Election news:

►  In today's Columbian -- Rossi slams Sen. Murray on spending -- Congress should reinstate Bush's tax cuts for wealthy Americans when they expire at year's end and make those cuts permanent, Republican U.S. Senate candidate Dino Rossi says. But he criticized Murray for supporting the extension of unemployment benefits without voting for offsetting budget cuts of $33 billion to avoid deepening the federal deficit. "Pay for it," he says.

(Wha-? "Pay for it," when it comes to $33 billion for the recession's victims, which polls show is supported by strong majorities despite concerns about the deficit, but DON'T pay for $678 billion in tax breaks for the rich?!  Really?  That's your campaign theme?  Really?)

►  In today's Seattle Times -- Rossi claim of Murray unemployment flip-flop... flops -- His campaign staff thought they'd caught Murray in an embarrassing flip-flop, but they got it wrong. (Doh!)

►  In today's News Tribune -- Democrats call Rossi "foreclosure profiteer" -- A video produced by state Democrats accuses Dino Rossi of being a "foreclosure profiteer." Democrats say Rossi reported making $1,001-$2,500 in rental income from the formerly foreclosed apartments and $16,000 for "speaking at seminars where he offered advice on how to profit off the foreclosure market."

►  In today's (Everett) Herald -- Sen. Hobbs is a marked man in 44th LD primary -- The Democrat is seeking a second term and facing tough challengers from the Republican Party and the left wing of his own. Hobbs is targeted in part because he opposed collective bargaining for child care workers and supported tougher teacher evaluations and privatizing state liquor stores.

►  In The Stranger -- Aiming at an activist judge -- The race between BIAW Boy and anti-gay activist Justice Jim Johnson and Tacoma trial lawyer Stan Rumbaugh will be decided not in the general election but in the August 17 primary because Johnson has only one challenger.

Local news:

►  At SeattlePI.com -- Art Institute faculty protests quality of education, could unionize -- Faculty at the Art Institute of Seattle plan to announce today an unprecedented plan to unionize, a first for for-profit schools in Washington state. The faculty at the small college voted this week to decide if they'll unionize, said a spokeswoman for AFT-Washington, with a clear majority in favor of the plan because they want more control over how students are taught. Teacher Steven Kramer says things have improved since the school became aware of the plans to unionize. Class sizes have been cut by as much as half, part-time faculty members are getting more work and teacher facilities have been improved. "We have been heard," he said, but he added that unionizing will give the instructors a more powerful voice in the long run.

►  From KING 5 -- Governor may call special session -- Gov. Chris Gregoire says if $480 million in Medicaid matching money doesn't come from the federal government by Aug. 9 she'll have to consider a special session of the Legislature to deal with the budget. She said Thursday she'll consult with legislative leaders to limit a session to a day or two.

►  In today's Olympian -- Union issue could change rules for city contracts -- The Olympia City Council will re-evaluate contracting rules after approving a bid from a company that union members say doesn't pay a fair wage. The issue came to light after the council awarded a $7.2 million bid to Quigg Bros. of Aberdeen for the first phase of rebuilding Percival Landing. A representative of the Pacific NW Regional Council of Carpenters, said the city should delay awarding the bid because Quigg Bros. doesn't pay "area standard wages."

National news:

►  In today's Seattle Times -- Obama signs jobless benefits extension -- President Obama signs a six-month extension of emergency jobless benefits for the long-term unemployed, hours after the House approved it. The bill will revive a program that provides income support to those who have exhausted state benefits, restoring aid to about 2.5 million people who have seen their checks cut off since the program expired June 2. In the Washington delegation, Democrat Brian Baird joined Republicans Doc Hastings and Cathy McMorris Rodgers in voting no, while Republican Dave Reichert joined Democrats Norm Dicks, Jay Inslee, Rick Larsen, Jim McDermott and Adam Smith in voting for the measure.

►  In today's Seattle Times -- McDermott touts healthy return of health care's "public option" -- Months after a Republican filibuster killed off a government-run health plan under the new health-care law, U.S. Rep. Jim McDermott and 128 House Democrats introduced the Public Option Act, calling anew for a Medicare-like public insurance plan that would compete with private carriers. And this time, the Democrats are taking their arguments straight out of the Republican handbook, saying a public plan would lower the deficit.

►  At Politico -- Judge mulls Arizona immigration law -- A federal judge is considering taking a scalpel to Arizona's new law, carving out certain provisions of the controversial measure while allowing other parts of the legislation to take effect as scheduled next week.

►  At AFL-CIO Now -- Marchers spotlight Massey mine deaths at CEO's speech -- Outside the Press Club, more than 70 union members marched and chanted, demanding that Blankenship and Massey be held accountable (see video). The marchers sang out "Hey, Hey Blankenship. How many Miners You Killed Today?" and "54 dead. Should have been none."

►  In today's NY Times -- Addicted to Bush (Paul Krugman column) -- In recent weeks, Republican leaders have come out for a complete return to the Bush agenda, including tax breaks for the rich and financial deregulation. They've even resurrected the plan to cut future Social Security benefits. But they have a problem: how can they embrace President Bush's policies, given his record? After all, Mr. Bush's two signature initiatives were tax cuts and the invasion of Iraq; both, in the eyes of the public, were abject failures. Tax cuts never yielded the promised prosperity, but along with other policies -- especially the unfunded war in Iraq -- they converted a budget surplus into a persistent deficit. Meanwhile, the WMD we invaded Iraq to eliminate turned out not to exist, and by 2008 a majority of the public believed not just that the invasion was a mistake but that the Bush administration deliberately misled the nation into war. What's a Republican to do?