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 …

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.

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.

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 …

Serious Questions About the Veracity of Michael Bellesiles's Latest Tale  —  A few days ago, questions were raised first by Big Journalism and then by me about a story that Michael Bellesiles published in the June 27th issue of the Chronicle of Higher Education: Teaching Military History in a Time of War.

Box left at woman's door explodes  —  HOUSTON (KTRK) — Local and federal investigators were at a northwest Houston home Friday night where an explosion sent a woman to the hospital.  —  The woman was opening a package left at her doorstep in the 2100 block of Seamist Court Friday evening.

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 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.

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.