Senior Official: Obama Administration Will Challenge Arizona Immigration Law  —  Updated 1:56 p.m. Eastern Time  —  As Hotsheet reported yesterday, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said in a television interview in Ecuador this month that the Obama Justice Department “will be bringing a lawsuit” …

Rand Paul Feels Sorry For Barton, While Limbaugh Doubles Down On Barton's ‘Shakedown’ Claims  —  While Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX) has been mostly lampooned for apologizing to BP for the White House's alleged “shakedown” of the company to create a $20 billion escrow fund, some conservatives have been willing to defend the congressman.

Sharron Angle Goes on the Attack  —  Sharron Angle, the Republican nominee to face Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada, told HUMAN EVENTS in an interview that attacks against her are unfounded.  —  Responding to the charge that she wants to eliminate several federal agencies …

BP Moves Hayward to Lesser Role in Spill Response  —  A day after he came under relentless attack at a Congressional hearing, BP chief executive Tony Hayward was displaced as the man in charge of the company's response to the spill.  —  “It is clear Tony has made remarks that have upset people …

Alan Simpson: Cutting Social Security Benefits to “Take Care of the Lesser People in Society”  —  Each time the Catfood Commission holds its secret meetings, Alex Lawson of Social Security Works has been outside with his camera, shooting video of the closed front door as FDL runs a live stream on our front page.

FORECLOSURES BY RACE AND ETHNICITY: THE DEMOGRAPHICS OF A CRISIS  —  Our new research shows that the foreclosure crisis is not over, and runaway foreclosures continue to drain hundreds of billions of dollars in wealth from families, hitting communities of color the hardest.

Donations Create a Tricky Balance for Oil-State Politicians  —  WASHINGTON — The outburst by Representative Joe L. Barton of Texas in support of BP underscored the potential peril for lawmakers forced to respond to crises involving industries vital to their regions, and whose bountiful donations finance their political campaigns.

U.S. Debt and the Greece Analogy  —  Don't be fooled by today's low interest rates.  The government could very quickly discover the limits of its borrowing capacity.  —  An urgency to rein in budget deficits seems to be gaining some traction among American lawmakers.  If so, it is none too soon.

U.S. Voters Split on Obama Re-Election in 2012  —  Little change seen since March on this measure  —  PRINCETON, NJ — U.S. registered voters remain split on whether President Obama deserves to be re-elected in 2012, with 46% saying he does and 51% saying he does not — little changed from earlier this year.

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 …

Franken launches full-throated attack on ‘conservative activism’ on courts  —  Republican senators and conservative jurists found themselves on the defensive after Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) blasted “conservative activism” on federal courts.  —  Franken, in a major speech Thursday evening …

N. Korea lifts restrictions on private markets to prevent famine  —  SEOUL — Bowing to reality, the North Korean government has lifted all restrictions on private markets — a last-resort option for a leadership desperate to prevent its people from starving.

WikiLeaks Preparing to Release Video of Alleged U.S. ‘Massacre’ in Afghanistan  —  Iceland Votes for Strong Journalist and Whistleblower Protection Laws  —  As the founder of the whistleblower website WikiLeaks remains underground in fear that the U.S. will detain him …

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 …

School Officials Say Candidate Overstated His Role  —  CHICAGO — A leader of the church in upstate New York where Representative Mark S. Kirk of Illinois claims he worked as a nursery school teacher said on Friday that he had overstated his role there.  —  The leader, Sally Grubb …

Senate (sort of) Averts ‘Havoc’ Over Medicare Payments  —  ABC's Z. Byron Wolf reports:  —  Senators acted Friday afternoon, slipping under the buzzer to avert a 21 percent pay cut for Medicare doctors.  The Senate's late action only gets the bill a third of the way into law …

U.S. Testing Pain Ray in Afghanistan (Updated)  —  The U.S. mission in Afghanistan centers around swaying locals to its side.  And there's no better persuasion tool than an invisible pain ray that makes people feel like they're on fire.  —  OK, OK.  Maybe that isn't precisely the logic …

Hundreds of Construction Workers Forced Into Unpaid Leave to Accommodate Obama Photo Op  —  A regular man of the people.  —  H/T.

Eric Cantor's Investment  —  WSJ's Heard on the Street reported this nugget Thursday that caught Washington Wire's eye:

WATCH ALAN SIMPSON SCHOOL A LEFTY  —  Alan Simpson, co-chair of the White House Debt Commission, provides a full and frank engagement with an activist questioning him on the proposed reforms of the Social Security system.  He doesn't duck.  He doesn't hide.  He doesn't grab the guy around the wrist or neck.

Obama's Stimulus Visit Results in Lost Payday for Construction Workers  —  President Barack Obama, accompanied by Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, left, and others, delivers remarks at the groundbreaking of a road project funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, Friday, June 18, 2010, in Columbus, Ohio.

Issa has eye on subpoena team  —  HERSHEY, Pa.—Rep. Darrell Issa, the conservative firebrand whose specialty is lobbing corruption allegations at the Obama White House, is making plans to hire dozens of subpoena-wielding investigators if Republicans win the House this fall.

Police probe Facebook chief over ‘Draw Muhammad’ contest  —  Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg is being investigated by Pakistani police under a section of the penal code that makes blasphemy against Muhammad punishable by death.  —  BBC Urdu reports — according to a Google Translation …