President Obama's Conference Call with Liberal Bloggers: John Amato asks Congress to work through the August recess  —  You can view this video right here by getting the latest version of Flash Player!  —  DOWNLOADS: 694  —  PLAYS: 2123 … President Obama and David Axlerod hosted …

Obama's Gitmo Task Force Blows Its Deadline  —  Exclusive: why a key report on closing the facility has been delayed until the fall.  —  Brennan Linsley / Reuters-Landov  —  A U.S. journalist walks past sleeping quaters at Camp Justice, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, July 14, 2009.

Harvard professor Gates arrested at Cambridge home  —  Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates Jr., one of the nation's pre-eminent African-American scholars, was arrested Thursday afternoon at his home by Cambridge police investigating a possible break-in.  The incident raised concerns among …

Budget accord reached  —  Calling for deep cuts and avoiding broad tax hikes, Schwarzenegger and legislative leaders agree on ways to close California's $26.3-billion deficit.  —  Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and legislative leaders announced today that they have reached a deal …

Amman begins stripping state's Palestinians of citizenship  —  Article's topics: Jordan, Palestinians, West Bank, PLO  —  Jordanian authorities have started revoking the citizenship of thousands of Palestinians living in Jordan to avoid a situation in which they would be “resettled” …

New NASA Images Indicate Object Hits Jupiter  —  Scientists have found evidence that another object has bombarded Jupiter, exactly 15 years after the first impacts by the comet Shoemaker-Levy 9.  —  Following up on a tip by an amateur astronomer, Anthony Wesley of Australia, that a new dark …

Poll: Public losing trust in Obama  —  Trust in President Barack Obama and his Democratic allies to identify the right solutions to problems facing the country has dropped off significantly since March, according to a new Public Strategies Inc./POLITICO poll.

Democrats Want to Teach You to Die With Dignity  —  H.R. 3200 is the Democrat healthcare bill.  —  Let's back up for a minute.  I noted some time ago Jay Rockefeller went on record to say that at some point the government has to decide whether or not you are allowed to receive …

Bailouts could cost U.S. $23 trillion  —  A series of bailouts, bank rescues and other economic lifelines could end up costing the federal government as much as $23 trillion, the U.S. government's watchdog over the effort says - a staggering amount that is nearly double the nation's entire economic output for a year.

Republicans Have Reasons for Hope in 2010  —  Unless you're a veteran from a rock-solid liberal district, it's a bit scary these days to be a Democrat in Congress.  There's political risk in delivering the sweeping changes President Obama promised on health and energy policy, but there's also political risk in failing to deliver them.

The Unbearable Lightness of Greg Mankiw  —  A friend e-mails: … I would respond by saying that there's a weird tendency among people to think that very banal comments are very important insights when they come from Greg Mankiw.  And this is worse than a very banal comment: It's disengaged with the debate.

Pennsylvania Gov's Approval Drops To Lowest Ever, Quinnipiac University Poll Finds; Rendell Gets More Blame For Budget Stalemate  —  Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell's job approval rating has shrunk to its lowest level ever, 39 - 53 percent negative, and voters see him as most responsible for the state's budget mess.

Health Care Bill Directs HHS Secretary to Develop ‘Standards for Measuring Gender’—As Opposed to ‘Male’ and ‘Female’  —  (CNSNews.com) - The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee's health care legislation will give the Health and Human Services secretary the authority to develop …

Health-Care Firms Have Supported Lawmakers Debating Reform  —  Key Senator Baucus Is a Leading Recipient  —  As liberal protesters marched outside, Sen. Max Baucus sat down inside a San Francisco mansion for a dinner of chicken cordon bleu and a discussion of landmark health-care legislation …

Obama Outlines Expectations for Health Reform Timeline, Economic Recovery  —  JIM LEHRER: Mr. President, it must have been a little unpleasant for you to wake up this morning and see this headline: Washington Post poll shows Obama slipping on key issues, approval rating on health care falls below 50 percent.

‘New York Times’ Defends Palin Story that Quotes Hairdresser  —  NEW YORK A story on The Huffington Post Monday reporting that Sarah Palin's hairdresser was upset about being inaccurately cited in a New York Times piece drew a response from a Times spokeswoman today claiming the hairdresser had praised the story.

The Fed's Exit Strategy  —  The depth and breadth of the global recession has required a highly accommodative monetary policy.  Since the onset of the financial crisis nearly two years ago, the Federal Reserve has reduced the interest-rate target for overnight lending between banks (the federal-funds rate) nearly to zero.

US car dealer offers free Kalashnikov with every purchase  —  A Missouri car dealer has taken a novel approach to combating the fall in US vehicle sales by offering a free Kalashnikov assault rifle with every truck, whether new or used.  —  Mark Muller, whose business slogan is “God, Guns …