US Supreme Court deals pedophilia blow for Vatican  —  The US Supreme Court declined Monday to hear an appeal by the Vatican in a landmark case that opens the way for priests in the United States to stand trial for pedophilia.  —  Allowing a federal appeals court ruling to stand …

Tennant Statement On Procedure To Fill Vacant Senate Seat  —  “Hello I am West Virginia Secretary of State Natalie Tennant.  —  “This is a sad time for our state.  I want to express my condolences to Senator Byrd's family.  I also want to express my condolences to the people of West Virginia.

In Ordinary Lives, U.S. Sees the Work of Russian Agents  —  WASHINGTON — They had lived for more than a decade in American cities and suburbs from Seattle to New York, where they seemed to be ordinary couples working ordinary jobs, chatting to the neighbors about gardening and schools, apologizing for noisy teenagers.

From Washington Post To NBCU: Dave Weigel Joins MSNBC As Paid Contributor  —  Team Weigel rejoice - it didn't take Dave Weigel very long to land on his feet after he resigned last week from The Washington Post.  —  Tonight at the end of Countdown, Keith Olbermann introduced new “MSNBC contributor” Dave Weigel.

Steve Forbes celebrates Robert Byrd's death: ‘Good news’ for Wall Street.  —  News of Sen. Robert Byrd's (D-WV) death has been met with an outpouring of reverence for his distinguished career, with even political opponents, like Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), praising Byrd's …

Sex complaint against Gore is detailed, credible; Could this be Gore's real ‘Inconvenient Truth’?  —  The allegation that Al Gore sexually assaulted a woman in a Portland, Ore., hotel room nearly four years ago has dealt a serious blow to the former vice president's story that he and wife Tipper simply …

Rand Paul refuses to say how old the earth is  —  I attended a fancy Christian Homeschool Educators of Kentucky (CHEK) conference on Friday, where Liberty Christ himself showed up to give a sermon and answer (and dodge) a few questions.  —  Here is the question and answer session:

Post fallout  —  Jeffrey Goldberg last week quoted an anonymous friend at the Post trashing “these bloggers” the Post brought on board, who “trade on the name” of the Post when they're not “reporters.”  —  Greg Sargent fires back across the newsroom:  —  Time for those who are anonymously dissing …

Sheryl Crow: Tea Partiers Are Too ‘Uneducated’ to 'Understand What's Happening on Wall Street'  —  Pop-star and courageous anti-toilet-paper crusader Sheryl Crow apparently has a new political concern: Tea Partiers.  —  The country crooner told CBS journalist Katie Couric that Tea Party members …

Gen. McChrystal Tells Army He Will Retire  —  In this Jan. 20, 2010 file photo, Gen. Stanley McChrystal, then Commander of the International Security Assistance Forces (ISAF) and Commander of United States Forces in Afghanistan, arrives to attend at the 13th Joint Coordination and Monitoring Board (JCMB) Meeting in Kabul, Afghanistan.

Reporters Caught on Tape Mocking Palin Speech  —  June 25: Calling it a 'poor man's teleprompter' former Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin holds out her palm to show the notes on it while speaking at a fundraising dinner at California State University, Stanislaus.  (AP)

An Invitation for Glenn Greenwald  —  It turns out that the left-wing commentator Glenn Greenwald doesn't like me (who knew?).  In a rather long posting, he accuses me of many different sins, mainly, though not exclusively, having to do with my early support for the Iraq war, and for my reporting from pre-invasion Iraqi Kuridstan.

Al Franken Caught Sleeping During Kagan Testimony  —  If you had the pleasure of watching Kagan's [paint dry] testimony today, you would second Franken's sentiment.  Killing us with her cadence.  Ahhhhh!

International Space Station sex ban  —  Commanders do not allow sexual intercourse on the International Space Station, it has been disclosed.  —  “We are a group of professionals,” said Alan Poindexter, a NASA commander, during a visit to Tokyo, when asked about the consequences if astronauts boldly went where no others have been.