The Obama administration has started sending federal agents to audit records of thousands of companies, forcing businesses to fire every illegal immigrant.

First rig sails away over drilling ban  —  Lawmakers and experts fear loss is only the start of offshore exodus  —  WASHINGTON — Diamond Offshore announced Friday that its Ocean Endeavor drilling rig will leave the Gulf of Mexico and move to Egyptian waters immediately …

Blasting right wing lies right out of the oil soaked water  —  Blamo!  —  Here's something you don't see every day: a news anchor actually challenging a lying winger on the air and then going back the next day with a thorough fact check:  —  See, it's really not that hard.  —  h/t to bb

Blue Suede Jihad: PJM Gets the MSM Treatment  —  A Memphis mosque turns to its dinosaur media allies over a PJM story on a Hamas fundraiser's scheduled appearance.  —  Last week, I wrote about the scheduled appearance of Sheikh Mohammed Al-Hanooti, a long-time terrorist supporter and known Hamas fundraiser …

Obama's Israel policy could loom large as midterm election issue  —  As the Obama administration tries to mend its strained ties with Israel, strategists say U.S. policy on the Jewish state could influence several battleground House and Senate races this fall.

Greene paid his own filing fee; won't face additional criminal charges  —  Alvin Greene, the obscure jobless man whose come-from-nowhere victory in the June Democratic primary for U.S. Senate created a national furor, had legitimate sources of income to pay his $10,400 primary entry fee, law enforcement sources said Friday.

AP Interview: GOP Sen. Bennett predicts Reid win  —  SALT LAKE CITY - Warning that tea party “mischief” may be aiding Democrats this election season, defeated Utah Republican U.S. Sen. Bob Bennett says that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid likely will keep his seat and that the GOP …

University of Illinois Instructor Fired Over Catholic Beliefs  —  URBANA, Ill. — The University of Illinois has fired an adjunct professor who taught courses on Catholicism after a student accused the instructor of engaging in hate speech by saying he agrees with the church's teaching that homosexual sex is immoral.

Gen. Petraeus runs into resistance from Karzai over village defense forces  —  KABUL — As he takes charge of the war effort in Afghanistan, Gen. David H. Petraeus has met sharp resistance from President Hamid Karzai to an American plan to assist Afghan villagers in fighting the Taliban on their own.

Mehserle apologizes - Grant family unimpressed  —  (07-09) 16:28 PDT OAKLAND — While the jury was deliberating his fate, former BART police Officer Johannes Mehserle crafted a handwritten statement in which he apologized for the first time for shooting Oscar Grant, saying he will be forever haunted by Grant's dying words.

Clinton to Perform Weiner Wedding  —  Bill Clinton is not giving away his daughter Chelsea's hand in marriage for another three weeks.  But he is going to get a little practice at the altar on Saturday, when he officiates at the wedding of Representative Anthony D. Weiner and Huma Abedin …

The Submarine Deals That Helped Sink Greece  —  ATHENS—As Greece slashes spending to avoid default, it hasn't moved to skimp on one area: defense.  —  The deeply indebted Mediterranean nation, whose financial crisis roiled the global financial system this year, is spending more than a billion euros on two submarines from Germany.

Bay Bank, FSB, Lutherville, Maryland, Assumes all of the Deposits of Bay National Bank, Baltimore, Maryland  —  FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE  —  Bay National Bank, Baltimore, Maryland, was closed today by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, which appointed the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) as receiver.

The estate tax is set to come roaring back in January.  That sets the stage for a perverse calculus: End it all—or leave a massive bill for your heirs to deal with.

Biden tells Leno US did fine in Russian spy swap  —  BURBANK, Calif. - Vice President Joe Biden had to convince a skeptical Jay Leno on Friday that the United States didn't get a raw deal from Russia in the biggest spy swap since the Cold War.  —  Leno asked Biden during a taping of …

Retire at age 70?  Young people may have to under plan  —  WASHINGTON — Young Americans might not get full Social Security retirement benefits until they reach age 70 if some trial balloons that prominent lawmakers of both parties are floating become law.  —  No one who's slated …