Threats to US at All time High

(CBS/AP) With attempted terror attacks in the U.S. at an all-time high, the U.S. should operate under the premise that other operatives are currently in the country and could plot an attack "with little or no warning," according to a Department of Homeland Security report obtained by CBS News.

The four-page report, "Evolving Threats to the Homeland," was prepared by the Office of Infrastructure Protection, says that "the number and pace of attempted attacks in the U.S. over the past nine months have surpassed the number of attempts during any other previous one-year period."

The report highlights the growing threat of improvised explosive devices (IEDs), many of which are now delivered in vehicles - such as the recent Times Square bomb plot. - CBS News Story

Wisconsin Democrat Vulnerable in Re-Election

Businessman Ron Johnson, endorsed at last weekend’s state Republican Convention, is now running virtually even against incumbent Democrat Russ Feingold in Wisconsin’s race for the U.S. Senate.

A new Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of Likely Voters in Wisconsin shows Feingold with 46% support to Johnson’s 44%. Three percent (3%) prefer some other candidate, and six percent (6%) remain undecided.

As he has in surveys since the beginning of the year, Feingold continues to fall just short of 50% regardless of which Republican he’s matched against. Incumbents who earn less than 50% of the vote at this stage of a campaign are considered potentially vulnerable. Feingold was reelected to a third term in 2004 with 56% of the vote.

This is the first survey to include Johnson, the latest entrant in Wisconsin’s topsy-turvy GOP Senate field. Former Governor Tommy Thompson froze the field for months with speculation that he would run, and Rasmussen Reports surveys consistently showed him running even or better against Feingold.

Then in April Thompson announced he wasn’t running, and Richard Leinenkugel, the state’s Commerce secretary, jumped in. But Feingold outdistanced Leinenkugel and two longtime candidates in the race, real estate entrepreneur Terrence Wall and businessman Dave Westlake, in a survey last month.

Johnson has entered the contest since then and won the party endorsement on the first ballot of the convention, after Leinenkugel in a surprise move threw his support to the newcomer. State Republicans will pick their nominee in a September 14 primary, but Johnson for now is widely expected to win. - Rasmussen Reports

Obama's DOJ to Challenge AZ Immigration Law

A team of Justice Department attorneys reviewing the new immigration law in Arizona has recommended that the U.S. government challenge the state law in federal court, but the recommendation faces an uncertain future and tough scrutiny from others in the Justice Department, sources with knowledge of the process tell Fox News.

Staff attorneys within the Justice Department recently sent higher-ups the recommendation. At the same time, the Justice Department's Civil Division, which oversees the majority of immigration enforcement issues for the department, has drafted a "civil complaint" that would be filed in federal court in Arizona, sources said.

The draft complaint challenges the Arizona law as unconstitutional, saying it is illegal because it impedes federal law, according to the sources, who would not offer any more details about the draft complaint or the arguments made in it.

Two weeks ago, Attorney General Eric Holder told lawmakers such an issue was being considered by Justice Department lawyers reviewing the new law, which outlines and possibly broadens the authority of police to detain those suspected of being in the country illegally.

"We are examining the [Arizona] law and trying to determine if it contravenes the federal responsibility [toward] immigration, whether or not what the Arizona legislature has tried to do is actually preempted by federal law, by federal statutes." he told the House Judiciary Committee on May 13. "The regulation of our borders and the immigration that occurs by crossing our borders is something that is inherently something I believe for the national government to take responsibility for." - FOX News Story

Obama Administration Supports Vatican in Sex Abuse Case

The Obama administration reportedly has sided with the Vatican in a case involving a man who says he was sexually abused decades ago by a priest from Oregon.

AFP reported that the solicitor general's office submitted a brief to the Supreme Court supporting the Vatican's claim that it should be immune from litigation connected with sex abuse cases against U.S. priests.

The office, headed by Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan, argued that the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals -- which lifted the Vatican's immunity in the Oregon priest case -- should not have treated the case as an exception to a 1976 federal law that limits when foreign countries can face charges in the U.S. judicial system.

The Vatican is seeking an appeal, and the solicitor general's office reportedly urged the Supreme Court to consider throwing out the lower court ruling.

The plaintiff in the case claims the Vatican should be held accountable for transferring the priest to Oregon after he was accused of abusing children in Ireland and then Chicago. The priest in the case died nearly 20 years ago. - FOX News Story

Obama's Hot Seat Getting Hotter - Possible Illegal Action

Rep. Joe Sestak's allegation that the White House offered him a job to drop out of the Pennsylvania Senate primary race against Arlen Specter is a crime that could lead to the impeachment of President Obama, Rep. Darrell Issa said.

But the decision by the Pennsylvania congressman not to elaborate on a so-called deal also could become a political problem as Sestak tries for the U.S. Senate seat.

The White House reportedly is going to formally address the allegation in the next few days. In the meantime, Issa, R-Calif., is one of many inside and outside Washington who want the Democratic Senate primary candidate to explain in detail what offer the White House made.

"It's very clear that allegation is one that everyone from Arlen Spector to Dick Morris has said is in fact a crime, and could be impeachable," said Issa, who is threatening to file an ethics compliant if Sestak doesn't provide more details about the alleged job offer.

Sestak, a former vice admiral in the Navy, first alleged in February that the White House offered him a high-ranking position in the administration last summer if he would sit out the primary against Specter, who won the backing of the White House and state Democratic leaders for switching parties. - FOX News Story

Obama - The Most Partisan President?

SAN FRANCISCO — President Barack Obama traveled to one of the most liberal enclaves in the country to deliver some of his harshest criticism yet of the Republican Party — attacking the GOP on points where Democrats sense vulnerability, such as energy legislation and immigration reform.

Noting that sometimes conservative activists portray him with a Hitler mustache, Obama seemed to put to rest any notion that there could be broad-based bipartisan cooperation — something he promised to try to bring to Washington during his 2008 campaign.

“There are members of their base who think if somebody even smiles at me, they think, ‘You’re a traitor. You smiled at Obama,’” the president said at a fundraiser for Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.). “The day has passed when I expected this to be a full partnership.”

There is hardly any “room for cooperation” in the Republican Party, Obama said.

At the same time, he said he understands why the GOP is “sitting on the sidelines.”

“Politically it hasn’t been bad for them,” he said — an apparent reference to the Republicans’ expected gains in the midterm congressional elections this fall. - Politico Story

Bipartisanship Goes to Work to fight EPA

A bipartisan group of senators will move after the Memorial Day recess on a resolution to block the Environmental Protection Agency’s regulation of greenhouse gases.

It is uncertain whether the group will have the votes by the time the resolution comes to the Senate floor June 10, but it has stirred concern among environmentalists and the EPA.

The disapproval resolution, introduced by Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), has 41 co-sponsors, including Democrats Ben Nelson of Nebraska, Mary Landrieu of Louisiana and Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas. Other co-sponsors include Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.), Sam Brownback (R-Kan.) and Judd Gregg (R-N.H.).

The resolution, which is part of the Congressional Review Act, cannot be filibustered or amended. It also would need approval in the House and a presidential signature to go into effect. To pass the Senate, it needs only 51 votes. - Politico Story

Republicans Call Obama Out

President Barack Obama battled with Senate Republicans in a tense closed-door meeting Tuesday, facing tough criticism from his GOP adversaries — including John McCain — on issues ranging from health care to border security.

Senators and other sources inside the meeting described the gathering as “testy” and “direct” — and Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) accused Obama of acting two-faced by asking for GOP support on regulatory reform only to push forward with a bill supported mainly by Democrats. Others felt that the meeting may have made already tense relations between the two parties even worse.

"The more he talked, the more he got upset," Sen. Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) said. “He needs to take a valium before he comes in and talks to Republicans and just calm down, and don’t take anything so seriously. If you disagree with someone, it doesn’t mean you’re attacking their motives — and he takes it that way and tends then to lecture and then gets upset.”

The White House said that Obama made a plea for bipartisanship on some of the country’s most pressing issues — and he urged Republicans to stand up to their base and compromise with the Democratic Party.

Bill Burton, a White House spokesman who attended the meeting, later told reporters that the meeting was “civil in tone” and not as contentious as Republicans have made it out to be. But he said Obama directly challenged the GOP to work in a bipartisan fashion on immigration and energy – or risk seeing those two major issues fall apart this year.

Inside the lunch meeting, Obama squared off with his old rival McCain (R-Ariz.) over border security, sources said. Sources described Obama’s conversation with McCain as rather direct.

McCain said he told Obama: "We need to secure the borders first. He didn't agree." A McCain spokeswoman said their exchange was “frank but respectful.”

Shortly after the meeting, Obama called for 1,200 National Guard troops to be deployed to the border, and McCain quickly one-upped the president, asking for 6,000.

Obama also called for a comprehensive immigration plan, an idea McCain seemed to rebuff. And McCain also challenged Obama over constitutional concerns he's raised over Arizona’s controversial immigration law, saying administration officials needed to read the law first. - Politico Story

Obama Approval Rating at Lowest Level

The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Tuesday shows that 24% of the nation's voters Strongly Approve of the way that Barack Obama is performing his role as president. Forty-four percent (44%) Strongly Disapprove, giving Obama a Presidential Approval Index rating of -20 (see trends).

The Presidential Approval Index is calculated by subtracting the number who Strongly Disapprove from the number who Strongly Approve. It is updated daily at 9:30 a.m. Eastern (sign up for free daily e-mail update). Updates are also available on Twitter and Facebook.

Overall, 42% of voters say they at least somewhat approve of the president's performance. That is the lowest level of approval yet measured for this president. Fifty-six percent (56%) now disapprove of his performance. - Rasmussen Reports Poll

Vast Majority of Americans Support Repeal of Health Care Bill

Support for repeal of the new national health care plan has jumped to its highest level ever. A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 63% of U.S. voters now favor repeal of the plan passed by congressional Democrats and signed into law by President Obama in March.

Prior to today, weekly polling had shown support for repeal ranging from 54% to 58%.

Currently, just 32% oppose repeal.

The new findings include 46% who Strongly Favor repeal of the health care bill and 25% who Strongly Oppose it.

While opposition to the bill has remained as consistent since its passage as it was beforehand, this marks the first time that support for repeal has climbed into the 60s. It will be interesting to see whether this marks a brief bounce or indicates a trend of growing opposition. - Rasmussen Reports Poll