Farmer's wife says fired USDA official helped save their land  —  The wife of the white farmer allegedly discriminated against by the USDA's rural development director for Georgia said Shirley Sherrod “kept us out of bankruptcy.”  —  Eloise Spooner, 82, awoke Tuesday to discover that Sherrod …

It was the moment of greatest peril for then-Sen. Barack Obama's political career.  In the heat of the presidential campaign, videos surfaced of Obama's pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, angrily denouncing whites, the U.S. government and America itself.  Obama had once bragged of his closeness to Wright.

Opposing view on the Supreme Court: A big-government vision  —  After carefully reviewing Elena Kagan's record and testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee, I must oppose her nomination.  —  OUR VIEW: Kagan deserves bipartisan backing, but won't get it

GOP leery of Tea Party Caucus  —  With the official formation of a congressional Tea Party Caucus, Rep. Michele Bachmann has thrust an existential question before House Republican leaders: Are you in or are you out?  —  Indiana's Mike Pence, chairman of the Republican Conference, was adamant.

Unemployment benefits to pass, but all alone  —  Democrats are set to pass an extension of unemployment benefits today.  The presence of Carte Goodwin, Sen. Robert Byrd's temporary replacement, gives them the 60 votes necessary to break the Republicans' — and Ben Nelson's — filibuster of the bill.

The Scariest Unemployment Graph I've Seen Yet  —  The median duration of unemployment is higher today than any time in the last 50 years.  That's an understatement.  It is more than twice as high today than any time in the last 50 years.  —  OK, you're saying, but what does this mean?

Crist Uses His Old Party as a New Foil  —  Senate Push Gains as Florida Governor Sets Himself Off Against State's GOP, With Some Firepower From Obama Camp  —  Gov. Crist has shored up some conservative positions, such as his support for gun rights, while shifting to the left on core issues like abortion, education and gay rights.

Months-Long Unemployment Standoff Ends With Vote By New West Virginia Senator  —  Boosted by the swearing-in of new West Virginia Sen. Carte Goodwin, the Senate today voted to restore and extend jobless benefits for the long-term unemployed, ending a lengthy stalemate.

Reid holds slight lead  —  Given the gift of an opponent who's even more unpopular than him, Harry Reid leads Sharron Angle 48-46 in the Nevada Senate race.  When PPP last looked at the state in January Reid trailed Sue Lowden by ten points.  —  Reid continues to have upside down approval numbers …

Times loses almost 90% of online readership  —  Less than three weeks after the Times paywall went up, data shows a massive decline in web traffic  —  The registration page for thetimes.co.uk - 25.6% of users sign up and proceed to the Times site  —  The Times has lost almost 90% …

BP photoshops fake photo of crisis command center, posts on main BP site  —  (H/t to AK for spotting this.)  —  UPDATE 12:08PM Eastern 7/20/10: BP has faked yet another oil crisis response photo on its Web site.  —  UPDATE: 11:14PM Eastern: BP has now posted the “original” photo, they claim.