ACORN Video: Prostitution Scandal in San Diego, CA  —  With 70 miles of stunning beaches and picture-perfect weather all year round, having fun during the summer in San Diego doesn't require a lot of money.  —  The city combines old-fashioned Mexican charm with a modern edge.

U.S. Shelves Nuclear-Missile Shield  —  Czech Interim Prime Minister Gets Midnight Call  —  WASHINGTON — The White House will shelve Bush administration plans to build a missile-defense system in Poland and the Czech Republic, a move likely to cheer Moscow and roil the security debate in Europe.

Analysis: Baucus Health-Care Bill Appears to Be Moving Forward  —  On the surface, it appears that no one is happy with Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.) — and that may be the best news President Obama has had in months.  —  Within minutes of the release of the Senate Finance Committee chairman's …

Sword-wielding Hopkins student kills intruder  —  Intruder was repeat offender, released from prison Saturday  —  Hours earlier, someone had broken into John Pontolillo's house and taken two laptops and a video-game console.  Now it was past midnight, and he heard noises coming from the garage out back.

Mary Travers of Peter, Paul and Mary Dies at 72  —  Mary Travers, whose ringing, earnest vocals with the folk trio Peter, Paul and Mary made songs like “Blowin' in the Wind,” “If I Had a Hammer” and “Where Have All the Flowers Gone?” enduring anthems of the 1960s protest movement, died on Wednesday at Danbury Hospital in Connecticut.

Birther Orly Taitz Compares Self To Mandela, Wants Judge Tried For Treason  —  In an interview with TPM just now, Birther evangelist Orly Taitz fired back at Clay Land, the U.S. district court judge who tore apart Birtherism and threatened Taitz with sanctions in an order today, saying that …

Reality Check: The Truth About “Czars”  —  Last week, when the President addressed the Joint Session of Congress in a speech on health reform, he referred to some of the untruths - okay, lies - that have been spread about the plan and sent a clear message to those who seek to undermine …

Obama and Acorn  —  Is there a case for a special prosecutor?  —  Printer  —  Friendly  —  The Acorn scandal continues to mushroom.  Yesterday BigGovernment.com published videos from a fourth Acorn office visit by freelance investigators James O'Keefe and Hannah Giles.

The Baucus Bill: The Worst Policy in the Bill, and Possibly in the World  —  Baucus's bill retains the noxious “free rider” provision on employers.  Rather than a simple employer mandate that forces every employer over a certain size to provide health-care insurance or pay a small fee …

Sotomayor Challenges Corporate Law  —  WASHINGTON — In her maiden Supreme Court appearance last week, Justice Sonia Sotomayor made a provocative comment that probed the foundations of corporate law.  —  During arguments in a campaign-finance case, the court's majority conservatives seemed persuaded …

Dodd Inching Back Up In Connecticut, Quinnipiac University Poll Finds; Obama Slide Continues  —  Connecticut voters disapprove 49 - 43 percent of the job Sen. Christopher Dodd is doing, his best score in six months and better than his 52 - 42 percent disapproval July 23, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released today.

The Audacity of Hos  —  To view this movie you need the Adobe Flash Player plugin.  You also need JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Michelle Obama turns to health care  —  Pushing for health care reform didn't turn out so well for the last first lady in a Democratic White House.  —  But with a retooled staff, and an under-the-radar summer behind her, Michelle Obama plans a packed autumn that aides say will include a …

Teen birth rates highest in most religious states  —  Link may be due to communities frowning on contraception, researchers say  —  U.S. states whose residents have more conservative religious beliefs on average tend to have higher rates of teenagers giving birth, a new study suggests.

Blowback  —  One of my themes lately has been that the Democrats' strategy of trying to demonize opponents of socialized medicine rather than honestly debate the merits of their proposal—whatever it is—is a political mistake.  People care about health care, they don't want their insurance taken away …

Pelosi: I'm clueless about cash cut-off  —  WASHINGTON — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said yesterday she is clueless about an amendment to prohibit government funds for embattled ACORN, although it overwhelmingly passed the Senate Monday and the White House is calling for the group to be held accountable.

Duo who turned this trick  —  The two conservative activists who captured ACORN employ ees giving advice on the sex trade and money-laundering only play a pimp and prostitute on video.  —  In real life, Hannah Giles, 20, isn't a lady of the night.  She's a minister's daughter studying jour nalism at Florida International Uni versity.

Obama Used Faulty Anecdote  —  WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama, seeking to make a case for health-insurance regulation, told a poignant story to a joint session of Congress last week.  An Illinois man getting chemotherapy was dropped from his insurance plan when his insurer discovered …