McConnell: I Won't Agree To Raise The Debt Limit Without Medicare Cuts  —  Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) says substantial Medicare cuts must be part of a spending and deficit cut package to get his support to raise the debt limit.  —  In a Capitol briefing with reporters Friday …

Bachmann's Debacle  —  “This is a disaster,” said one prominent Polk County Republican.  An elected official called it “an embarrassment”.  The embarrassing disaster was the result of Congresswoman Michelle Bachmann's last minute cancellation of her appearance at the Polk County GOP's Robb Kelley Dinner.

CNN Poll: GOP 2012 field still up in the air  —  Washington (CNN) - Call it a sign of how unsettled the GOP presidential field remains: Two of the three people at the top of new national poll in the battle for the Republican nomination may not even run for the White House.

Judge strikes down corporate donations ban  —  A federal court in Alexandria, Va. on Thursday struck down a federal ban on corporate campaign contributions, in a case with potentially dramatic ramifications for a campaign finance regulatory system under siege by legal and regulatory attacks.

This Time Lapse Video of the Very Large Telescope At Work is the Coolest Thing You'll See Today  —  Your Universe (As Seen From the Home Planet) ESO/Stephane Guisard and Jose Francisco Salgado  —  There's very little we can write to preface the imagery below, so we'll just set the scene and get out of the way.

Canada takes pro-Israel line at G8 summit  —  Canadian delegation blocks mention of 1967 lines in Group of Eight leaders' joint statement calling Israel, Palestinians to return to peace talks  —  Group of Eight leaders had to soften a statement urging Israel and the Palestinians to return …

U.S. Adults Estimate That 25% of Americans Are Gay or Lesbian  —  Those with lower incomes, the less educated, women, and young people give the highest estimates  —  WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. adults, on average, estimate that 25% of Americans are gay or lesbian.

ROBAMA: Is It OK for a President to Autopen a Bill Into Law?  —  With the Patriot Act set to expire last night, President Obama signed legislation extending it — from France — as first reported by ABC News.  —  How did he do that?  Using an autopen, of course.  —  Is that allowed?

Amazon.com Reveals the Most Well-Read Cities in America  —  Cambridge, Mass., tops the list with the most books, magazines and newspapers purchased per capita of any city in the United States  —  (NASDAQ: AMZN)—Just in time for the summer reading season, Amazon.com announced its list of the Top 20 Most Well-Read Cities in America.

Perry says he will consider White House run  —  Gov. Rick Perry today gave his strongest indication yet that he may run for president.  —  “I'm going to think about it” after the legislative session ends Monday, Perry said.  —  For years, Perry has said that he would not run for president and that he had no interest.

Wikileaks: Speculators Helped Cause Oil Bubble  —  When oil prices surged to a ridiculous $147 a barrel in the summer of 2008, conventional wisdom held that normal supply and demand issues were the cause.  Both the Bush administration (in the form of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission) …

No Ideas  —  Ezra Klein points us to the House GOP's rather pitiful jobs manifesto.  Ezra describes it as “now more than ever”: the GOP's response to the employment crisis is to demand exactly the same things it demands when the economy is doing well.  —  Actually, the same is true of the Ryan plan …

Rolling Thunder Riders Praise Sarah Palin's Participation in Rally  —  ABC News' Sheila Marikar [@sheilaym] reports: For the riders of Rolling Thunder, the news that Sarah Palin will participate in their national rally on Sunday came as a surprise.  A welcome surprise.

After Senate's Medicare Vote, Ryan Remains Unbowed … House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan was unbowed Thursday after the expected, but nonetheless stinging, rejection of his budget and Medicare proposal by the Senate.  Ryan told NPR reporters he would do it all over again.

Medicare Survival Guide  —  Sometime this summer, the Democrats and the Republicans will go toe-to-toe over whether to raise the debt ceiling.  At the height of the confrontation, President Obama may well address the country and say that even though he has offered the Republicans …

Spotlight takes toll on first lady's staff  —  Less than three years into the job, first lady Michelle Obama is on her third chief of staff and third social secretary.  She is on her second communications director, the White House chief usher recently departed, and her press secretary's last day is Friday.

“The bottom line is Sarah Palin is not going to run for president... She's making money, she's moved on...”  —  “... she's kind of an entertainer rather than a politician.  She still has some sway with the grass roots, but she is not going to run.”  —  So says somebody close to Romney, according to Byron York.

Inside Meghan McCain's Bachelorette Pad  —  The famous daughter of the famous senator shows off her 1,100-square-foot bachelorette home in West Hollywood.  —  LEAST-REPUBLICAN PIECE OF CLOTHING: My black studded Christian Louboutin heels.  They are hard-core.  My friend nicknamed them my dominatrix heels.

Mediscare: The Surprising Truth  —  Republicans are being portrayed as Medicare Grinches, but ObamaCare already has seniors' health care slated for draconian cuts.  —  The Obama administration has repeatedly claimed that the health-reform bill it passed last year improved Medicare's finances.

Soquel High School Students Suspended for Wearing White T Shirts (They're Signs of “White Supremacy")  —  Soquel, California — on the Central Coast:  —  Several high school seniors wore white t shirts to their class's group picture last Wednesday and were suspended for doing so.