TOP STORIES:

Congress Shifts Into High Gear to Tackle Full Agenda; Bendavid, Hitt WALL STREET JOURNAL

Obama faces economically delicate summer; Kuhnhenn ASSOCIATED PRESS

Senate’s Health Timeline May Slip; Drucker ROLL CALL

Some convincing needed on health bill; Brown POLITICO

On Health Care, The Prognosis Is Compromise; Murray, Montgomery WASHINGTON POST

Drug deal may be bad trip for Dems; Rogers POLITICO

Analysis: GOP struggles for anti-Sotomayor message; Davis ASSOCIATED PRESS

Calls Grow to Increase Stimulus Spending; Solomon WALL STREET JOURNAL

Biden admits administration ‘misread’ economy; Wilson THE HILL

In Moscow, Obama to Focus on Arms Control; Pan WASHINGTON POST

 

HOUSE:

A $10 Billion Add-On; Editorial WASHINGTON POST

Federal Ban Sought On Student Restraint; Tomsho WALL STREET JOURNAL

Electronic Outreach Tests House Rules; McKinnon, Hitt WALL STREET JOURNAL

A look at health care plans in Congress; ASSOCIATED PRESS

Hensarling Shifts to Low Profile; Kucinich ROLL CALL

For Obama and Capitol Hill, the Future Starts Today; Rothenberg ROLL CALL

Obama’s Army pick nets $44M in earmarks; Tiron THE HILL

Votes Mostly Go Obama’s Way; Bloom, Cranford CONGRESSIONAL QUARTERLY

Hoyer Sees Healthcare Bill By August Recess; CONGRESS DAILY

Passing unread laws; Editorial WASHINGTON TIMES

 

HOUSE ELECTIONS:

Wife’s scandal dinging Conyers; Isenstadt POLITICO

Ex-state GOP chairwoman wants Wamp seat; POLITICO

National parties already gearing up for Massa seat; Shalleck-Klein THE HILL

Rhode Island’s Kennedy Favored Despite Latest Rough Patch; Dumain CONGRESSIONAL QUARTERLY

Minnesota 3 Could See Another Brawl Around the Mall; Weinstein CONGRESSIONAL QUARTERLY

 

SENATE:

HELP Is on the Way; Krugman NEW YORK TIMES

Financial Agency IGs Say Bill Threatens Independence; O’Keefe WASHINGTON POST

Structuring Sentences; Roig-Franzia WASHINGTON POST

More votes equals more stress for Reid; Thrush POLITICO

Grassley is rope in Hill tug of war; Brown POLITICO

Climate battle moves to the Senate; Tankersley LOS ANGELES TIMES

Franken Comes to Washington; Pierce ROLL CALL

Police Investigate Threat Against Specter; ROLL CALL

Schumer promises public option in healthcare bill; Young THE HILL

Senators Debate ‘Public Plan’ Health Care Option; Silvasssy CONGRESSIONAL QUARTERLY

 

SENATE ELECTIONS:

D.C. Dems want Madigan to move east; Raju, Kraushaar POLITICO

D.C. Dems try to bail out Dodd; Burns POLITICO

Lobbyists Reach Deep Into Their Pockets; Ackley ROLL CALL

 

POLITICS/CAMPAIGNS:

Legal Bills Swayed Palin, Official Says; NEW YORK TIMES

Palin and Her Enemies; Douthat NEW YORK TIMES

Who’s Smiling and Who’s Frowning About the Palin News; Cillizza WASHINGTON POST

Growing Criticism at Home Took Toll on Palin; Carlton WALL STREET JOURNAL

Governor’s Move Highlights GOP Divide; Meckler, Solomon WALL STREET JOURNAL

The Palin Puzzle; Editorial WALL STREET JOURNAL

Alaska observers say Palin had gone fishin’ on job; Thiessen ASSOCIATED PRESS

 

ADMINISTRATION:

As Obama Visits, Russian TV Alters Take on U.S.; Barry NEW YORK TIMES

Despite Crisis, Policy on Iran Is Engagement; Sanger NEW YORK TIMES

Obama Raises Concerns About Freedom and Judicial Independence in Russia; Baker, Levy NEW YORK TIMES

As Labor Secretary, Finding Influence in Her Past; Greenhouse NEW YORK TIMES

President’s Vacation: Classified, but Not Much of a Secret; Zeleny NEW YORK TIMES

Justice Ignored; Editorial NEW YORK TIMES

Lessons for Failing Schools; Editorial NEW YORK TIMES

Fattening the Beast; Hiatt WASHINGTON POST

Sunstein’s Ideas at Work in U.S. Policy; King WALL STREET JOURNAL

U.S., Russia Move Forward on Arms; Weisman, White WALL STREET JOURNAL

Obama and Putin’s Russia; Editorial WALL STREET JOURNAL

Politics of delay on Colombia pact; McGrane POLITICO

Obama’s diplomacy to be tested in Russia; Feller ASSOCIATED PRESS

Biden predicts more jobs because of stimulus money; ASSOCIATED PRESS

The Rose Garden: White House Enlists Troops From K Street; Koffler ROLL CALL

Obama shifts to foreign policy challenges; Youngman THE HILL

LaHood: On the Road to Sell Stimulus — Still; Bettelheim CONGRESSIONAL QUARTERLY

Biden: White House ‘misread’ economy; Lengell WASHINGTON TIMES

 

SCOTUS:

Conservatively Liberal; Editorial WASHINGTON POST

Sotomayor Supporters Take to the Grass Roots; Stanton ROLL CALL

 

BAILOUT/ECONOMY:

Job Retraining May Fall Short of High Hopes; Luo NEW YORK TIMES

Volatile Swings in Price of Oil Stir Fears on Recovery; Mouawad NEW YORK TIMES

Economists Out to Lunch; Samuelson WASHINGTON POST

Companies, Workers Tangle Over Law to Curb Layoffs; Dugan WALL STREET JOURNAL

Minimum-Wage Increase Comes at a Bad Time for Weakened Job Market; Maher WALL STREET JOURNAL

Bankruptcy judge OKs GM sale plan; ASSOCIATED PRESS

Biden Foresees More Stimulus-Related Job Creation; CONGRESSIONAL QUARTERLY

A stimulus for the rich; Editorial WASHINGTON TIMES

GM, Chrysler’s sales suffer after bailouts; Ehart WASHINGTON TIMES

 

LABOR/EFCA:

No Coverage

 

HEALTHCARE:

In Maine, Two Sides on Health Care Step Up Competition for Senators’ Votes; Goodnough NEW YORK TIMES

Health Care’s Infectious Losses; Paul O’Neill NEW YORK TIMES

Familiar Players in Health Bill Lobbying; Eggen, Kindy WASHINGTON POST

Obama’s Testing Time; Dionne WASHINGTON POST

Europe’s free health care has a hefty price tag; Cheng ASSOCIATED PRESS

Women frequently check prices for doctors, medical procedures; Berman USA TODAY

‘Public option’ offers best way to curb medical costs; Editorial USA TODAY

Plan undercuts competition; Tanner USA TODAY

Paying for healthcare overhaul may fall unevenly on states; Hook LOS ANGELES TIMES

 

ENERGY/ENVIRONMENT:

New Light in Old Bulbs; Vestel NEW YORK TIMES

 

DEFENSE/WAR ON TERROR:

America Searches for Means of Influence in Iraq; Rubin NEW YORK TIMES

Karzai’s Challengers Face Daunting Odds; Constable WASHINGTON POST

Defense For a Real Threat; Obering, Edelman WASHINGTON POST

Iraqis Say Reconciliation Is an Internal Matter; Chon WALL STREET JOURNAL

Car bomb in Iraq wounds 10, policeman shot; REUTERS

Sandstorms plague Iraq and are getting worse; Tharp MCCLATCHY NEWS

Suicide attack outside NATO base in Kandahar; Khan ASSOCIATED PRESS

Army `closers’ train for new mission: leaving Iraq; Jakes ASSOCIATED PRESS

Powell says Iraq surge should have come earlier; ASSOCIATED PRESS

Mullen advises ‘measured’ approach to gay policy; ASSOCIATED PRESS

Afghan forces key to success of U.S. offensive; Brook USA TODAY

Mullen leaves door open for more Afghanistan troops; Zimmermann THE HILL

Biden: America cannot prevent Israeli strike on Iran; Young THE HILL

 

U.S. LOCAL:

Tourists pay price as states jack up taxes to balance budgets; Cauchon USA TODAY

 

OF NOTE:

Scores Reported Dead in China After Riots; Fairclough, Dean WALL STREET JOURNAL

Mexico’s Ruling Party Is Seen Losing Ground; Luhnow WALL STREET JOURNAL

Ratings soar for Obama coverage; Calderone POLITICO

Obama-bashers see literary gold; Javers POLITICO

Suspected North Korea weapons ship heads home; Kim REUTERS

Same-sex unions a challenge for Census; El Nasser USA TODAY

Lt. Gov. Parnell defends Palin’s resignation; Wilson THE HILL

 

TOP BLOGS:

Rove ‘perplexed’ by Palin, Huckabee calls move ‘risky’; Siegel POLITICO LIVE

Boehner, Hoyer: Stimulus falls short; Siegel POLITICO LIVE

Schumer guarantees public health care option; Kraushaar POLITICO LIVE

Biden: We ‘Misread the Economy’; Stephanopoulos ABC NEWS’ GEORGE’S BOTTOM LINE

Palin Not Under Investigation; TAEGAN GODDARD’S POLITICAL WIRE