Bad news for Obama: Conservative Justice Kennedy tells pals he's in no rush to leave Supreme Court  —  WASHINGTON - President Obama may get liberal Elena Kagan on the Supreme Court, but conservative swing-voter Anthony Kennedy says he's not going anywhere anytime soon.

Had Enough “Hope and Change”?  —  One of my daughters drove up north with some friends to stay overnight at a lake cabin earlier this weekend.  Somewhere northeast of Minneapolis they passed a billboard that said, “Had enough ‘HOPE AND CHANGE’?”  The billboard depicted a pair of hands feeding the Constitution into a shredder.

As Netanyahu visits, White House insists ‘no rift’ between Israel, U.S.  —  Senior White House officials say there is “absolutely no rift” between the United States and Israel as President Barack Obama prepares to host Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House on Tuesday.

Democratic campaign committees losing big Wall Street donors  —  A revolt among big donors on Wall Street is hurting fundraising for the Democrats' two congressional campaign committees, with contributions from the world's financial capital down 65 percent from two years ago.

Recovery effort falls vastly short of BP's promises  —  In the 77 days since oil from the ruptured Deepwater Horizon began to gush into the Gulf of Mexico, BP has skimmed or burned about 60 percent of the amount it promised regulators it could remove in a single day.

Angle sends cease and desist letter to Reid over website  —  Sharron Angle's campaign sent a cease and desist letter to Sen. Harry Reid's campaign last week after a copy of her pre-primary election website was relaunched as www.therealsharronangle.com, which was later taken down.

Justice Dept. expected to sue Ariz. on immigration, citing ‘preemption’ grounds  —  The Justice Department has decided to file suit against Arizona on the grounds that the state's new immigration law illegally intrudes on federal prerogatives, law enforcement sources said Monday.

NASA Chief: Next Frontier Better Relations With Muslim World  —  Shown here is NASA Administrator Charles Bolden.  (YouTube)  —  NASA Administrator Charles Bolden said in a recent interview that his “foremost” mission as the head of America's space exploration agency is to improve relations with the Muslim world.

Arizona Candidate: Cut Off Power to Illegal Immigrants  —  Ratcheting up the debate over immigration in his state, a candidate for the Arizona utilities commission is threatening to cut off power and gas to illegal immigrants if he's elected.  —  “It is not a right.

Education cuts show party debate over Obama school reform  —  The war and education spending bill passed by the House is exposing the raging debate within the Democratic Party over the Obama administration's school reforms.  —  The House Democrats' package that passed Thursday cuts President …

AP owes China an apology  —  (updated below - Update II)  —  From an Associated Press article today on the conviction in China of an American citizen accused of spying and collecting “state secrets”: … A few cigarette stubs into a forearm for a handful of days?  That's it?  That's “torture”?

Tom Shales: Larry King's exit marks the end of a gentlemanly era in TV talk  —  No More Mr. Nice Guys.  Such is the prognosis for the post-King world — Larry King, of course, who has had a rocky year in the ratings and who recently announced his retirement from the flagship talk show he hosts on CNN.

“Losing Our Cool”: The high price of staying cool  —  How air conditioning changed the American landscape, transformed our politics, and is endangering our health  —  In the last half century, air conditioning has joined fireworks, swimming pools and charred hamburgers as a ubiquitous ingredient of an American summer.

Environmentalist faces jail for hanging banner in Senate office building  —  A 60 year-old environmental activist who hung two banners in a government building will be sentenced Tuesday — and faces up to three years in prison.  —  Bloomfield, NJ resident Ted Glick will be sentenced Tuesday …

‘Somalia is in the hands of al-Qaeda’  —  Post your comment  —  Somali President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed pleaded for help on Monday at a regional summit, as an al-Qaeda-inspired insurgency closed in on his Mogadishu palace.  —  “Somalia is in the hands of al-Qaeda and extremist groups.