A short video from PBS's FRONTLINE on The Post's two-year investigation.  An hour-long documentary film will run in October.  Watch the trailer »  —  Investigative reporter Dana Priest has been The Washington Post's intelligence, Pentagon and health-care reporter.

Palin sparks Twitter fight on mosque  —  Sarah Palin, who waded into a New York political fight by endorsing Ann Marie Buerkle in NY-25, is drifting into a decidedly higher-charged battle: The fray over a planned mosque near Ground Zero.  —  “Peace-seeking Muslims, pls understand …

The Pundit Delusion  —  The latest hot political topic is the “Obama paradox” — the supposedly mysterious disconnect between the president's achievements and his numbers.  The line goes like this: The administration has had multiple big victories in Congress, most notably on health reform …

Poll: D.C. elites a world apart  —  In their opinions on policy and politicians ranging from President Barack Obama to Sarah Palin, elites in Washington have a strikingly divergent outlook from the rest of the nation, according to a new POLITICO poll released Monday.

Sen. Cornyn: 'I Think A Lot Of People Are Looking Back With More Fondness On President Bush's Administration'  —  When Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) made an appearance on C-SPAN's “Newsmakers” yesterday, a host asked him whether Republicans plan to embrace the Bush legacy, and Cornyn suggested that they wholeheartedly would.

BP Hopes to Keep Gulf Well Closed, but Seeping Is Detected  —  After three days of encouraging pressure tests, a senior BP official said Sunday that the company's recently capped well in the Gulf of Mexico was holding up and that BP now hoped to keep the well closed until it could be permanently plugged.

The ‘Democrat Ticking Tax Bomb’ Canard  —  Via Morning Money, Rep. Dave Camp (R-Mich.), the ranking member on the House Ways and Means Committee, is blasting the majority party for the “Democrat tax hike” coming down the pike.  Here's a screen shot of an email his office sent out this morning:

Warren vs. Geithner, Cont.  —  On Friday, we saw a brewing contretemps between Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner and TARP watchdog Elizabeth Warren.  Warren, the Harvard Law professor who is a central advocate of the financial-reform bill's Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, is seen as a likely nominee to lead the new agency.

GOP Sees Path to Control of Senate  —  WASHINGTON—Democrats for the first time are acknowledging that Republicans could retake the Senate this November if everything falls into place for the GOP, less than two years after Democrats held a daunting 60-seat majority.

Senate Forecast, 7/18: Republican Outlook Improves with Focus on Likely Voter Polls  —  Our latest Senate simulation has the chamber convening in 2011 with an average of 53.4 Democrats (counting Joe Lieberman and Bernie Sanders), 46.1 Republicans, and 0.5 Charlie Crists.

Obama's Highest Half-Year Approval Ratings in D.C., Hawaii  —  Wyoming, Idaho, Utah, and West Virginia residents were least likely to approve  —  PRINCETON, NJ — During the first half of 2010, residents of Hawaii and the District of Columbia were most likely to approve of the job Barack Obama is doing as president.

Shocking True Tales of Austerity: Bleak Growth Outlook Leads to Loss of Investor Confidence in Irish Debt  —  As you can see from Ireland, budget austerity doesn't reassure financial markets if austerity doesn't lead to growth: … To be clear, I don't blame Irish policymakers.

Tea party federation boots Williams  —  The National Tea Party Federation has expelled activist Mark Williams over his attacks on the NAACP.  —  A spokesman for the federation, which is seeking to become a national umbrella organization, said Sunday on CBS's “Face the Nation” …

Muslim bus drivers refuse to let guide dogs on board  —  Blind passengers are being ordered off buses or refused taxi rides because Muslim drivers or passengers object to their ‘unclean’ guide dogs.  —  One pensioner, a cancer sufferer, told how had twice been confronted by drivers and asked …

If you want a preview of President Obama's health-care “reform,” take a look at Massachusetts.  In 2006, it enacted a “reform” that became a model for Obama.  What's happened since isn't encouraging.  The state did the easy part: expanding state-subsidized insurance coverage.

Is NAACP blind to Farrakhan & Co.?  The Nation of Islam is built on racism and lies  —  I do not think that the NAACP was out of order in asking the Tea Party movement to separate itself from the racists in its midst, but the famous civil rights organization ought to start by following the same suggestion.

NY, NJ senators want meeting with Cameron on Lockerbie bomber  —  Senators from New York and New Jersey are requesting to meet with British Prime Minister David Cameron this week to air concerns about the release of Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset al-Megrahi.  —  Al-Megrahi, diagnosed with cancer …

In a World of Online News, Burnout Starts Younger  —  ARLINGTON, Va. — In most newsrooms, the joke would have been obvious.  —  It was April Fools' Day last year, and Politico's top two editors sent an e-mail message to their staff advising of a new 5 a.m. start time for all reporters.

NAHB Builder Confidence falls to lowest level since April 2009  —  Note: any number under 50 indicates that more builders view sales conditions as poor than good.  —  Click on graph for larger image in new window.  —  This graph shows the builder confidence index from the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB).

GOP candidates stiff mainstream press  —  Some of the most conservative and combative Republicans running for Congress are convinced that the media have it in for them.  —  But these candidates seem to regard it as an affront when reporters challenge them on their past statements and inconsistencies …