Obama: ‘The Status Quo is Not Sustainable’  —  Following is President Obama's Middle East speech, as prepared for delivery:  —  I want to thank Hillary Clinton, who has traveled so much these last six months that she is approaching a new landmark - one million frequent flyer miles.

Dominique Strauss-Kahn Resigns From I.M.F.  —  Dominique Strauss-Kahn resigned Wednesday as head of the International Monetary Fund after explosive allegations that he had sexually attacked a cleaning lady in a midtown Manhattan hotel room.  —  “It is with infinite sadness that I feel compelled today …

The Lawfulness of the U.S. Operation Against Osama bin Laden  —  [Harold Hongju Koh is the Legal Adviser, U.S. Department of State.]  —  I write in response to those who have raised questions regarding the lawfulness of the recent United States operation against Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.

Romney, Daniels feel ‘death hug’ on their healthcare records  —  President Obama and his liberal allies tried to kill some of the Republicans' top presidential candidates with kindness on Thursday.  —  The president had fun at former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney's (R) …

Palin: Pelosi telling ‘tight-faced lie’ on healthcare reform law waivers  —  Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R) on Wednesday accused House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) of telling a “tight-faced lie” in saying she had nothing to do with healthcare reform waivers granted to companies in her district.

Stephen Colbert's Free Speech Problem  —  The comedian runs up against campaign-finance law in an attempt to lampoon the Supreme Court.  —  Comedy Central funnyman Stephen Colbert, like most of his friends and allies on the left, thinks that last year's Supreme Court ruling in Citizens United v. FEC is, literally, ridiculous.

Plouffe, second from left, is looking for new ways to pierce the media clutter  —  DOUG MILLS / NEW YORK TIMES / REDUX  —  When Barack Obama traveled to Texas this month to talk immigration, David Plouffe, his top message guru, decided to stay home and watch Twitter instead.

Senator McConnell leaves House Republican budget twisting in the wind  —  Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) is leaving Rep. Paul Ryan's (R-Wis.) budget plan to its own fate in the Senate by not whipping his GOP colleagues on the vote.  —  Republican senators say McConnell …

Mr. Nice Guy  —  It was after 8 p.m. at the public library in the quiet town of Adel, Iowa, and staffers were folding up the metal chairs.  Tim Pawlenty's question-and-answer session had wrapped up some 30 minutes earlier, but a handful of voters were still here, and therefore so was Pawlenty …

Sen. Grassley Accuses Asian-American Judicial Nominee Of Holding ‘Communist’ Chinese Worldview  —  Six years ago, Ninth Circuit judicial nominee Goodwin Liu published an op-ed in which he made the utterly banal point that a conservative interest group used the terms “free enterprise,"' …

Rogue tweet by Secret Service!  —  How embarrassing, Secret Service!  (Gawker image)  —  Courtesy  —  Oh, the dangers of social media!  Those instant, regrettable outbursts of unvarnished truth and scantily clad photos.  Today's victim: the Secret Service!

Cannes condemns Lars von Trier  —  Danish helmer banned, ‘Melancholia’ still eligible for Palme d'Or  —  The Cannes Film Festival has kicked Lars von Trier out of the festival, banning him from all events and declaring him a “persona non grata” in the wake of the Danish director calling himself …

Maria Shriver Hires a Divorce Attorney  —  Maria Shriver, who has split from husband Arnold Schwarzenegger amid a love-child scandal, has hired a divorce lawyer, sources tell PEOPLE.  —  Prominent Los Angeles family law attorney Laura Wasser is now representing California's former first lady, according to sources close to Shriver.

The Debt Ceiling Fiasco  —  Fights over the budget are normal and proper in a democracy.  But threatening to default could have dire consequences for the dollar, interest rates and the economy.  —  The debt ceiling “crisis” started on Monday when the U.S. government reached the legal limit …

Dick Ebersol to Leave NBC Sports  —  Dick Ebersol, who has run NBC Sports since 1989 and engineered the network's bids to acquire the rights to more Olympics than any other, resigned on Thursday when he said he could not come to an agreement on a new contract.

GOP isn't buying Barack Obama's debt limit pitch  —  In Richmond, Cantor took the same tack as Nunes in an interview with several reporters following his job summit.  —  “The markets are looking to see credible progress on changing the fiscal trajectory in Washington.

Cornel West on Obama is no better than a birther  —  Anyone who knows me, and knows me well, knows that I have little patience for the “Blacker than thou” crowd.  These are the self-appointed guardians of what it means to be black — a decidedly limited and ignorant perspective …

Private Prisons Found to Offer Little in Savings  —  PHOENIX — The conviction that private prisons save money helped drive more than 30 states to turn to them for housing inmates.  But Arizona shows that popular wisdom might be wrong: Data there suggest that privately operated prisons …