Rodent scurries by as Obama lauds Wall Street vote  —  WASHINGTON - In his battle with the titans of Wall Street, President Barack Obama almost got upstaged by a rat.  —  But he didn't even seem to notice.  Assuming that's what it was, scurrying in front of his podium Thursday in a sun-drenched Rose Garden.

Rand Paul comments about civil rights stir controversy  —  Two days after becoming the newest symbol of “tea party” politics, Republican Senate candidate Rand Paul of Kentucky thrust himself, his party and the movement into an uncomfortable conversation about the federal government's role …

Exclusive: President Obama To Replace Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair*  —  ABC News has learned that President Obama will replace the Director of National Intelligence, Admiral Dennis Blair (ret.) His resignation will come as soon as tomorrow, sources tell ABC News.

And The Winner of The Everybody Draw Mohammad Contest is...  To remind readers of the stakes: In recent months, a Swedish cartoonist that sketched Mohammed as a “roundabout dog” as part of a planned street installation was assaulted during a lecture and, the following week, two extremists attempted to burn his house down.

Arizona Digs In  —  Repeated attacks on the citizens of Arizona by President Obama and many others have done nothing to dim Arizona's support for immigration law enforcement.  On the contrary: a remarkable 71 percent of Arizona voters now support that state's new immigration law, up from 64 percent last month.

The Story of an Angry Voter  —  Let's imagine a character named Ben.  A couple of decades ago, Ben went to high school.  —  It wasn't easy.  His parents were splitting up.  His friends would cut class to smoke weed.  His sister got pregnant.  But Ben worked hard and graduated …

Chuck DeVore has a staunch conservative record  —  The Senate candidate is a veteran of politics who portrays himself as an outsider.  —  Chuck DeVore argues that his military experience gives him an edge over his primary rivals.  (Gary Friedman / Los Angeles Times)

Immigration crackdown for Illinois  —  Feds to step up enforcement  —  In the midst of an outcry over illegal immigration and Arizona's new crackdown, a top Department of Homeland Security official visiting Chicago on Wednesday said his agency intended to step up enforcement in places such as Illinois.

The New Term for the War on Terror  —  If you blinked, you might have missed it.  The Obama administration has unofficially rebranded “war on terror” phrase that dominated public discourse throughout the Bush administration.  The replacement phrase, carefully chosen, is “CVE” — Countering Violent Extremism.

Constitution is this year's big best-seller  —  Demand for copies of the U.S. Constitution is skyrocketing.  —  The increased interest comes amid the rise of the Tea Party movement and as both parties cite the Constitution to advance their agendas.  —  The pocket edition of the Constitution …

The Fruits of Weakness  —  WASHINGTON — It is perfectly obvious that Iran's latest uranium maneuver, brokered by Brazil and Turkey, is a ruse.  Iran retains more than enough enriched uranium to make a bomb.  And it continues enriching at an accelerated pace and to a greater purity (20 percent).

Democrats point the finger at Obama's chief of staff for immigration reform's poor progress  —  Rahm Emanuel, who in the past referred to the issue as the ‘third rail of American politics,’ has argued privately that it's a bad time to push an immigration bill.

In Spill's Aftermath, Conflict of Interest Worries  —  Local environmental officials throughout the Gulf Coast are feverishly collecting water, sediment and marine animal tissue samples that will be used in the coming months to help track pollution levels resulting from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

'I'm a Marxist' says Dalai Lama, but agrees capitalism has helped China  —  TIBETAN spiritual leader the Dalai Lama says he's a Marxist, yet credits capitalism for bringing new freedoms to China, the communist country that exiled him.  —  “Still I am a Marxist,” the exiled Tibetan Buddhist leader …

Unions to spend $100M in 2010 campaign to save Dem majorities  —  At least two influential unions will spend close to $100 million on the 2010 election, with most of those funds going to protect incumbents.  —  Union officials told The Hill they plan to help endangered members …