerfor the Alexi Giannoulias campaign for Senator of Illinois confronted a man with a video camera at a fundraising event.

Senate liberals threaten rebellion on energy bill  —  Liberal Democrats in the Senate are threatening to vote against energy legislation if it does not address global climate change.  —  After watching centrist Democrats and Republicans shrink the 2009 economic stimulus package …

Hillary Clinton should be Obama's vice president  —  Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden should switch jobs.  —  Really.  —  It makes sense for the Democrats, actually.  Clinton has done an incredible job as secretary of state.  First of all, she has worked harder than anyone should ever be expected to.

Former Resident Recalls Run-In With Etheridge  —  A video of Rep. Bob Etheridge physically confronting a college student in Washington brought back unpleasant memories for one former Moore County resident.  —  Brandon Leslie, who moved away seven years ago and is now an attorney in Oxford …

Margaret Wente  —  After the sensational 2007 murder of Aqsa Parvez, the 16-year-old girl who disobeyed her traditional family, many Muslim girls in Canada discussed the story on Facebook.  “That's my story too,” some of them wrote.  —  This week, Aqsa's father and brother pleaded guilty …

Obama Twists Arms at BP, Setting Off a Debate on Tactics  —  WASHINGTON — First there was General Motors, whose chief executive was summarily dismissed by the White House shortly before the government became the company's majority shareholder.  Chrysler was forced into a merger.

Obama Admin. Argues in Court That Individual Mandate Is a Tax  —  In order to protect the new national health care law from legal challenges, the Obama administration has been forced to argue that the individual mandate represents a tax — even though Obama himself argued the exact opposite while campaigning to pass the legislation.