U.S. Rep. Joe Barton apologizes to BP CEO for ‘$20 billion shakedown’  —  mmason@dallasnews.com  —  WASHINGTON - Rep. Joe Barton, R-Arlington, apologized to BP CEO Tony Hayward on Thursday morning for the “political pressure” his company is facing.  —  Barton condemned the White House's handling …

Check, Please  —  I was checking in tonight to see what was new, came across a diary trashing first me and my colleague Rachel, and scrolled through it shaking my head, sadly, until I got to one comment that leaped off the page. … “Can't verify”... “haven't checked” …

Tea partyers push back against ‘The Rise of the New Right’ with boycott  —  Tea party groups are reacting strongly and negatively to MSNBC's documentary “The Rise of the New Right,” hosted by Chris Matthews.  Yesterday, FreedomWorks chairman Dick Armey expressed personal disgust with Matthews …

Language guru: Obama speech too ‘professorial’  —  (CNN) — President Obama's speech on the gulf oil disaster may have gone over the heads of many in his audience, according to an analysis of the 18-minute talk released Wednesday.  —  Tuesday night's speech from the Oval Office of the White House …

Obama More Popular Abroad Than At Home, Global Image of U.S. Continues to Benefit  —  Overview  —  As the global economy begins to rebound from the great recession, people around the world remain deeply concerned with the way things are going in their countries.

Election 2010: Arkansas Senate  —  Arkansas Senate: Boozman (R) 61%, Lincoln (D) 32%  —  Republican John Boozman now holds a near two-to-one lead over Democratic incumbent Blanche Lincoln in Arkansas' U.S. Senate race, according to the latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of Likely Voters in the state.

The Pulpit of a Bully  —  Mike Allen broke this astounding bit of news yesterday: … The 51st Congress (1889-91) was tagged as the Billion Dollar Congress, a profligate Republican-run legislature that raided the Treasury in an effort to pay off all its supporters.

Pollster Scott Rasmussen's numbers are firing up Republicans and Democrats  —  ASBURY PARK, N.J. — Here is a fun fact for those in the political polling orthodoxy who liken Scott Rasmussen to a conjurer of Republican-friendly numbers: He works above a paranormal bookstore crowded with Ouija boards and psychics on the Jersey Shore.

Crude Politics  —  The drilling experts speak out on the Obama deepwater moratorium.  —  Before the Obama Administration sweeps under the carpet the controversy over the drilling experts it falsely used to justify its moratorium, the incident bears another look.

Walpin-gate swings wide open  —  Two big new twists on anniversary of IG firing  —  One year to the day after illegally firing AmeriCorps Inspector General Gerald Walpin, the Obama administration is scrambling to ward off further embarrassments related to the case.

Behind Closed Doors Four Key Democrats Maneuver To Weaken Financial Reform  —  Several House Democrats with close ties to the financial industry, including four members of the conference committee hashing out the final bill, are pushing to weaken the Wall Street reform legislation in the conference committee.

AP-GfK poll shows gains for health care overhaul  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — The patient is alive and kicking.  A new Associated Press-GfK poll finds public support for President Barack Obama's new health care law has risen to its highest point.  —  The nation remains divided …

Armed revolt part of Sharron Angle's rhetoric  —  Candidate says trouble is brewing, but she believes in ballot box  —  Nevada Republican Senate candidate Sharron Angle walks on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, June 15, 2010, as she leaves the Republican party policy luncheon.

End Is Seen to Free Checking  —  Bank of America Corp. and other banks are preparing new fees on basic banking services as they try to replace revenue lost to regulatory rules, in a push that is expected to spell an end to free checking accounts for many Americans.

Can Republicans Take Back the House?  —  Editor's Note: These days the best D.C. parlor game is guessing November's House results.  We've recently made our own contribution, with a district-by-district analysis that projects—as of early June—a Republican net gain of 32 seats.

Southwest Finds Shipment of Heads on a Plane  —  Southwest Airlines employee finds human heads on their way to Fort Worth  —  A Southwest Airlines employee called police after finding human heads in a package set to be transported to a Fort Worth medical research company, the airline said.

Exclusive: Hatch introducing new repeal bill in Senate — POTUS: high-risk pools coming in two weeks — FMAP survives in tax extenders, ‘doc fix’ takes a hit  —  OVERNIGHT - President Obama guarantees the American Nursing Association that “in just two weeks, Americans denied coverage …