U.S. Economy Shed 125,000 Jobs in June; Rate Is 9.5%  —  The United States added just 83,000 private-sector jobs in June, a dishearteningly low number that could add to the growing number of economists who warn that the economic recovery is stalling.  —  Multimedia

What is the Tea Party?  A growing state of mind  —  WASHINGTON — The “Tea Party” is less a classic political movement than a frustrated state of mind.  —  A year and a half after the idea of a Tea Party burst into view, three of 10 Americans describe themselves in the USA TODAY/Gallup Poll …

Myths of Austerity  —  When I was young and naïve, I believed that important people took positions based on careful consideration of the options.  Now I know better.  Much of what Serious People believe rests on prejudices, not analysis.  And these prejudices are subject to fads and fashions.

Barack Obama is among best presidents ever - George W. Bush not so much, say scholars in Siena poll  —  George W. Bush was no FDR, but Barack Obama could be.  —  That's the verdict of 238 of the nation's leading presidential scholars, who - for a fifth time - rated Franklin Delano Roosevelt …

Factory Jobs Return, but Employers Find Skills Shortage  —  BEDFORD, Ohio — Factory owners have been adding jobs slowly but steadily since the beginning of the year, giving a lift to the fragile economic recovery.  And because they laid off so many workers — more than two million since the end of 2007 …

Top House Republicans quick to criticize Obama over jobs report  —  House Minority Leader John Boehner issued a statement following the release of Friday's job report.  —  Washington (CNN) - The top two Republicans in the House were quick to respond Friday to the June jobs report.

WORLD EXCLUSIVE: Mel Gibson's Racist Rant Caught On Tape - Tells Oksana She Would Get ‘Raped By N***ers’  —  In one of the most explosive, racist and vile outbursts by a celebrity ever caught on tape, Mel Gibson told the mother of his love child that the way she was dressed would get her …

The Polarization of the Supreme Court  —  The Supreme Court has gradually come to act more like a political institution.  The share of one-vote majority rulings has risen more than four-fold in the past six decades, compared to the half-century prior, based on a RealClearPolitics analysis of rulings from 1801 to the present.

Economic rebound may be losing ground, data show  —  Home and car sales fall.  Manufacturing may be losing steam.  But most experts don't see a double dip looming.  —  The construction sector remains weak.  Spending on building fell 0.2% in May from April.

21 killed in shootout between drug, migrant trafficking gangs near Arizona border  —  HERMOSILLO, Mexico (AP) — A massive gun battle between rival drug and migrant trafficking gangs near the U.S. border Thursday left 21 people dead and at least six others wounded, prosecutors said.

Va. begins courtroom assault on federal health-care overhaul  —  RICHMOND — The legal challenge to the nation's new health-care law was launched Thursday in a courtroom in Richmond, where the office of Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli II argued that the measure is an unprecedented overreach …

BREAKING: Pelosi Sneaked Approval of Vote on Debt Commission Recommendations into Rule Regarding War Funding, Vote Happening Tonight  —  Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) (photo by Orin)  —  FDL has learned that in a last minute move, Nancy Pelosi sneaked language into the rule that the House is voting on tonight regarding war funding.

The Night Beat: Putting Lipstick on a Bad Jobs Number  —  Good evening.  —  JOBS: The White House is girding itself for the release of June employment figures, which will show a relative paucity of private sector jobs created.  In a way, the impact of this number has been blunted …

Health law risks turning away sick  —  The Obama administration has not ruled out turning sick people away from an insurance program created by the new healthcare law to provide coverage for the uninsured.  —  Critics of the $5 billion high-risk pool program insist it will run out of money before Jan. 1, 2014.

Russian spy ring may be last straw for Obama nuclear arms treaty  —  A U.S.-Russia arms treaty is teetering in the Senate, lacking support from Republicans and set back by an alleged spy ring.  —  The White House was hoping that the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) …

Schwarzenegger orders minimum wage for state workers  —  The Schwarzenegger administration today ordered State Controller John Chiang to reduce state worker pay for July to the federal minimum allowed by law — $7.25 an hour for most state workers.  —  The instructions from the Department …

Another R2K Smoking Gun: Bargain Basement Pricing  —  In my previous post on Kos and Research 2000 I noted how weird it was that Kos could afford to commission dozens of campaign polls given that by (his own admission) he runs a low seven-figure operation and the polls are likely far …

Short-term insurance buyers in Massachusetts  —  Kay Lazar reports on the increase in part-year insurance buyers described in a new Massachusetts Division of Insurance report in today's Boston Globe. … Part of the problem is that individuals can jump in and out of coverage anytime during the year.

Objectivity of spill probe panel is questioned  —  WASHINGTON — On the same day the White House commission investigating the Gulf oil spill announced its first meetings — July 12-13 in New Orleans — a Senate committee cast what amounted to a no-confidence vote on the commission's objectivity.