Gingrich says he's considering presidential run  —  DES MOINES, Iowa - Former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich said Monday he's seriously considering seeking the Republican presidential nomination and will announce his decision early next year.  —  Gingrich, 67, told The Associated Press …

Jon Kyl gives away the game on deficits  —  “[Y]ou should never raise taxes in order to cut taxes,” Jon Kyl said on Fox News Sunday.  “Surely Congress has the authority, and it would be right to — if we decide we want to cut taxes to spur the economy, not to have to raise taxes in order to offset those costs.

Confidence in Obama reaches new low, Washington Post-ABC News poll finds  —  Public confidence in President Obama has hit a new low, according to the latest Washington Post-ABC News poll.  Four months before midterm elections that will define the second half of his term …

Felons Voting Illegally May Have Put Franken Over the Top in Minnesota, Study Finds  —  The six-month election recount that turned former “Saturday Night Live” comedian Al Franken into a U.S. senator may have been decided by convicted felons who voted illegally in Minnesota's Twin Cities.

Andrew Napolitano: Bush and Cheney Should Have Been Indicted for Torturing, for Spying and Arresting Without Warrants  —  Well, this is something you don't see every day.  Ralph Nader hosted this interview segment with Fox News' Judge Andrew Napolitano and discussed his book, Lies the Government Told You.

Michelle Obama Rouses NAACP Before Vote Condemning ‘Racist’ Elements of Tea Party  —  Tea Party Leaders Say Political Motivation Driving NAACP Agenda  —  First Lady Michelle Obama brought renewed energy to the NAACP today, delivering the keynote speech at the annual convention …

4 missionaries charged in Dearborn festival proselytizing  —  Dearborn — Four Christian missionaries were arraigned today on misdemeanor charges of disturbing the peace following their June 18 arrest at the Arab International Festival.  —  Negeen Mayel, 18, of California; Nabeel Qureshi …

Group to oppose Obama Mideast policy  —  Leading conservatives will launch a new pro-Israel group this week with a scathing attack on Rep. Joe Sestak, the Democratic Senate candidate in Pennsylvania, the first shot in what they say will be a confrontational campaign against the Obama …

Salazar Revises Rules for Deepwater Drilling Ban  —  Interior Secretary Ken Salazar issued revised rules on Monday for a six-month moratorium on deepwater oil drilling in the Gulf of Mexico, replacing an earlier one that had been declared invalid by federal courts.

Congressman blames town hall incident on opponent, apologizes  —  A Texas congressman who got into a heated exchange at a town hall meeting this weekend blamed his opponent's campaign for the incident, but also apologized for his conduct.  —  Video emerged Monday that shows Rep. Ciro Rodriguez …

EXCLUSIVE NEW AUDIO: Mel Gibson Admits Hitting Oksana, Threatens To Kill Her - Listen To It Here  —  WARNING: This audio may not be reproduced or republished.  —  Mel Gibson, under investigation for domestic violence, admits to hitting Oksana Grigorieva and TWICE threatens to kill …

2012: What Palin Is, and Isn't, Doing  —  Sarah Palin's PAC disclosure release has occasioned a new round of “Will she or won't she?”  If we take the dictum that one's judgment is more easily interrogated than one's motivation, we're left with a simple answer: she's seriously thinking about running for president.

Sharron Angle flummoxes local press with “stimulus” non-sequitor  —  Here's the latest out of Nevada: Sharron Angle is getting attention for flubbing an answer involving job creation in a manner that raises questions about whether she grasps an enormously important local issue.

Stuff  —  As I mentioned in my last entry, I've been watching Babylon 5 lately.  It's not a perfect show, but it has one big advantage: it's consistent and believable.  —  Contrast this with Doctor Who.  Doctor Who is fun to watch, but if you think about it for more than two seconds …

Beyond Guns: N.R.A. Expands Agenda  —  WASHINGTON — Fresh off a string of victories in the courts and Congress, the National Rifle Association is flexing political muscle outside its normal domain, with both Democrats and Republicans courting its favor and avoiding its wrath on issues that sometimes seem to have little to do with guns.

Panel To Delay Kagan Vote  —  The Senate Judiciary Committee will not vote Tuesday on the nomination of Solicitor General Elena Kagan to the Supreme Court, GOP aides said today.  —  GOP senators will use the ability of any committee member under the panel's rules to put off a vote for one week, several aides said.

BP Oil Spill: Containment Cap Installed on Leak, As Anger Surges Over Slow Claims Payouts  —  Adm.Thad Allen Says BP ‘Very Close’ to Stopping Oil From Gushing Into the Gulf of Mexico  —  BP has successfully lowered a new containment cap onto its leaking well, its latest attempt to control …

Cantor To Host Job Fair With Employers Stimulated By Over $50 Million In Recovery Act Funds  —  House Minority Whip Rep. Eric Cantor (R-VA) has been one of the Recovery Act's most vocal critics.  After whipping his caucus into uniformly opposing the stimulus, Cantor has been the lead spokesman decrying the program as a failure.

Gitmo: Please Let Me Stay!  —  Barack Obama campaigned on a pledge to close the terrorist detention facility at Guantanamo Bay.  Since then, he seems to have backed off; maybe he has listened to the Gitmo prisoners who don't want to leave: … The detainees fear that they might be tortured or killed if they return to Algeria.

Harvey Pekar, Cleveland comic-book legend, dies at age 70  —  CLEVELAND HEIGHTS, Ohio — Harvey Pekar's life was not an open book.  It was an open comic book.  —  Pekar chronicled his life and times in the acclaimed autobiographical comic book series, “American Splendor,” …

In BP's Record, a History of Boldness and Costly Blunders  —  This article was reported by Sarah Lyall and Julia Werdigier in London, Clifford Krauss in Houston and Jad Mouawad in New York, and written by Ms. Lyall.  —  Hurricane Dennis had already come and gone on July 11, 2005 …

Cuba's Fidel Castro makes rare state TV appearance  —  Former Cuban President Fidel Castro has appeared on state television for the first time in 11 months.  —  The 83-year-old looked alert as he spoke at length on international affairs on Mesa Redonda (Round Table), although his voice was weak at times.