ATF leader's email could be Fast and Furious smoking gun and Holder admitted Obama can't shield it  —  A single internal Department of Justice email could be the smoking-gun document in the Operation Fast and Furious scandal — if it turns out to contain what congressional investigators have said it does.

What Happened Tonight  —  So anyone following along on twitter know the basics.  I was SWATted tonight.  My wife was down in the basement, and unknown to me she had fallen asleep in an uncomfortable position while watching TV.  I was just finishing up a post where I was going to share …

Democrats May Drop Speedway Event At Charlotte Convention  —  Democrats are considering canceling their political convention's kick-off event at the Charlotte Motor Speedway, as party planners grapple with a roughly $27 million fundraising deficit, according to two people familiar with matter.

Brown, Warren tied  —  PPP's newest poll on the Massachusetts Senate race finds it dead even, with Elizabeth Warren and Scott Brown both at 46%.  Warren's now been at that exact same 46% mark in three PPP polls in a row dating back to last September.  Brown's increased his support from levels …

Top Republican Senator Suggests Impeaching Obama Over Immigration Policies  —  Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ) floated the possibility of impeaching President Obama over the administration's recent decisions on immigration, during an appearance on Bill Bennett's radio show on Tuesday.

Google scientists find evidence of machine learning  —  A neural network created by connecting 16,000 computer processors appears to support biologists' theories on how the human brain identifies objects.  Hint: It's all about the cats.  —  Follow @stevenmusil

Confrontation With TSA Agent Leaves Grandpa's Ashes On Floor  —  Indianapolis Man Furious Over Treatment At Florida Airport Checkpoint  —  INDIANAPOLIS — A man's attempt to bring the ashes of his grandfather home to Indianapolis ended with an angry scene in a Florida airport, with the ashes spilled on the terminal floor.

White House: Donors Weren't Booing Obama  —  Booo-urns!  They “were saying ‘Yoooook and not Booo’ for God's sake,” Jay Carney says.  —  Source: youtube.com  —  White House Press Secretary Jay Carney denied that Boston donors to President Barack Obama campaign's booed the president …

On Orbitz, Mac Users Steered to Pricier Hotels  —  Orbitz Worldwide Inc. has found that people who use Apple Inc.'s Mac computers spend as much as 30% more a night on hotels, so the online travel agency is starting to show them different, and sometimes costlier, travel options than Windows visitors see.

Consumer Confidence In U.S. Declines To A Five-Month Low  —  Confidence among U.S. consumers dropped in June for a fourth consecutive month as mounting concern over jobs and incomes dimmed the outlook for spending.  —  The Conference Board's sentiment index fell to 62, a five- month low …

Government wants more people on food stamps  —  NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — More than one in seven Americans are on food stamps, but the federal government wants even more people to sign up for the safety net program.  —  The U.S. Department of Agriculture has been running radio ads …

The U-Va. president drama: Is it the Queen Bee scenario?  —  Let's be honest here.  —  Is the drama over the ouster of the University of Virginia's president so compelling because it makes us stare down the death of our culture's sacred, wood-paneled, leather-bound idea of higher education?

Congress Said To Delay Automatic Budget Cuts Until March  —  Republican and Democratic congressional leaders are weighing whether to delay automatic federal spending cuts until March 2013, according to a House aide and industry officials who were briefed on the discussions.

The Power of the Particular  —  They say you've never really seen a Bruce Springsteen concert until you've seen one in Europe, so some friends and I threw financial sanity to the winds and went to follow him around Spain and France.  In Madrid, for example, we were rewarded with a show …

On Booze, Meth, Suicide... and GOProud  —  Gay people abuse drugs, alcohol, and tobacco at higher rates than straight people do.  We also commit suicide at higher rates.  The haters on the religious right argue that these higher rates of self-harming behaviors are proof that the gay “lifestyle” is inherently dangerous and unhealthy.

Suspended reporter tweeted: Racism ‘secret sauce in the Politico sh*tburger’  —  Joe Williams, the White House correspondent whom Politico suspended last week after he made racially insensitive remarks about Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, tweeted about his employer on the evening …

Obama lead in Ohio down to 3  —  Barack Obama continues to lead Mitt Romney in Ohio, 47-44.  But that's Obama's weakest showing in the state in PPP's polling since last October.  He had led by 50-43 and 49-42 spreads in our two previous 2012 polls.  —  The big decline for Obama over the last couple months has been with white voters.

VA & CO  —  We Ask America picks up its Big Ten presidential series with the two bookends of the mix: Virginia and Colorado.  —  VIRGINIA:  —  Virginia also has a barn-burner race for the U.S. Senate (that may be greatly influence by the presidential election) pitting Republican former Senator George Allen …

Antonin Scalia, ranting old man  —  The conservative judge turned a dissenting opinion into a screed against Obama — and embarrassed the Court  —  Newt Gingrich has been described as a dumb person's idea of a smart person.  I've heard the same remark made about Antonin Scalia, and until today I would have said that was unfair.

EPA wins big in court challenge on greenhouse gases  —  In a surprisingly sweeping win for the Obama administration, a federal appeals court said Tuesday that the EPA is “unambiguously correct” in its interpretation of the Clean Air Act when it comes to regulating greenhouse gases.

Pay Those Bills On Time Or Forfeit Right To Vote  —  If the 2012 general election winds up as a close GOP win, the odds are very high that the national GOP drive to restrict the franchise will deserve significant credit or blame.  You tend to think, quite rightly, of Florida as Ground zero …

News Corp. Mulls Splitting in Two  —  News Corp. is considering splitting into two companies, separating its publishing assets from its entertainment businesses, say people familiar with the situation.  —  The split would carve off News Corp.'s film and television businesses …

North Carolina: Romney 47%, Obama 44%  —  Mitt Romney continues to hold a small lead over President Obama in the key swing state of North Carolina.  —  The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of Likely Voters in the Tar Heel State finds Romney earning 47% support to Obama's 44%.