Mark Halperin suspended over Obama remark on Morning Joe (video)  —  MSNBC senior political analyst Mark Halperin was suspended on Thursday by the cable network after he called President Obama “a dick” on a popular morning show and then quickly apologized.  —  “I thought he was a dick yesterday …

Geithner Said to Consider Leaving Treasury After Debt Debate  —  Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner has signaled to White House officials that he's considering leaving the administration after President Barack Obama reaches an agreement with Congress to raise the national debt limit …

Rep. McCotter to launch presidential bid on July 2  —  Rep. Thaddeus McCotter, R-Mich. will launch his presidential campaign on July 2, making him the third sitting member of the House to run for the White House in 2012.  —  McCotter will make his bid official in his home state of Michigan …

FEC rules in favor of Stephen Colbert  —  The Federal Election Commission ruled Thursday that comedian Stephen Colbert could form his eponymous political action committee with a media exemption.  —  “I am sorry to say, we won,” Colbert declared to supporters outside the FEC building after the commissioners issued their advisory.

Chuck Schumer unveils jobs plan  —  A bill to create construction jobs and fund new highway infrastructure.  A clean-energy jobs program.  Reforming the immigration system for high-skilled workers.  And a variety of tax cuts and credits.  —  None of them are new ideas …

Roger Ailes' Secret Nixon-Era Blueprint for Fox News  —  Republican media strategist Roger Ailes launched Fox News Channel in 1996, ostensibly as a “fair and balanced” counterpoint to what he regarded as the liberal establishment media.  But according to a remarkable document buried deep within …

Against the constitutional option, cont'd  —  Jonathan Chait and David Dayen both think that the breakdown of debt-ceiling negotiations strengthens the case for the Obama administration to attempt the “constitutional option,” in which they simply declare the debt limit unconstitutional and hope the Supreme Court agrees.

Romney backtracks on argument that Obama made economy worse  —  Over the last few weeks, Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney has argued that President Obama's policies have made the economy worse.  —  Here was Romney in New Hampshire on Monday:

Strauss-Kahn Case Seen as in Jeopardy  —  The sexual assault case against Dominique Strauss-Kahn is on the verge of collapse as investigators have uncovered major holes in the credibility of the housekeeper who charged that he attacked her in his Manhattan hotel suite in May, according to two well-placed law enforcement officials.

An Open Letter To Jeff Bezos On Terminating The Amazon Affiliate Program In California  —  Dear Jeff-  —  Thank you for your letter today, informing me that after seven years of being one of your affiliates — and having earned for you about $150,000 in that time — that you “deeply regret” …

Harvard: July 4th Parades Are Right-Wing  —  Democratic political candidates can skip this weekend's July 4th parades.  A new Harvard University study finds that July 4th parades energize only Republicans, turn kids into Republicans, and help to boost the GOP turnout of adults on Election Day.

Confessions of a Financial Deregulator  —  print recommend Send link clip secure rights  —  BERKELEY - Back in the late 1990's, in America at least, two schools of thought pushed for more financial deregulation - that is, for repealing the legal separation of investment banking …

Married, With Infidelities  —  Last month, when the New York congressman Anthony Weiner finally admitted that he had lied, that his Twitter account had not been hacked, that he in fact had sent a picture of his thinly clad undercarriage to a stranger in Seattle, I asked my wife of six years …

Kansas To Shut Down All but One Abortion Clinic Friday  —  It's official.  Every abortion provider in the state of Kansas has been denied a license to continue operating as of July 1.  As we reported last week, strict new state laws put in place this month threatened to close the remaining three abortion clinics in Kansas.

Ballad of the Long Shot  —  Before you announced your campaign, you said that the liberal establishment is scared that “a real black man might run against Barack Obama.”  Are you suggesting Obama isn't really black?  —  A real black man is not timid about making the right decisions, that's what I meant.

How health care rulings are covered  —  Regular readers may recall an item from February, in which I compared coverage of health care court rulings from several major media outlets.  Given yesterday's developments, it's time to revisit the subject.  —  To briefly review …

New law could free 12K drug users  —  On the heels of a law signed last year by President Barack Obama limiting sentences for crack cocaine offenses, thousands of prisoners for crimes related to the drug will be eligible for early release, the U.S. Sentencing Commission ruled Thursday.

Fire Up the Grill, Not the Atmosphere  —  FOOD is responsible for 10 to 30 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions.  By many estimates, cooking represents more of a meal's carbon footprint than transport.  For certain vegetables, it accounts for more emissions than agriculture, transport and disposal combined.

In Utah, Huntsman's son hits Romney rally  —  • Will Huntsman, son of presidential candidate Jon Huntsman, attended a rally on Friday for rival White House hopeful Mitt Romney and posed for a photo with the former Massachusetts governor.  —  In a photo obtained by The Salt Lake Tribune …