Tim Geithner Opposes Nominating Elizabeth Warren To Lead New Consumer Agency  —  What's Your Reaction: … Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner has expressed opposition to the possible nomination of Elizabeth Warren to head the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, according to a source with knowledge of Geithner's views.

An Obama Administration Job for Sen. Specter?  —  Sources tell ABC News that Sen. Arlen Specter, D-Pennsylvania, has informed the White House that he would like to consider remaining in public service after his Senate term ends at the end of this session, and White House officials are keeping …

Oil leak stopped for first time since April  —  BP said Thursday that it has stopped oil from leaking out of its blown-out well in the Gulf of Mexico.  The gusher has been throttled for the first time since the April 20 blowout on the drilling rig Deepwater Horizon.

Goldman Settles With S.E.C. for $550 Million  —  Updated Updated with confirmation of The New York Times's report about Goldman's $550 million settlement.  —  Goldman Sachs has agreed to pay $550 million to the Securities and Exchange Commission, one of the largest penalties ever paid by a Wall Street firm …

“Tea partier” Mark Williams writes ‘letter to Abe Lincoln’ ... from the ‘coloreds’  —  If you're feeling pissy that the NAACP condemned your witch doctor signage and you're out to prove that your movement isn't racist, wouldn't it help not to actually say anything that might be construed as racist?

CARLSON LAUNCHES OLBERMANN SITE  —  You may (or may not) have noticed that there's been a bit of a feud taking place between MSNBC's Keith Olbermann and the Daily Caller, the website run by (former MSNBC'r) Tucker Carlson.  —  The Caller — via its Twitter account, especially …

Breitbart to NAACP Chief: ‘Go to Hell!’  —  “Let me say something a tad newsworthy to the president of the NAACP.  You can go to hell. ...  I have tapes...tape of racism and it's an NAACP dinner.  You want to play with fire?  I have evidence of racism and it's coming from the NAACP.”

EXCLUSIVE NEW AUDIO: Mel Gibson Completely Loses It: ‘B*tch, C*nt, Wh*re, Gold Digger!’  —  WARNING: This audio may not be reproduced or republished.  —  Screaming, snarling and panting Mel Gibson completely loses it in new audio obtained and released exclusively by RadarOnline.com.

Pretty Bad 2012 numbers for Obama  —  With his approval numbers hitting new lows it's no surprise that Barack Obama's numbers in our monthly look ahead to the 2012 Presidential race are their worst ever this month.  He trails Mitt Romney 46-43, Mike Huckabee 47-45, Newt Gingrich 46-45, and is even tied with Sarah Palin at 46.

When does Fox News' ugly race-baiting become the story?  —  Amazing.  Bernie Goldberg and I actually agreed.  But only for a moment.  —  The conservative media critic appeared on The O'Reilly Factor this week while the host, like every other Fox News host and anchor …

What's the Mission?  A Bleg  —  Andrew last week generously linked to an article of mine explaining the evolution of my political thinking.  —  But the thing I'd most like to discuss in this week of cross-posting at Andrew's site is: where do we go from here?  What's the mission?

Scott Brown slams Kathy Griffin for calling daughters ‘prostitutes’  —  Sen. Scott Brown (R-Mass.) lashed out at comedienne Kathy Griffin on Thursday for describing his daughters as “prostitutes.”  —  Brown strongly condemned remarks Griffin made on CNN in which she mocks Brown's daughters, Ayla and Arianna.

Dem Rep Sheila Jackson Lee Tells NAACP: “All Those Who Wore Sheets a Long Time Ago Lifted Them Off to Wear Tea Party Clothing” (Applause!)  —  Representative Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX) told the NAACP this week that those who wore sheets lifted them off and are now wearing tea party clothing.

Handel: Gay parents “not in the best interest of the child”  —  Former Secretary of State Karen Handel wrote what she calls a “sponsorship” check to a gay Republican organization called Log Cabin Republicans.  She was running for Fulton County Commission chairman at the time.

GOP retaliates for Berwick recess appointment to Medicare leadership post  —  Senate Republicans are still fuming over the recess appointment of Donald Berwick to head the federal agency in charge of Medicare and Medicaid.  —  In retaliation, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) …

Left vows to fight any fiscal panel proposals to cut Social Security  —  Liberals wary of cuts to Social Security benefits are taking on President Obama's fiscal commission, seeing it as a more serious threat to the entitlement program than President George W. Bush's push to privatize the system five years ago.

GOP Has Money Momentum in Open Senate Races  —  Underscoring the momentum shift behind the GOP in the midterm elections, Republican candidates out-raised Democrats in the second quarter in every competitive race for an open Senate seat.  —  Below is a snapshot of the key races and their money haul for the second quarter.

Election 2010: Wisconsin Senate  —  Wisconsin Senate: Johnson (R) 47%, Feingold (D) 46%  —  Democratic incumbent Russ Feingold and his chief Republican challenger Ron Johnson remain locked in a neck-and-neck battle for the U.S. Senate in Wisconsin.  —  The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey …

Shopping centre bosses approve ‘Asian squat toilets’ following cultural awareness course  —  For centuries, the great British loo has been a matter of envy to the rest of the world.  —  Thanks to the efforts of pioneers like the legendary Thomas Crapper, we have long since led the world in comfort and hygiene.

Vatican: female ordination a crime  —  Revised Catholic rules put female ordination in same category of crime under church law as clerical sex abuse of minors  —  The Vatican today made the “attempted ordination” of women one of the gravest crimes under church law, putting it in the same category …

The Google Algorithm  —  Google handles nearly two-thirds of Internet search queries worldwide.  Analysts reckon that most Web sites rely on the search engine for half of their traffic.  When Google engineers tweak its supersecret algorithm — as they do hundreds of times a year …

18th-Century Ship Found at Trade Center Site  —  In the middle of tomorrow, a great ribbed ghost has emerged from a distant yesterday.  —  On Tuesday morning, workers excavating the site of the underground vehicle security center for the future World Trade Center hit a row of sturdy …