Opinion

WASHINGTON, DC - When we last checked in on the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, a cap had stopped the flow of oil into the Gulf. That cap has held and much of the oil on the surface has dissolved. But this is hardly cause for celebration, as many near- and long-term problems are likely to linger for the Gulf region and the millions of Americans who live there. Here's an update on the situation. Full Story »

It should have been a good week for Democrats. The financial overhaul was signed into law. The extension of unemployment benefits passed. The Democratic Party finally looked like a party that could get things done. Full Story »

New York - A huge number of beachgoers, many of whom don’t identify as feminists, will be carrying a book with overtly feminist content in their tote bags this summer – in the guise of an absorbing thriller. Full Story »

The Nation -- More than 100 Democratic House members and a dozen Republicans voted against funding the Obama administration's Afghan war surge Tuesday, offering one of the strongest shows of opposition to presidential warmaking since the Vietnam War era. Full Story »

Minneapolis, Minn. - Facebook is turning my mind to mush and I don’t like it. The IQ drop is palpable, and it’s really beginning to get on my nerves. Full Story »

The world's largest tent Khan Shatyr has debuted in Kazakhstan's capital city, Astana. Full Story »

A Gulf-area wetland restoration company under heat for advocating taxpayer assistance for coastal cleanup efforts defended itself on Thursday against charges that it is merely doing the bidding of the oil companies that help fund its operations. Full Story »

While engaging in astonishing viciousness, vulgarity and violence toward Republicans, liberals accuse cheerful, law-abiding Tea Party activists of being violent racists. Full Story »

For several days now, Senate Republicans have ridiculed their Democratic counterparts for prioritizing campaign finance legislation over a bill that would benefit small businesses, arguing that Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) was putting electoral advantages over jobs for everyday people. Full Story »

With Reporting By Julian Hattem Full Story »

Update Below Full Story »

Creators Syndicate - The outpouring of tens of thousands of classified military documents by WikiLeaks is not precisely comparable to the publication of the Pentagon Papers — but in at least one crucial respect, it may be more valuable. Full Story »

Creators Syndicate - Who knows what lies ahead for Shirley Sherrod — a book, the lecture circuit, a wrongful discharge lawsuit that could bring millions? But if she keeps talking, the woman "wrongfully portrayed" as a racist may out herself as exactly that. Full Story »

Read Richard (RJ) Eskow's other articles on HuffingtonPost.com Full Story »

Read Al Gore's other articles on HuffingtonPost.com Full Story »

The Nation -- Amid a conflicting report a nuthatch fetches a black fly, dips its plume in stagnant pool. This is a sky drawn, grafted, rescued, not a bath of vapors an afternoon v shutters with counterfeit meaning. It is just an incident within a field of possibility, something periodic and bruised, one location in which we grip that instant of contact. Upstream a scarecrow is ragged in the wounding, a music of terror barely rises above the slopes, reft with nothing but its melody's radius, the slow ancient call of the bird in the distant flicker. Full Story »

The great national debate over illegal immigration just entered the federal courts, perhaps the beginning of a new path toward finding a consensus on this divisive issue. Full Story »

After Senate Democrats broke a 50-day filibuster and restored unemployment benefits to the long-term jobless, Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) vowed to do more. Full Story »