Pol.PeanutButterNews.com

Full Story atmsnbc.msn.com

WASHINGTON — Union leaders said Wednesday they will mobilize millions of members in 26 states with a message about “economic patriotism” as they try to help Democrats hold onto their majority in the House and Senate.

The nation’s largest labor federation plans to spend more than $50 million leading up to the November elections, targeting 70 House races and 18 Senate races with television ads, phone banks and leaflets.

In a response to the anti-establishment anger of Tea Party activists, AFL-CIO president Richard Trumka called on voters to think about “economic patriots” and “corporate traitors.”

Full Story at msnbc.com

ANCHORAGE — Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski was booted from office in the Republican primary Tuesday by a little-known conservative lawyer backed by former governor and vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin, in arguably America’s biggest political upset of the year.

Joe Miller, backed by Palin and the ultraconservative Tea Party Express movement, became the latest newcomer to the national political stage to take down an incumbent in 2010 amid deep dissatisfaction with the Washington establishment.

Full Story at msnbc.msn.com

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio — An elections board in Ohio says a former congressman who served time in federal prison has enough valid signatures to run again for a U.S. House seat.

Director Tom McCabe says the Mahoning County board on Monday approved more than 30 disputed signatures to allow Jim Traficant (TRAF’-eh-kehnt) to make the November ballot in northeast Ohio’s 17th district.

Full Story at CNN.com

(CNN) — Primary voters are set to head to the polls this weekend, this time in Louisiana and West Virginia.

In Louisiana, GOP Sen. David Vitter is expected to easily overcome a primary challenge Saturday in his first appearance on the ballot since a 2007 prostitution scandal.

In West Virginia, voters are choosing the Democratic and Republican nominees for a November special election to replace the late Sen. Robert Byrd, a Democrat.

Full Story at news.Yahoo.com

WASHINGTON – Food and Drug Administration officials said Monday that there is no evidence a massive outbreak of salmonella in eggs has spread beyond two Iowa farms, though a team of investigators is still trying to figure out what caused it.

FDA officials said they do not expect the number of eggs recalled — 550 million — to grow.

Dr. Jeff Farrar, FDA’s associate commissioner for food protection, said 20 FDA investigators are at the two farms, Wright County Egg and Hillandale Farms, and could be there until next week.

Full Story at msnbc.com

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama earned his lowest marks ever on his handling of the economy in a new Associated Press-GfK poll, which also found that an overwhelming majority of Americans now describe the nation’s financial outlook as poor.

A frustrated electorate could take it out on the party in power — Obama’s Democrats — in the November election

Full Story at msnbc.com

HEREFORD, Ariz. — Tea party groups converged on a remote section of the U.S.-Mexico border on Sunday to show support for Arizona’s controversial immigration law and hear from more than a dozen conservative speakers, many of them candidates running for office in crowded Republican primaries.

Several speaking to the crowd of more than 400 demanded Congress and President Barack Obama devote more resources to increase border security in remote areas like the site of Sunday’s demonstration southeast of Tucson.

Full Story at  CNN.com

Washington (CNN) — President Obama signed a bill Tuesday reducing the disparity in penalties for the use of crack and powder cocaine, according to the White House.

The enactment of the law seals a hard-fought victory for civil rights activists who have argued for years that the differing punishments unfairly target African-Americans.

The Fair Sentencing Act repeals a five-year mandatory sentence for first time offenders, and for repeat offenders with less than 28 grams of crack cocaine. The old law set the mandatory sentence for conviction at five grams.

Full Story at msnbc.com

WASHINGTON — Actor Andy Griffith has a new role: pitching President Barack Obama’s health care law to seniors in a cable television ad paid for by Medicare.

The TV star — whose role as sheriff of Mayberry made him an enduring symbol of small-town American values — tells seniors that “good things are coming” under the health care overhaul, including free preventive checkups and lower-cost prescriptions for Medicare recipients.

Full Story at msnbc.com

WASHINGTON — The House has approved a bill to boost safety standards for offshore drilling and remove a liability cap for oil spills, but a partisan fight in the Senate will likely delay action on a response to the Gulf oil spill until Congress returns from its summer recess.

Democratic leaders hailed the House bill, approved Friday, as a comprehensive response to the devastating oil spill. They said it would increase drilling safety and crack down on polluting oil companies, such as BP.