AP - U.S. first lady Michelle Obama made an unannounced visit to London on Monday after attending D-Day commemorations in Europe.

Politico - Her appearance caps a dizzying weekend of reversals.

AP - Consumers could receive rebates of up to $4,500 for turning in their gas-guzzling cars and trucks for more fuel-efficient vehicles under a House proposal.

AP - The ability of aircraft engines to withstand collisions with large birds and pilot training for dual engine failures are among the concerns of a federal safety panel examining the forced landing of an airliner into the Hudson River.

AFP - Italian auto maker Fiat has vowed to stick with plans to forge an alliance with distressed US group Chrysler after a US Supreme Court decision put a temporary freeze on the transaction.

Politico - Health care reform could be stalled until ailing Sens. Byrd and Kennedy return to the floor.

Politico - As president, Barack Obama mentions Jesus Christ in a number of high-profile public speeches.

AP - Black, Latino and Asian lawmakers want President Barack Obama to focus more on racial disparities reported in medical treatment as the White House works toward overhauling the nation's health care system.

AP - The Supreme Court ruled Monday that elected judges must step aside from cases when large campaign contributions from interested parties create the appearance of bias.

AP - Michelle Obama, whom French fashionistas regard as the best-dressed American first lady since Jackie Kennedy, lived up to her sartorial reputation during her trip to Paris, sporting a wardrobe of fashion-forward classics by top American designers.

Time.com - The President's refusal to change the policy infuriates gays, but, as a new poll indicates, the 16-year-old law's days may be numbered

Bloomberg - June 9 (Bloomberg) -- House Democrats drafting health-care overhaul legislation will lay out proposals today that include creating a government-run program to help cover the uninsured, even as Republicans stiffen their resistance to that idea.

AP - President Barack Obama is promising some exciting coming attractions for his stimulus plan. But it turns out they're just summer reruns.

Politico - How much faith should the faithless put in Barack Obama?

Politico - Simon says it is not like we don’t have enough to worry about already.

AP - The co-captain of the USAirways flight that made a safe emergency landing in the Hudson River says most regional airline pilots are well qualified but 'there are cracks in the system.'

AP - Teachers should be judged on student performance, though not solely on test scores, Education Secretary Arne Duncan said Monday.

Pew - After an odd year of protectionism, and despite the current recession, the American public is once again on the side of free trade; 44% say that trade agreements like NAFTA and the policies of the World Trade Organization are good for the country, up from 35% a year ago.

AP - Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Monday there were encouraging signs of progress in Iraq, but urged the Iraqi people to avoid seeking revenge and warned that the process of national reconciliation 'remains delicate.'

AP - China said Tuesday that it was committed to making this year's Copenhagen climate change conference a success, sounding a positive note at the close of a two-day visit to Beijing by President Barack Obama's global warming envoy.

Politico - In an Ideas piece, Benedetto says the media may be more sympathetic to liberal viewpoints.

AP - A British man accused of hacking into U.S. military computers is asking a court to halt his extradition to the United States.

AFP - Defense Secretary Robert Gates has hit back at critics of US President Barack Obama's national security advisor, saying the former Marine general deserved praise instead of 'sniping' over his performance.

AP - The Pentagon's top leaders say that the next year to 18 months will be key in determining if the war in Afghanistan is being won.

AP - A passenger seated in the rear of US Airways Flight 1549 after the plane ditched into the Hudson River said Tuesday the water was rising so rapidly around him that he feared the plane was going to sink with passengers trapped inside.

Politico - The public insurance option and employer mandate will be left out of the bill for now, says Dodd.

AP - Senate Democrats announced plans Tuesday to begin committee work next week on health care legislation designed to assure coverage for millions of Americans who now lack it, a key objective of the Obama administration.

AP - Eight national law enforcement organizations are endorsing President Barack Obama's Supreme Court nominee, Judge Sonia Sotomayor.

AP - President Barack Obama is offering condolences to the people of Gabon after their longtime president died.

Reuters - European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso declared his candidacy for a second five-year term on Tuesday after electoral gains for his center-right allies strengthened his bid.

AP - Russian regulators are expanding bans on pork and other meat imports to more U.S. states, citing swine flu fears.

AP - An American envoy sought to assure anxious Israeli leaders on Tuesday that U.S. support for the Jewish state remains firm, despite a growing rift over Israeli construction in West Bank settlements and the Obama administration's approach to peace efforts.

CQPolitics.com - The youngest son of former House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., is seeking to reclaim his father's long-held seat, now held by Democratic Rep. Bill Foster.

AP - Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy announced Tuesday that confirmation hearings for Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor will convene on July 13, considerably earlier than many Republicans wanted.

AP - The pilot of the US Airways plane that ditched into the Hudson River after colliding with a flock of Canada geese told safety officials Tuesday that warnings from air traffic controllers to pilots of birds in the vicinity of airports have little value.

Politico - Leahy pushes past Republicans who want more time.

AP - Black, Latino and Asian lawmakers warned Democratic leaders that any health care overhaul that ignores health gaps between whites and minorities will face stiff opposition.

AP - The government is urging parents and homebuilders to make their homes more healthy by getting rid of lead paint, mold, and other hazards.

AP - At the risk of triggering a military confrontation, the Obama administration is pressing for new U.N. steps aimed at cutting off North Korea's ability to peddle its nuclear wares, including an arrangement to interdict air and sea shipments of nuclear materials and hardware to and from North Korea.

AP - A veteran Japanese diplomat emerged Tuesday as the favorite to succeed Mohamed ElBaradei as head of the U.N nuclear agency, after most agency board member nations backed him against four other candidates in an informal poll.

AFP - US peace envoy George Mitchell is to visit Syria for the first time this week as the Obama administration steps up its diplomatic engagement with key regional player Damascus, a senior official said Tuesday.

McClatchy Newspapers - WASHINGTON — The Senate Judiciary Committee will begin hearings on the nomination of federal Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court on July 13, with a goal of having her confirmed by Aug. 6.

CQPolitics.com - House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer, D-Md., said Tuesday he will introduce legislation as early as next week embodying President Obama's proposal to codify pay-as-you-go budget rules.

Bloomberg - June 9 (Bloomberg) -- President Barack Obama urged Congress to toughen rules requiring lawmakers to finance the cost of spending initiatives and tax cuts with offsetting savings elsewhere in the government’s budget.

Politico - Blue Dog Coalition says pay-as-you-go proposal is a promising first step in restoring fiscal discipline.

Politico - Obama Tuesday called for binding legislation that would force a return to pay-as-you-go budgeting rules.

AP - With auto sales in the doldrums, the House was considering a plan Tuesday to provide vouchers of up to $4,500 for consumers who turn in their gas-guzzling cars and trucks for more fuel-efficient vehicles.

AFP - African-American, Hispanic and Asian-American members of the US House of Representatives on Tuesday sought equal protection for minorities under healthcare reform plans pending in Congress.

AP - Twenty five culturally significant recordings — including a radio broadcast of Marian Anderson's recital at the Lincoln Memorial, Dylan Thomas reading of 'A Child's Christmas in Wales,' and Winston Churchill'a speech that coined the phrase 'iron curtain' — will be preserved in a special sound archive.

AP - North Korea's nuclear tests and missile launches follow a familiar pattern of provocation but take on dangerous significance with Kim Jong Il's designation of his successor last week, the top U.S. intelligence official said Monday.

AP - Former Bosnian Serb army commander Ratko Mladic moved freely in Serbia under army protection until 2002, although he was wanted by a U.N. court on genocide charges, a former bodyguard said Tuesday.

AP - Police rounded up suspects in eight European countries on Tuesday as they cracked down on a human trafficking organization that had smuggled thousands of Iraqi Kurds into Europe aboard trucks, sometimes stuffing them into cages or hiding them in vending machines, authorities said.

AP - President Barack Obama calls his administration a reluctant shareholder in the nation's troubled banks, insurance companies and car makers, promising 'to get out quickly' once market conditions allow. But there are 535 other important Washington stakeholders: members of Congress.

Politico - Biden offers endorsement of Sonia Sotomayor, but legal analysts say he may have gone too far.

Politico - We caught up with Allen and picked his brain for a foodie's take on the Obamas.

AP - The House on Tuesday approved a 'cash for clunkers' bill that aims to boost new auto sales by allowing consumers to turn in their gas-guzzling cars and trucks for vouchers worth up to $4,500 toward more fuel-efficient vehicles.

AP - State Sen. Pedro Espada Jr. enjoyed a whirlwind of media attention Tuesday, one day after a parliamentary plot ousted a leader, upended the Senate and put the Bronx Democrat in charge. But when he offered to bring reporters to 'see my Democratic colleagues,' he took a wrong turn and ended up on the opposite side of the Capitol from Democrats' offices.

AP - An advocacy group for online poker said Tuesday that the federal government has frozen more than $30 million in the accounts of payment processors that handle the winnings of thousands of online poker players.

AP - The Obama administration is nearing agreement with the remote South Pacific island nation of Palau to resettle a group of Chinese Muslims now held at the Guantanamo Bay detention center, The Associated Press has learned.

AP - British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has survived a plot to force his ouster — but faced a harder task Tuesday: persuading the public he can haul Britain out of recession and reform a tainted political system.

AP - The top leader of the militant Hamas group said Tuesday that President Barack Obama's pressure on Israel to freeze construction in West Bank settlements was an essential step toward restarting peace efforts.

CQPolitics.com - The House passed legislation Tuesday afternoon that would authorize $4 billion for an auto trade-in program designed to boost demand consumer demand for cars and trucks.

AP - A key House panel on Tuesday ordered a $3.5 billion cut from President Barack Obama's defense budget Tuesday while setting the stage for big increases for domestic programs favored by Democrats.

Politico - Transfer payments give insight on how Obama's campaign leveraged unprecedented fundraising.

Politico - Republicans on Capitol Hill think they’ve finally found Obama's Achilles' heel.

AFP - The US Supreme Court Tuesday cleared the way for Chrysler's planned alliance with Italian automaker Fiat, lifting a stay on its quick emergence from bankruptcy proceedings.

AP - After a decade-long search, a team of Baltic Sea divers has discovered the wreckage of a Soviet submarine that sank with dozens of sailors aboard during World War II, one of the divers said Tuesday.

AP - British far-right leader Nick Griffin was forced to abandon a London press conference Tuesday when egg-throwing demonstrators chased him away.

Reuters - The Supreme Court on Tuesday cleared the way for the U.S. government-backed sale of Chrysler LLC to a group led by Italian carmaker Fiat SpA, a victory for the bankrupt automaker and the Obama administration.

CQPolitics.com - The Senate Judiciary Committee will begin its confirmation hearing for Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor on July 13, Chairman Patrick J. Leahy announced Tuesday.

AP - State Sen. R. Creigh Deeds won Virginia's three-way Democratic primary for governor Tuesday with shocking ease, defeating a former Clinton White House insider and a former legislative colleague.

AP - The Supreme Court on Tuesday cleared the way for Chrysler LLC's sale to Fiat, turning down a last-ditch appeal by opponents that included consumer groups and three Indiana pension plans.

Politico - The draft leaves out the details for now on the most contentious issues.

Politico - He'll now face former Virginia Attorney General Bob McDonnell in the November general election.

AP - The House on Tuesday approved a 'cash for clunkers' bill that aims to boost new auto sales by allowing consumers to turn in their gas-guzzling cars and trucks for vouchers worth up to $4,500 toward more fuel-efficient vehicles.

AP - Nearly three months after American International Group bonuses provoked an angry reaction in Congress, the Obama administration is ready to issue new regulations limiting the compensation of top executives at financial institutions that have received government rescue funds.

AP - President Barack Obama's special envoy on North Korea says the U.S. has no intention to invade the communist country or change its regime by force.

McClatchy Newspapers - WASHINGTON — Democrats on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions released their health care proposal Tuesday, but left out for now the two elements Republicans dislike the most — a new government-run insurance plan and a requirement that employers provide coverage or pay a penalty.

CQPolitics.com - Virginia voters on Tuesday gave state Sen. Creigh Deeds a clear victory in the Democratic primary for governor, after he broke open a close race in the campaign's closing days and moved out to a comfortable lead in the polls. His win sets the stage for a highly competitive fall election with Bob McDonnell -- who was unopposed for the Republican nomination -- that will attract abundant national attention.

AP - The remote Pacific island nation of Palau says it has agreed to a U.S. request to temporarily resettle up to 17 Chinese Muslims now held at the Guantanamo Bay detention center on Cuba.

AFP - The US Supreme Court cleared the way for Chrysler's alliance with Italian automaker Fiat, lifting a block on the government-backed deal that is hoped will save the Detroit firm from liquidation.

McClatchy Newspapers - President Barack Obama is moving quickly to head off opposition to major health care legislation from fiscal conservatives in Congress by vowing to follow strict rules for paying for it without further driving up the already huge deficit.