Gov. Sanford Admits Affair and Explains Disappearance  —  COLUMBIA, S.C. — Mark Sanford, the governor of South Carolina, said he had conducted an extra-marital affair with a woman in Argentina, ending a mystery over his week-long disappearance that had infuriated lawmakers and seemed to put his rising political career in jeopardy.

On Fox, Mark Sanford “(D)” holds press conference  —  Previously:  —  Media outlets - including Fox - misidentify as Democrats several Republicans facing scandal, poor poll numbers  —  EXPAND ALL EXPAND 1ST LEVEL COLLAPSE ALL

Bastard  —  It's the only fitting word for a man who abandons his wife and four sons on Father's Day weekend to indulge his “overdrive” on an Argentinian fling.  —  Mark Sanford: Bastard.  —  If you missed Sanford's rambling, surreal disaster of a press conference, consider yourself lucky.

First on the CNN Ticker: Barbour to head RGA  —  WASHINGTON (CNN) — Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour has assumed the chairmanship of the Republican Governors Association, CNN has learned.  —  Barbour immediately takes over as head of the national Republican campaign organization following South Carolina …

Source: “There Is Some Evidence [Sanford] Was Not Alone”  —  Things are still murky on the Mark Sanford story.  But it's looking increasingly likely that Sanford's trip to Argentina was about more than a scenic drive down the coast.  —  “There is some evidence he was not alone,” a source in South Carolina politics told TPMmuckraker.

Will Republicans ‘Ask Questions’ Of Sanford, Rather Than ‘Circle The Wagons For One Of Our Tribe’?  —  After days of speculation and misinformation, South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford (R) today admitted that he had spent the past week in Argentina — not on the Appalachian trail …

Sanford admits affair, apologizes to family  —  Governor apologizes to wife, sons and friends  —  S.C. Gov. Mark Sanford admitted today that his secret trip to Argentina over the Father's Day weekend was to visit a woman he has been having an affair with for the past year.

EXCLUSIVE: U.S. contacted Iran's ayatollah before election  —  Administration overture to Khamenei ridiculed in sermon  —  Prior to this month's disputed presidential election in Iran, the Obama administration sent a letter to the country's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei …

The Crucifixion of Nico Pitney  —  Okay, that's a bit of an exaggeration but the Huffington Post reporter is getting tweaked this morning for the question he posed to President Obama at yesterday's White House Press Conference.  It was an odd moment because normally, of course …