Barton retracts apology to BP  —  Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas) is apologizing for his apology.  —  After infuriating Democrats and Republicans alike with his public apology to BP and suggesting that a $20 billion escrow fund was a “shakedown” by the White House, Barton is now “retracting” …

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 …

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.

Olbermann leaves Daily Kos  —  Keith Olbermann announced Wednesday night that he will cease blogging for the liberal Daily Kos over a comment directed at the MSNBC host's coverage.  —  Olbermann and some of his MSNBC colleagues surprised their left-leaning fans on Tuesday with eviscerating critiques …

S.C. Dems keep Greene as Senate nominee  —  Democratic Party officials in South Carolina voted Thursday to uphold the result of their controversial Senate primary.  —  Columbia, South Carolina (CNN) - Democratic Party officials in South Carolina voted Thursday to uphold the result …

NRSC warns campaigns on vid trackers  —  After the second clip in a week hit the web showing a confrontation between a Democratic political campaign and a person shooting video, the National Republican Senatorial Committee sent out a memo to its campaigns Thursday reminding them to be sure staffers …

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 …

A Best Friend?  You Must Be Kidding  —  FROM the time they met in kindergarten until they were 15, Robin Shreeves and her friend Penny were inseparable.  They rode bikes, played kickball in the street, swam all summer long and listened to Andy Gibb, the Bay City Rollers and Shaun Cassidy on the stereo.

Poll shows Etheridge trailing after video  —  RALEIGH (WTVD) — Days after North Carolina Congressman Bob Etheridge (D-Lillington) was seen in a video confrontation with a man with a camera on a Washington street, a new poll seems to indicate the incident has damaged him with voters.

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.

Arizona governor: Government planning to sue over immigration law  —  (CNN) — Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer is fuming over a comment by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to an Ecuadorean television station that the government will file a lawsuit against Arizona's new immigration law.

White House Flip Flops On Reining In CEO Pay  —  WHAT'S YOUR REACTION?  —  The White House is intervening at the last minute to come to the defense of multinational corporations in the unfolding conference committee negotiations over Wall Street reform.  —  A measure that had been generally agreed …

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.

Obama Lunches With Progressive Pundits: Maddow, Robinson, Collins  —  What's Your Reaction: … President Obama met for lunch on Thursday with a group of predominantly progressive columnists to discuss a range of topics, chief among them the oil spill in the Gulf.

The Obama Effect  —  Democrats are going to have to think really carefully about how they deploy Barack Obama for campaigning this fall.  Polls we've conducted nationally and in several different states over the last few weeks have found that a candidate being endorsed by Obama is much more likely …

Palin: Pot is a ‘minimal problem’  —  Former Alaska GOP Gov. Sarah Palin said Wednesday night that law enforcement should not focus its energy on the “minimal problem” of marijuana.  —  Palin made the comment during an appearance on the Fox Business Network with Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas).

Budget crisis freezes Senate  —  Washington's summer budget crisis got only hotter Thursday as the Senate drifted toward weekend deadlines with both parties talking past one another on how to restore jobless benefits for a swelling tide of workers and avoid major disruptions in Medicare payments to physicians.

Pic of the Day: Afghan Woman Having Her Picture Taken For Voter Registration Card...  Every ACORN workers dream...  We have disabled pinging on this post.

Cuomo brushes aside Lazio's claims  —  Democratic gubernatorial candidate Andrew M. Cuomo today dismissed as “silly” his Republican rival's accusations that he failed to proactively pursue a pattern of election law violations uncovered in an investigation by the counsel to Gov. David A. Paterson.

Mohegan Sun Casino Gets $54M In Stimulus  —  Indian Tribe That Runs Connecticut Casino Earning $1 Billion-Plus Per Year Got Government Check  —  With the support of Sen. Chris Dodd, D.-Conn., the federal government has awarded $54 million to Connecticut's politically well-connected Mohegan Indian tribe …

Obama Oil Spill Speech Echoes Elite, Aloof Ethos  —  When Obama is at his best (such as the Grant Park 'Yes, We Can speech), the President has a direct and emotional connection with the American people.  This speech, simply, did not live up to that high standard — and the numbers reflect it.