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

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.

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.

With ‘One Nation,’ liberal groups aim to match tea party's energy, influence  —  If imitation is the highest form of flattery, the “tea party” movement must be honored.  —  In an effort to replicate the tea party's success, 170 liberal and civil rights groups are forming a coalition …

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.

Hospital security ‘punches, tasers’ nephew of Clarence Thomas  —  Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas is reportedly “outraged” after security guards at a New Orleans-area hospital were accused of punching and tasing his epileptic nephew, a news report states.

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 …

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.

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.

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.

Basis of Ruling on Gay Unions Stirs Debate  —  A judge's decision on Thursday declaring that a state law allowing same-sex marriage in Massachusetts should take precedence over a federal definition of marriage has exposed the fractures and fault lines among groups working to bolster states' rights.

Obama may have worn out his welcome on Capitol Hill  —  The president's threat to veto a war funding bill is an ‘unwelcome message’ to House Democrats, many of whom face a tough midterm election after yielding to the White House's agenda.  —  Rep. Barbara Lee of Oakland …

Big Box Mall's Giant Parking Garage a Predictable, Preventable Waste  —  Despite copious subsidized parking at East River Plaza, most customers still walk or take transit to get there.  Who could have seen that coming?  Image: Curbed  —  In a surprise to few, the wannabe-suburban East …

Income Gap Between Rich and Poor Is Highest in Decades, Data Show  —  WHAT'S YOUR REACTION?  —  The gap between the wealthiest Americans and middle- and working-class Americans has more than tripled in the past three decades, according to a June 25 report by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.