McCain: We'll use Petraeus's confirmation hearing to push back against Obama's withdrawal deadline  —  I'll bet they will.  Remember, in his own terse, diplomatic way, Petraeus has sounded notably cool to The One's plan to start withdrawing next July.  Last week in Senate testimony he warned that …

EXCLUSIVE: GORE SEX SCANDAL  —  ENQUIRER WORLD EXCLUSIVE: AL GORE has been accused of sexually attacking a masseuse in Portland, Oregon - and is named in the official police report about the alleged assault, The ENQUIRER has learned exclusively!  —  The bombshell story will appear …

Confidence Waning in Obama, U.S. Outlook  —  Americans are more pessimistic about the state of the country and less confident in President Barack Obama's leadership than at any point since Mr. Obama entered the White House, according to a new Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll.

Video: Cops arrest Christians for handing out gospel at Dearborn Arab festival?  Update: Pushback  —  Via Powerline, so insane is this that I'm paranoid there's a key detail missing somewhere that might explain the whole thing.  Could the Christians have been trespassing on private property, maybe?

Raining Oil in Louisiana?  Not Likely [Updated]  —  The Internet is swirling with rumors today that a gloppy mixture of oil and Corexit (the primary dispersant used in the BP disaster) is raining down on Louisiana.  Evidence is thin, and based almost entirely on the video below, but we have to wonder—is this even possible?

‘Joe Barton was right,’ Joe Barton tweets  —  Hours after getting a respite from House Republicans, Rep. Joe Barton (R-Tex.) has cheekily responded to criticism over his “apology to BP” by tweeting a link to an American Spectator article titled “Joe Barton was right.”

The Emerging Republican Minority  —  The Center for American Politics' Ruy Teixeira, one of the top political demographers in the country, has a new paper out in which he examines the two major party coalitions, with a focus on the current and future prospects of the Republican Party.

THE VOTE  —  It's on at 9am.  Judgment day for Kevni.  —  UPDATE.  If Gillard wins, she will be our first foreign-born Prime Minister since John Gorton.  Prior to Gorton, all PMs were born in Australia right back until Billy Hughes.  —  UPDATE II.  Peter Garrett backs Rudd: … As usual.

Gulf oil spill: Boat captain, despondent over spill, commits suicide  —  William Allen Kruse, 55, a charter boat captain recently hired by BP as a vessel of opportunity out of Gulf Shores, Ala., died Wednesday morning before 7:30 a.m. of a gunshot to the head, likely self-inflicted, authorities said.

MoveOn Scrubs “General Betray Us” Page From Website . . . Update: Flashback to 2007, Obama Skipped Senate Vote to Condemn MoveOn . . . Update 2: Rationale Page Also Flushed. . .  It was there the last time Google cache took a screen shot of it (June 18th), so it was scrubbed sometime between then and today.

Fannie Mae Increases Penalties for Borrowers Who Walk Away  —  Seven-Year Lockout Policy for Strategic Defaulters  —  WASHINGTON, DC — Fannie Mae (FNM/NYSE) announced today policy changes designed to encourage borrowers to work with their servicers and pursue alternatives to foreclosure.

Wimbledon 2010 live blog: 23 June  —  10.45am: Xan will be here from around 11am.  —  In the meantime, read a report on Andy Murray's straight sets victory over Jan Hajek yesterday and why, apart from Murray, have British tennis players done so badly?  —  For the latest live scores and results follow this link.

Harry Reid's son leaves last name out of first campaign ad  —  Nevada gubernatorial candidate Rory Reid (D) is on the air with his first campaign ad and it's missing one thing: his last name.  —  Reid, the son of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), doesn't say his name at any point during the ad …

Rep. Paul Casts Sole ‘No’ Vote on Oil Spill Subpoena Power  —  When the House agreed to give subpoena powers to President Barack Obama's newly formed oil-spill commission, 420 members voted for the plan and only one voted against it: Texas Republican Ron Paul.

YouTube wins case against Viacom  —  Today, the court granted our motion for summary judgment in Viacom's lawsuit with YouTube.  This means that the court has decided that YouTube is protected by the safe harbor of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) against claims of copyright infringement.

Remains of 72 people found at World Trade Center site  —  New York City officials say a renewed search this year of debris in and around the World Trade Center site has recovered 72 human remains.  —  The sifting of more than 800 cubic yards (612 cubic meters) of debris recovered from ground zero …

THE ICK FACTOR...  The reaction over a reported quote from my most recent interview with the New Yorker has gained a lot of attention on the blogs and Internet.  —  Let me set the record straight.  —  My exact quote was this:  —  “I do believe that God created male and female and intended …

How Is It That We Have Lost the Argument?  —  Martin Wolf: … That fiscal contraction is expansionary when it is part of a package including substantial real exchange rate depreciation and substantail interest rate reductions by the central banks is something I have believed ever since I first started thinking about these issues.