Levi Johnston Apologizes to Palin Family for ‘Youthful Indiscretion’  —  Levi Johnston isn't just getting past his differences with Bristol Palin - he's also hoping to make amends with her famous mom.  —  “Last year, after Bristol and I broke up, I was unhappy and a little angry.

Perfect — Eric Holder's DOJ crony leading SB1070 challenge is member of the “Gitmo 9”, who represented terrorists in court  —  The White House is so laser-focused on the environmental tragedy in the Gulf* that the Obama Justice Department today filed suit against Arizona.

Mayberry Machiavellis: Obama Political Team Handcuffing Recovery  —  WHAT'S YOUR REACTION?  —  Under the leadership of President George W. Bush, science, empirical evidence and expert advice struggled to be heard above the din of politics.  It's one thing to prioritize politics over good policy …

BREAKING: Former DOJ Officials Stepping Forward to Support J. Christian Adams (Updated)  —  Former DOJ employees want to go on record praising Adams' outstanding work record, and — pay attention, DOJ press liaisons — maybe corroborate Adams' charges about DOJ hostility to race-neutral law enforcement.

Arguments From Authority  —  A quick note on David Brooks's column today.  I have no idea what he's talking about when he says, … Funny, I thought we had a perfectly good explanation: severe downturn in demand from the financial crisis, and a stimulus which we warned from the beginning wasn't nearly big enough.

McCain favors immigration reform that would deport ‘many’ illegals  —  Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) said on Tuesday he would favor immigration reform that would deport most of the residents of the U.S. who are here illegally.  —  McCain, who at one point had been the top Republican advocate …

Confidence Fairies Have Infiltrated The White House  —  I was on Good Morning America this not-so-good morning, doing what I could.  But I was struck by something that George Stephanopoulos said: he claimed to have been speaking to an administration official who asserted that what we need …

Sugary-drink ban starts to affect S.F. sites  —  Coca-Cola is out, and soy milk is now part of San Francisco's official city policy.  —  Under an executive order from Mayor Gavin Newsom, Coke, Pepsi and Fanta Orange are no longer allowed in vending machines on city property, although their diet counterparts are - up to a point.

GOP Moves Toward West Virginia Suit  —  Top GOP strategists are plotting ways to force WV to hold a special election this year, in hopes of giving the party a better chance to pick off the seat of the late Sen. Robert Byrd (D-WV), according to several party sources.

Kentucky Senate race knotted  —  Kentucky voters don't think much of Rand Paul and as a result the race to replace Jim Bunning in the Senate is tied.  Paul and Jack Conway are getting 43% each.  —  The more Kentucky voters get to know Rand Paul, the less they like him.

Healthcare: Democrats up ante  —  Speaker Nancy Pelosi is doubling down on healthcare reform, betting that it will do Democrats more good than harm in November's elections.  —  She and her leadership team have seized on new polls that suggest healthcare overhaul's popularity is rising …

On the Left, A False Choice Fuels The Growing Civil War Over Obama  —  There is a civil war on the left over Barack Obama.  The fault lines are jagged, and depending on the issue, porous, but broadly, the split is along two fronts:  — Those who believe that critiquing - and occasionally opposing …

Why is the American Jobs Machine Broken?  —  The June employment report was decidedly weak, and serves as the latest blow to the V-shapers - if any are even left.  It once again left me feeling that something is very, very wrong at the heart of the American economy, something that is much more structural than cyclical.

Police probe death hoaxes  —  At least three Democratic senators have been subjects of false reports of their deaths in the past two days, prompting the U.S. Capitol Police to open an investigation into the matter.  —  Several news outlets received a hoax e-mail news release …

Rare 1970s BP board game promises oil ‘thrills’ comes back to haunt them  —  A rare 1970s BP game - yes, that's the company badge on the box - promises all the ‘thrills of drilling’ offshore, with the first player to earn $120million being crowned the winner.  —  BP - Beyond Parody: The game's cover has an ‘overall sense of doom’.

NASA Official Softens Claim Muslim Outreach Is ‘Foremost’ Mission  —  NASA Administrator Charles Bolden testifies before the House Science and Technology committee on Capitol Hill in Washington May 26.  (Reuters Photo)  —  A NASA official on Tuesday stood by Administrator Charles Bolden's statement …

American Singer Receives Death Threats After Recording Anti-Obama Song  —  American beauty Ash Soular recorded “Obamanation” in 2008 as a protest song.  She warned Americans about slick media sensation Barack Obama.  —  The upside was that she got over 4,000,000 hits on the song she posted on YouTube.

Secret donors make Thomas's wife's group tea party player  —  When Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas's wife announced in 2008 that she was going to help run Washington operations for a Michigan college once described as “a citadel of American conservatism,” she said the move was her …

Kennedy: I think I'll stick around until 2013  —  Increasingly, Justice Anthony Kennedy has become the most important member of the Supreme Court.  After the retirement of Sandra Day O'Connor, Kennedy serves as the swing vote between the conservative and liberal blocs on the Court …

U.S. and Israel Shift Attention to Peace Process  —  WASHINGTON — President Obama said Tuesday that he expected direct negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians to begin “well before” a moratorium on settlement construction expired at the end of September, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu …

Obama's worst foreign-policy mistake  —  Given President Obama's glaring domestic policy missteps, it is understandable that the public has largely been blinded to his foreign policy failings.  In fact, these may have been even more damaging to America's future.

Tea Party = Republican party?  —  The scads of media coverage about the burgeoning “tea party” effort has focused heavily on the idea that those who identify themselves as part of the movement are political free agents — dismissive of both parties and Washington in general.

Rules Proposed To Cut Pollution At Power Plants  —  WASHINGTON — Acting under federal court order, the Obama administration proposed new air-quality rules on Tuesday for coal-burning power plants that officials said would bring major reductions in soot and smog from Texas to the Eastern Seaboard.

Feingold faces unexpectedly tough race  —  WASHINGTON — Add Russ Feingold to the list of Senate Democrats who find themselves in unexpectedly tough races, the latest evidence of the GOP's success in widening the playing field that President Barack Obama's party has to defend.

Civilian Casualties Create New Enemies, Study Confirms  —  Yes, we needed economists to tell us this.  A new working paper published by the National Bureau of Economic Research finds “strong evidence for a revenge effect” when examining the relationship between civilian casualties caused …

Burr up 5 on Marshall  —  Richard Burr begins the month of July with a 5 point lead over Elaine Marshall, 9 points less than the advantage Elizabeth Dole had over Kay Hagan at the same point in the cycle two years ago.  —  Burr's at 38% to 33% for Marshall and a surprising 10% for Libertarian Michael Beitler.

Expect lots of government layoffs at state, local level  —  Here's another headwind for a sputtering job market: State and local governments plan many more layoffs to close wide budget gaps.  —  Up to 400,000 workers could lose jobs in the next year as states, counties and cities grapple …