**President Obama
*Some early leads: NY Times: "President Obama pledged on Thursday to 'seek a new beginning between the United States and Muslims around the world,' imploring America and the Islamic world to drop their suspicions of one another and forge new alliances to confront violent extremism and heal religious divides."

*AP: "Quoting from the Quran for emphasis, President Barack Obama called for a 'new beginning between the United States and Muslims' Thursday and said together, they could confront violent extremism across the globe and advance the timeless search for peace in the Middle East."

*Washington Post: "President Obama asked Thursday for a 'new beginning between the United States and Muslims around the world' in a speech that urged Islamic nations to embrace democracy, women's rights, religious tolerance and the right of Israel to co-exist with an independent Palestinian state."

*BBC: "US President Barack Obama has said the 'cycle of suspicion and discord' between the United States and the Muslim world must end. In a keynote speech in Cairo, Mr Obama called for a 'new beginning' in ties."

*Sean Hannity reacted on "Good Morning America": "This is an extension of what has become an apology tour, that America is an arrogant country," Hannity told ABC. More: "He repeatedly quoted the Quran in the speech today, but he did miss some of the more controversial quotes in the Quran, about infidels, about taking Christians and Jews and friends. That was an interesting omission."

*Photos of Obama in Cairo, courtesy of the New York Times.

*Another shift from campaign rhetoric on health care. The New York Times: "President Obama said Wednesday that he was receptive to Congressional proposals that would require Americans to have health insurance and oblige employers to share in the cost. But he said there should be exemptions for people who cannot afford insurance and for small businesses in general."

**Congress
*Gitmo: "The White House sent a deputy national security adviser to Capitol Hill Wednesday evening to urge Senate Democrats to drop their resistance to relocating Guantanamo Bay detainees to U.S. prisons. The adviser met with the Democratic Conference for about an hour, pressing them to modify an amendment adopted in May to the war-spending measure that would deny the administration funding to close the prison in Cuba and transfer the prisoners into the United States," The Hill reports.

*Change of heart? "Seeking to head off Republicans, Democratic leaders on Wednesday pushed through a resolution requiring the House ethics committee to disclose what actions it has taken in responding to the controversy over the PMA Group, a once prominent lobbying firm now at the center of a Justice Department criminal probe," Politico reports.

*Anti-Sotomayor: "Sen. Lindsey Graham (S.C.) has emerged as the GOP's leading critic of Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor, arguing that Republican Senate opposition to her installment should be expected given how President Barack Obama treated former President George W. Bush's high court picks," Roll Call reports.

*Not long after a Wall Street Journal story from last week revealed questionable expenses from members, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced that the House will begin posting office expense reports online. "A spokesman for the speaker said her action wasn't prompted by the articles, which found mostly routine spending on staff salaries, travel and office rent, as well as supplies, printing and mailing. The 2008 reports also showed taxpayer money spent on luxury car leases, big-screen TVs, pricey laptops known as 'Toughbooks' and fresh-cut flower arrangements."

**Campaign Stuff
*As we reported, Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels took himself out of the 2012 presidential running yesterday during a symposium on conservatism held two blocks from the White House.

*With just five days until the Democratic primary in Virginia, Brian Moran is going on the offensive, Politico reports. Creigh Deeds has now joined Terry McAuliffe in TV advertising in Northern Virginia -- Deeds' ad touts his Washington Post endorsement.

*Dan Balz looks at the scrutiny potential 2012 candidates are already seeing. "Twice this week, the political community has seized on signs of activity among prospective GOP presidential candidates. On Monday, former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney delivered a speech at the Heritage Foundation, where he slammed Obama for having taken what he called a foreign "tour of apology" this year. Romney ran unsuccessfully for his party's nomination in 2008, and his speech was seen as a forceful expression of interest in another bid."

*Former Georgia Gov. Roy Barnes, announcing his comeback bid, said he's learned from the mistakes of his first term. Per the AJC, Barnes said: "When I was governor before, I didn't do enough listening. I realize I was impatient and I had an aggressive agenda. I didn't take time to explain why I thought certain issues were important or time-sensitive and critical to make a Georgia that could be instead of a Georgia that was."

*Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard, who lost the 2006 Senate race to Sen. Debbie Stabenow, entered the Michigan governor's race Wednesday. AP: "He criticized current state leaders for failing to do enough to trim Michigan's budget to meet shrinking revenues, noting that state lawmakers still haven't killed a job perk that gives them lifetime health care benefits after six years of service." Bouchard: "Not only are they not making the tough choices, they're making the wrong choices."

*Chris Cillizza reports on a poll in Texas, showing that Kay Bailey Hutchison has stronger approval ratings than Gov. Rick Perry. Hutchison: 66/18; Perry: 52/40. Among conservatives, their numbers are "virtually identical."

*NJ Gov: PolitickerNJ breaks down the numbers in the Democratic primary, pointing out that "against three challengers with no money, no base, no organization, and no name identification, the incumbent Governor seemed to have seriously underperformed outside of North Jersey. In two Democratic strongholds important to his re-election campaign, Corzine won just 67% in Middlesex and 70% in Camden. The incumbent was held to 62% in Monmouth and 65% in Ocean."

*The Democratic field of candidates continues to grow for Vermont's governorship with state Sen. Susan Bartlett announcing she'll run, the Burlington Free Press reports.. Gov. Jim Douglas (R) hasn't announced if he'll seek a fifth two-year term.

**Sports Alert: Kobe vs. Dwight Howard. The NBA Finals begins tonight in Los Angeles. If it's anything like the earlier rounds of this year's playoffs, we'll be happy.

--Kyle Trygstad and Mike Memoli