Jose Luis Morales

The Atlantic Wire – The most controversial elements of Arizona’s immigration law have been blocked
by a federal judge. Major provisions, such as one requiring authorities
to check the immigration status of individuals while enforcing other
laws, will not go into effect. U.S. District Court Judge Susan Bolton also barred the state from requiring immigrants to carry their
papers at all times. While this isn’t the last say on the Arizona law,
it’s a major victory for the bill’s opponents. Here’s what observers are
looking at now and anticipating for the future:

AP – New York Rep. Charles Rangel steeled himself for a bad day Thursday as a jury of his congressional peers prepared to publicly discuss ethical charges against the former committee chairman clinging to a job he’s held in the House for 40 years.

The Newsroom – In the three months since oil first spewed into the Gulf of Mexico, thousands of people throughout the coastal region have lost jobs or seen their incomes slashed. Many businesses are reeling too. BP has pledged to make good on all legitimate claims for damages. But how well is the process going?

U.S. News & World Report – If you love class warfare, your moment has arrived. The next several weeks, leading up to the November elections, are sure to be filled with resounding political invective over who should pay for Washington’s profligate spending over the last decade. Democrats will argue that the rich and near-rich should pony up, since they have the most money to start with. Republicans will point to the needy, arguing that they’ve been getting too much aid for too long. Tea Partiers will struggle to decide whose benefits should be cut in order to achieve the smaller government they envision. …

Time.com – The closing arguments in the corruption trial of former Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich bring out over-the-top rhetoric, tears and an odd ethnic joke

The Daily Beast – Government officials have expanded the investigation of Bradley Manning, suspected of spilling the Afghan war secrets, to include possible U.S. civilian accomplices. Philip Shenon reports.

CQPolitics.com – Sometimes, you can almost hear the conventional wisdom and expectations shift, even when they are based on faulty premises.

The Upshot – The Democratic National Committee debuted today a major initiative it says will tie the Republican party to the tea party movement. The idea is to drive a wedge between the activist base of today’s GOP and the more moderate and independent voters the party relies on in major elections to make up for the advantage [...]

Politico – He’s weighing a constitutional amendment to end automatic citizenship for children of immigrants.

Politico – The president’s summer of fundraising heats up with the addtion of a big-money August event.

AP – Vice President Joe Biden says U.S. forces are inflicting “significant damage” on the al-Qaida terrorist network in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

AP – FBI Director Robert Mueller says the bureau is assisting the Defense Department in its criminal investigation into the release of some 91,000 secret U.S. military documents on Afghanistan.

AFP – China on Thursday denied US charges that it unfairly forces foreign firms to transfer technology as the price of admission to its huge market, saying its policies were in line with world trade rules.

AFP – President Barack Obama visits Detroit Friday to tout the motor industry’s rebirth as proof that his economic policies are working, but experts warn the sector’s survival is not yet assured.

Huffington Post – Congress addressed a historic wrong on Wednesday afternoon, replacing it instead with a slightly lesser wrong, when the House voted to reduce the disparity in the sentencing of people caught with crack cocaine versus powder cocaine.

CQPolitics.com – It may not matter that Rob Simmons has become a candidate again in the race to become Connecticut’s next Senator.

McClatchy Newspapers – WASHINGTON — The House of Representatives passed a historic bill Wednesday that narrows sentencing disparities between crack and powder cocaine convictions, which civil rights and civil liberties experts say contributed to the disproportionate imprisonment of African-Americans in recent decades.

CQPolitics.com – Seven-term Rep. Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick faces another tough primary — and even the possibility of defeat — when Democratic voters in Michigan head to the polls on Tuesday. But the dynamics of this race are different from her narrow victory in August 2008.

McClatchy Newspapers – WASHINGTON — President Franklin D. Roosevelt never kept a diary. He never gave lengthy interviews to historians. He died before he had a chance to write a memoir. Yet he held the nation’s top office at a time of amazing tumult and transition.