Afternoon Miscellany

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Kate already pointed out one important story getting buried by the McChrystal bombshells–for my money, amid the raft of bad judgment McChrystal exhibits in the profile, perhaps the most alarming is his fondness for Talladega Nights–but here are a few other items you might have missed today.

–A federal judge in New Orleans has blocked Obama’s six-month deepwater drilling moratorium. The White House has vowed to appeal. TIME’s Bryan Walsh has analysis over on our new Ecocentric blog.

–Elena Kagan is prepping for next week’s confirmation hearings before the Senate Judiciary Committee, an exercise she once dubbed a “vapid and hollow charade,” with a battery of mock hearings.

–In the latest flashpoint on the issue, a city in eastern Nebraska passed a measure barring businesses from hiring or renting property to illegal immigrants. The ACLU has filed suit to block enforcement of the rule, which was backed by 57% of voters.

-The Democratic Senate primary in Florida is getting nasty. The St. Pete Times’ lede: “You know a campaign is getting down and dirty when one candidate tells his opponent to quit insulting his mother.”

–And, nearly a year to the day after his hike on the Appalachian Trail, Mark Sanford has once again gone AWOL.