Walking Away From Million-Dollar Mortgages  —  LOS ALTOS, Calif. — No need for tears, but the well-off are losing their master suites and saying goodbye to their wine cellars.  —  The housing bust that began among the working class in remote subdivisions and quickly progressed …

Be Careful What You Wish For Department: Federal District Court Strikes Down DOMA  —  Today Judge Joseph Tauro in the federal district court in Massachusetts struck down section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) in two opinions, Gill v. Office of Personnel Management, and Massachusetts v. HHS.

Election 2010: West Virginia Senate Special Election  —  West Virginia Senate: Manchin (D) 53%, Capito (R) 39%  —  A special Senate election this November to replace the late Robert Byrd is still awaiting the green light from West Virginia's attorney general, but popular Democratic Governor Joe Manchin …

The Obama-Pelosi Lame Duck Strategy  —  Union ‘card-check,’ cap and trade, and so much more.  —  Democratic House members are so worried about the fall elections they're leaving Washington on July 30, a full week earlier than normal—and they won't return until mid-September.

How LeBron's Move Helps the Tea Party  —  So LeBron James is abandoning Cleveland for sunny Miami.  That's a tough break for Ohio sports fans.  But what effect might LeBron's departure have on Ohio's politics?  I think it helps the Tea Party, for reasons I'll lay out.

Emanuel: Business should be thanking this president - Palin video was shot by a single videographer - Dem. donors pressured by tally of GOP plans — Ask Matt Rhoades — P.K., Drew Hammill b'days  —  EXCLUSIVE: Peter Orszag, director of the Office of Management and Budget …

Mehserle convicted of involuntary manslaughter  —  (07-08) 16:22 PDT LOS ANGELES — A jury found former BART police Officer Johannes Mehserle guilty today of involuntary manslaughter in connection with the New Year's Day 2009 shooting of an unarmed train rider, finding that he had acted …

LeGone: LeBron James announces he's leaving Cleveland Cavaliers for Miami Heat  —  CLEVELAND, Ohio — The witnesses have been excused.  —  LeBron James crushed Cavaliers fans Thursday night when he announced live on national television that he was leaving Cleveland and will sign with the Miami Heat.

‘Tan tax’ discussions include allegations of reverse racism  —  Mention the new “tan tax” in a major news outlet and cries of discrimination and reverse racism often follow.  —  The complaint surfaced on reader comment boards to blogs and news Web sites back in December …

Obama is convinced of his own magnificence, and hardly any of his own country's.

GOP leaders let demagogues set tone, lawmaker says  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — Too many Republican leaders are acquiescing to a poisonous “demagoguery” that threatens the party's long-term credibility, says a veteran GOP House member who was defeated in South Carolina's primary last month.

Russian sub ‘could stop oil leak’  —  The subs have started their third season of exploration at Lake Baikal  —  Russian-built submersibles would be able to cap the oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico, the captain of one of the vessels has said.  —  The skipper was speaking as two of the subs …

Start moving freight by water again, and we'll use less oil, emit less carbon, cut highway traffic—and perhaps even save St. Louis.  —  very four days, a 4,200-horsepower tugboat, having crossed the Gulf of Mexico from Brownsville, Texas, slips into the ship channel off Egmont Key at the mouth of Tampa Bay.

The Beholden State  —  How public-sector unions broke California  —  The camera focuses on an official of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), California's largest public-employee union, sitting in a legislative chamber and speaking into a microphone.

What Kirk did not want you to know: McConnell headlined fund-raiser for Kirk  —  The Kirk for Senate campaign, it turns out, declined to be candid about Rep. Mark Kirk's activities while stumping in Quincy on Thursday, which included a fund-raiser headlined by the very top Republican in the Senate …

The exchange on Friday of 10 convicted Russian sleeper agents for four men deemed to be spies for the West ended an episode that had threatened relations between the two nations.

Obama: Israelis suspicious of me because my middle name is Hussein  —  U.S. president tells Channel 2 Israel is unlikely to attack Iran without coordinating with the U.S.  —  U.S. President Barack Obama told Channel 2 News on Wednesday that he believed Israel would not try to surprise the U.S. with a unilateral attack on Iran.

Military reviews directive that restricts troops in effort to limit Afghan civilian deaths  —  To the U.S. soldiers getting pounded with thunderous mortar rounds in their combat outpost near Kandahar, it seemed like a legitimate request: allow them to launch retaliatory mortar shells or summon an airstrike against their attackers.

More on raising the retirement age  —  Larry Mishel writes in with another argument for why raising the Social Security age makes much more sense for affluent individuals who work in knowledge-oriented industries than for lower-income people whose jobs require more physical labor.

Pity the Poor C.E.O.'s  —  Job creation has been disappointing, but first-quarter corporate profits were up 44 percent from a year earlier.  Consumers are nervous, but the Dow, which was below 8,000 on the day President Obama was inaugurated, is now over 10,000.

Grassley Airs Concerns on Financial Bill  —  The Iowa Bankers Association wants Republican Sen. Charles Grassley to vote against the sweeping financial regulatory bill and tried to meet with him this week to press its case.  Mr. Grassley's office said the lawmaker didn't have time.

Americans Oppose Federal Suit Against Ariz. Immigration Law  —  Republicans are highly opposed; a majority of Democrats are in favor  —  PRINCETON, NJ — Americans' initial reactions to the U.S. Justice Department lawsuit against Arizona's new illegal immigration law are more negative than positive, by a 50% to 33% margin.

Democrats battle independents' weakening support of Obama and Congress  —  Of all the problems Democrats face this fall, none may be more challenging than trying to win back the support of independent voters.  —  President Obama has been going backward with independents for more than a year …

Gibbs Evades Question of Whether Obama Agrees With His Medicare Director That Health-Care System Must Redistribute Wealth  —  (CNSNews.com) - White House Spokesman Robert Gibbs has evaded answering the question of whether President Barack Obama agrees with Dr. Donald Berwick …