Private Growth Is Tepid as U.S. Economy Sheds Jobs Overall  —  With the American economic recovery hanging in the balance, private employers added 71,000 jobs in July, up from a downwardly revised 31,000 in June but below the consensus forecast of 90,000.  The unemployment rate stayed steady at 9.5 percent.

Romer To Leave White House  —  Christina Romer, chairwoman of Pres. Obama's Council of Economic Advisers, has decided to resign, according to a source familiar with her plans.  —  Romer, an economics professor at the University of California (Berkeley) before taking the key admin post, did not respond to repeated calls to her office.

The Flimflam Man  —  One depressing aspect of American politics is the susceptibility of the political and media establishment to charlatans.  You might have thought, given past experience, that D.C. insiders would be on their guard against conservatives with grandiose plans.

McConnell to Franken: This isn't ‘SNL’  —  When Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell laid out his opposition to Elena Kagan's Supreme Court nomination, someone in the chamber appeared to be moving around in his chair, gasping and rolling his eyes.  —  It was Sen. Al Franken.

Scalia Was Right  —  Why the same-sex marriage ruling will stand.  —  For the first time, a federal judge has held that the Constitution mandates the legal redefinition of marriage.  The California Supreme Court had reached a similar conclusion in 2008, and voters responded by amending …

Exotic Deals Put Denver Schools Deeper in Debt  —  In the spring of 2008, the Denver public school system needed to plug a $400 million hole in its pension fund.  Bankers at JPMorgan Chase offered what seemed to be a perfect solution.  —  The bankers said that the school system …

Massive Censorship Of Digg Uncovered  —  A group of influential conservative members of the behemoth social media site Digg.com have just been caught red-handed in a widespread campaign of censorship, having multiple accounts, upvote padding, and deliberately trying to ban progressives.

State aid bill a gamble for Dems  —  Vunerable lawmakers fear voting for more spending, but they don't want to cross the speaker.  John Shinkle  —  When the House returns next week to rubber-stamp the Senate's $26 billion state-aid package, Democrats will take a political crapshoot.

Guest List for Rangel's Birthday Celebration Shrinks  —  One New York representative said he could not make it because he had to march in a local firefighters' parade.  Another said that, as much as she wanted to go, she had to visit family out of town.  Yet another just sent his regrets …

Old Washington hands break with GOP leaders on Bush-era tax cuts  —  A number of old Republican hands warning of a deficit crisis have split with the GOP leadership over extending the George W. Bush-era tax cuts.  —  Sen. George Voinovich (R-Ohio), President Reagan's budget chief David Stockman …

Bill Haslam wins GOP nomination for governor in Tennessee  —  Knoxville Mayor Bill Haslam ran away with the Republican nomination for governor of Tennessee on Thursday, beating a field that included Rep. Zach Wamp and Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey.  —  With 6 percent of precincts reporting, Haslam led second-place Wamp 52 percent to 27 percent.

Hiroshima and the Art of Outrage  —  THE Futenma Marine Corps Air Station on Okinawa, one of the largest United States military bases in East Asia, is in the center of a crowded city.  The American and Japanese governments acknowledge the dangers of this situation, and they agreed nearly 15 years ago …

Current or Former Lawmakers Linked to Endowments Made by Corporations  —  WASHINGTON — Nearly a dozen current or former lawmakers have been honored by university endowments financed in part by corporations with business before Congress, posing some potential conflicts like that attributed …

2 Top Economists Differ Sharply on Risk of Deflation  —  When the latest unemployment figures are announced on Friday, all of Wall Street will be watching.  But for Richard Berner of Morgan Stanley and Jan Hatzius of Goldman Sachs, the results will be more than just another marker in an avalanche of data.

Norton wins inaugural AUL nod  —  The nation's oldest anti-abortion group is lending its first-ever political endorsement to Colorado Senate candidate Jane Norton less than a week before the Republican primary.  AP  —  The nation's oldest anti-abortion group is lending its first-ever political endorsement …

Hearing set for soldier in Obama birth certificate case  —  (CNN) — A court hearing is scheduled for Friday in the case of an Army officer who has refused to deploy to Afghanistan because, in his view, President Barack Obama has not proven that he was born in the United States and is therefore ineligible to be president.

Nancy Pelosi's Fate Could Be Decided Here: The View From Oregon  —  WEST LINN, Oregon — Bullseye Coffee — a café, a yarn shop and a postal box rental center all in one homey room with local art (all for sale) on the walls — is a prime spot to chart how the economic doldrums are shaping this election year.