Republicans Propagating Falsehoods in Attacks on Health-Care Reform  —  As a columnist who regularly dishes out sharp criticism, I try not to question the motives of people with whom I don't agree.  Today, I'm going to step over that line.  —  The recent attacks by Republican leaders …

Six people, including P-D reporter, arrested at Carnahan meeting  —  UPDATE: St. Louis County police say six people were arrested.  Two of those were arrested on suspicion of assault, one of resisting arrest and three on suspicion of committing peace disturbances.  Carnahan was gone when the ruckus started.

First on the CNN Ticker: Florida senator to resign seat  —  WASHINGTON (CNN) - Sen. Mel Martinez, R-Florida, will announce that he is resigning his seat, three GOP sources tell CNN.  —  The sources said that Martinez will officially announce his intention to step down on Friday.

247,000 Jobs Lost in July; Rate Falls Slightly to 9.4%  —  The American economy lost 247,000 jobs in July, and in a reversal, the unemployment rate fell slightly, to 9.4 percent, the government reported Friday.  —  Although businesses are expected to keep cutting jobs through the rest of the year …

Taliban Leader in Pakistan Was Killed, His Aides Say  —  ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — Baitullah Mehsud, the main leader of Pakistan's fearsome Taliban militia, was killed Wednesday in a C.I.A. missile strike, two Taliban fighters said Friday, but a spokesman for Pakistan's military, Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas …

Presenting new rules for radicals  —  If you're a virtuous and patriotic American, you may find this column either offensive or misleading.  If so, please forward it to White House authorities at the Department of Fishy Activity.  (E-mail the good people at flag@whitehouse.gov.)

Sincerely, John Hughes  —  I was babysitting for my mom's friend Kathleen's daughter the night I wrote that first fan letter to John Hughes.  I can literally remember the yellow grid paper, the blue ball point pen and sitting alone in the dim light in the living room, the baby having gone to bed.

Gillibrand Rival Reportedly Won't Run in Primary  —  WASHINGTON — Representative Carolyn B. Maloney is expected to announce today that she has changed her mind and will not enter the primary race against Kirsten E. Gillibrand, New York's newly appointed senator.

Meet the Mob  —  You've heard a lot about this crazy, scary, vicious mob on some shadowy GOP payroll.  By the way the DNC, Rachel Maddow, and President Obama talk, you'd think it was a motley crue of Hell's Angels.  —  Let me introduce you to the mob:  —  I am the mob.  My kids are the mob.

Twitter, Facebook attack targeted one user  —  A Georgian blogger with accounts on Twitter, Facebook, LiveJournal, and Google's Blogger and YouTube was targeted in a denial-of-service attack that led to the sitewide outage at Twitter and problems at the other sites on Thursday, according to a Facebook executive.

Axelrod gives Dems their health talking points  —  Senate Democrats are girding themselves for a month of vigorous debate over healthcare reform, armed with a new set of talking points from David Axelrod, the president's chief political strategist.  —  Axelrod and Jim Messina …