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"New York City's transit agency has approved a bus advertisement that depicts a plane flying toward the World Trade Center's towers as they burn along with a rendering of a proposed mosque near ground zero. ~ The ad was paid for by the American Freedom Defense Initiative, an organization that opposes radical Islamic influence in the United States. The group's executive director says she doesn't find the ad offensive.~The group sued the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to demand it accept the ad, which was approved Monday."

Former GOP presidential candidate and U.S. Sen. Fred Thompson warns that not extending the Bush tax cuts could have "devastating" and "catastrophic" consequences for the American economy. ~ "We must urge Congress and the president to renew the Bush tax cuts early, before they expire and before investors lose confidence in the U.S. economy," Thompson stated in a letter his signed on behalf of the League of American Voters, a non-partisan organization that advocates conservative principles. ~ Beginning Tuesday, Thompson will be promoting the proposed tax-cut renewal in a national TV ad campaign and petition drive the League is funding

We asked Andrew Breitbart, the founder of Big Government, why he hasn't posted the full video. "I don't have it," Breitbart told TPMmuckraker in an interview. Breitbart said his source sent him just the edited clips at first, but is in the process of sending the full video. ~ Breitbart said he'll post the full video, if he can get permission from the video production company who filmed it for a local NAACP chapter. He also maintained that he didn't edit the clip and that it was sent to him already edited.

Republican Gov. Jan Brewer signed the law in April, and it was set to go into effect July 29. The lawsuit could delay implementation of the law. The U.S. Justice Department is filing a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of Arizona's new law targeting illegal immigrants, setting the stage for a clash between the federal government and state over the nation's toughest immigration crackdown.

On the hottest flash point in the debate, Arizona's new law targeting illegal immigrants, Mr. Obama said the rules are "unenforceable" for local police. But he didn't give any indication when the administration will file an expected lawsuit seeking to block the new law, which takes effect at the end of this month. ~ Advocates on both sides of the issue say they don't expect Congress to tackle the issue before the elections, both because of the already-crowded legislative schedule and because there is no clear consensus on how to proceed.

As of late last night, four Democrats who voted against the original House bill in November have committed to supporting the bill this weekend. They are Florida Rep. Allen Boyd, Ohio Rep. John Boccieri, Florida Rep. Suzanne Kosmas, and New York's very own Scott Murphy. The Representatives cited several different reasons for changing their votes, including CBO's estimate that the bill with cut the deficit by $138 billion. Curiously, none of them mentioned the late-night horse-trading. Curious!

President Obama agreed to a FOX News interview in the 11th hour of his big push toward a healthcare bill in order to reach FOX’s audience of Democrats and Independents. A few of us wondered if the network would, in appreciation for the President temporarily lifting his embargo of FOX, stage a milk toast interview and lob softball questions. After all, when FOX’s Bill “I’m lookin’ out for the folks” O’Reilly finally landed an interview with candidate Obama, it was an innocuous non-event.

Twitter already reveals to the rest of the world what you're doing and what you're thinking, and now the microblogging site can let everyone know where you are as well. A new feature rolled out this week means Twitter users have the option of including their location when they tweet via a tracking tool they can turn on or off. When the tool is activated, tweets will link to a Google map of the area the user is in.

(Is this a Bribe - or What??) President Barack Obama is unveiling $1.5 billion in housing help, a boost timed to his appearance in the city with the worst foreclosure crisis in the nation. ~ Obama's move, detailed by aides in advance of his town hall here Friday, is the latest by a White House determined to show it is helping families rebound from a deep recession. The downturn is taking an election-year toll on Obama's party as voter frustration builds.

Obama Poised to Cede US Sovereignty in Copenhagen, Claims British Lord Monckton . . . "And the trouble is this; if that treaty is signed, if your Constitution says that it takes precedence over your Constitution (sic), and you can’t resign from that treaty unless you get agreement from all the other state parties – And because you’ll be the biggest paying country, they’re not going to let you out of it. So, thank you, America. You were the beacon of freedom to the world. It is a privilege merely to stand on this soil of freedom while it is...

Sarkozy gave the most moving speech this morning in observance of D-Day and our military that I have heard in recent years. He spoke of the desperation of Europe waiting for someone to rescue them. And he spoke about the precious blood of our young men that drenched the beaches as they landed and were killed. A great sacrifice. It was so moving and inspiring - And no accusations coming from him that we are a wicked nation - like O often says about us! I tried to find it everywhere - but - of course - the bubble-heads of...

On Friday, the transition team of President-elect Obama confirmed that his 71-year-old mother-in-law would be moving, at least temporarily, into the grand residence at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. Obama has said he would be delighted to have his wife's mother, Marian Robinson, join the first family in Washington . . . And she has often teased her daughter, Michelle Obama, and the president-elect about their household rules for her granddaughters. Bedtime at 8:30 p.m.? "That's ridiculous," Robinson told The Boston Globe last year, suggesting that was too early. Television for only an hour? "That's just not enough time," she said.

After two years of relentlessly bad ratings news, Katie Couric finally has something she can smile about. . . That makes four straight weeks where her audience was bigger than at the same point last year, according to Nielsen Media Research. The improvement could be a result of the positive feedback Couric received for her interview of GOP vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin during the presidential campaign. Palin fumbled on a question about what publications she read regularly, and the interview was a launching point for one of Tina Fey's "Saturday Night Live" spoofs.

“Even if the Supreme Court reverses this injustice done to Ramos and Compean, they could expect to sit in jail for upwards of another two years — for a crime that was impossible for them to commit,” GOF officials concede. . . said Steve Elliott, president of Grassfire.org Alliance in a recent press release. “So we’re joining a move calling for a commutation of their sentences in an effort to have these men freed and returned to their families as soon as possible.”

Syria -- Former President Jimmy Carter met with the exiled leader of the Palestinian militant group Hamas for the second time this year . . . Carter first met with the head of Hamas' policy-making body, Khaled Mashaal, in April. That meeting drew sharp criticism from the Bush administration, which labels Hamas a terrorist group and contends such meetings give credibility to hard-line militants. Carter said on Saturday, however, that he intends to continue meeting with Hamas leaders because peace requires dialogue with all sides.

As the federal probe into Gov. Rod Blagojevich intensified in recent weeks, editors and reporters at the Chicago Tribune balanced a competitive story with a rare request from U.S. Atty. Patrick Fitzgerald's office: To hold off on what they uncovered until a key phase in the investigation could be carried out . . . Since October, the Tribune has broken several stories on the Blagojevich probe, but in some cases withheld information because of the government's request.

Looking back on his eight years in the White House, President George W. Bush pinpointed incorrect intelligence that Iraqi President Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction as "biggest regret of all the presidency." President sits down with ABC's Charles Gibson for an exit interview."I think I was unprepared for war," Bush told ABC News' Charlie Gibson in an interview airing today on "World News." Despite failed intelligence and accusations of mismanaging the war, Bush said his decision not to prematurely . . .

State law in Kentucky says God is its first line of defense against terrorist attack, and a state lawmaker said the job is just "too big for government." The Lexington (K.Y.) Herald-Leader reported Friday that a 2006 state law says the duty of the state Office of Homeland Security is "stressing the dependence on Almighty God as being vital to the security of the Commonwealth." Additionally, the state law says the state must post a plaque at the entrance to the state Emergency Operations Center that says . . .

On Discovery’s first-ever earnings call, Zaslav told analysts: “The current expectation is that after fall 2011 Oprah’s show will go off of. . . syndication, and she will come to OWN,” the cable network that Winfrey’s production company, Harpo, is creating in conjunction with Discovery. . . “In addition to providing her talent, and personal commitment, Winfrey will have full editorial control over the joint venture and will be responsible for OWN's programming, branding and creative vision,” Harpo and Discovery said in a press release at the time of OWN’s announcement. . . On the other hand, Oprah’s ratings have...

John McCain is right about one thing: he's no George W. Bush. Bush, for all his flaws, would never run a campaign as badly as McCain's. The Bush campaigns of 2000 and 2004 were disciplined, on message and well-organized. The McCain campaign is exactly the opposite. McCain bragged in the first debate that he understands the difference between strategy and tactics. But apparently his campaign doesn't. Ari Berman says that "Most Americans don't care about ACORN or Bill Ayers or Joe the Plumber" Complaining about ACORN's bad voter registrations? That's a tactic, too, and not a very effective one.