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• Nebraska's Supreme Court isn't expected to hear an appeal of that ruling until September or October, and there could be more legal maneuvering after it does so. Obama will almost surely have until after the elections to make the final call about whether the pipeline should be built.
• Rejecting the pipeline before the election would have put Democrats like Landrieu and Begich in a tough spot, while approving it would have risked rankling Obama's allies and donors in the environmental community -- some of whom are already pledging to spend huge sums this year helping candidates who have publicly opposed the pipeline.
• "There's no winning decision here," said Democratic pollster Celinda Lake. "In a situation where you're between a rock and a hard place, it's better to postpone and then let everybody complain."
• For Landrieu, whose competitive race in Louisiana will help determine whether Democrats retain control of the Senate, the delay comes at a particularly sensitive moment. Landrieu recently took the helm of the Senate Energy Committee, and has been using her new position to argue that she offers voters in oil-dependent Louisiana the best chance to influence energy policies -- including approval of Keystone XL.
• "Turns out that Landrieu isn't influential at all," Dayspring quipped after the latest delay was announced Friday.
• The pipeline project has become a proxy for a larger battle pitting efforts to combat climate change against efforts to promote American energy. The 1,179-mile pipeline, which has been waiting for more than five years for approval, would travel through Montana and South Dakota to a hub in Nebraska, where it would connect with existing pipelines to carry more than 800,000 barrels of crude oil a day to Texas refineries.
• Keystone XL proponents argue it will create thousands of jobs and reduce reliance on Mideast oil. But Obama and environmental groups dispute the notion that the pipeline would create many permanent jobs or have a substantial economic impact.
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• LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) -- Gov. Dave Heineman has signed a bill that will have Nebraska join forces with Colorado, Wyoming and the Dakotas in fighting wildfires.
• Heineman announced Friday that he has designated Al Berndt, assistant director of the Nebraska Emergency Management Agency, to represent Nebraska in the Great Plains Interstate Fire Compact. Heineman approved the bill earlier this week.

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