Muslim leaders to abandon plans for Ground Zero community center  —  Insiders say Muslim spiritual leaders behind the controversial initiative are considering giving up on the former World Trade Center location, in a gesture of appeasement.  —  After weeks of heated debate over plans …

Obama, the one-term president  —  Q: Will Barack Obama be a one-term president?  —  A: Yes, he might last that long.  —  Honest to goodness, the man just does not get it.  He might be forced to pull a Palin and resign before his first term is over.  He could go off and write his memoirs and build his presidential library.

Obama raises a quick $1 million — and some L.A. commuter ire  —  During his trip west, the president also pitches his efforts to create clean-energy jobs.  —  President Obama leaves Air Force One upon his arrival at Los Angeles International Airport.  (Jewel Samad, AFP/Getty Images / August 16, 2010)

Court Extends Stay on Allowing Gay Marriage  —  SAN FRANCISCO — A federal appeals court has extended a stay on same-sex marriages in California until it decides whether a ban on such unions is constitutional.  —  It is just the latest turn in a protracted legal battle over Proposition 8, the voter-approved ban.

Michelle Obama to enter campaign fray  —  The White House may risk tarnishing the first lady's nonpartisan image by sending her to campaign for Democratic candidates this fall.  —  First Lady Michelle Obama appears on the cover of Ladies' Home Journal September issue, one of five women's …

Ray Bradbury hates big government: ‘Our country is in need of a revolution’  —  Ray Bradbury is mad at President Obama, but it's not about the economy, the war or the plan to a construct a mosque near Ground Zero in New York City.  —  “He should be announcing that we should go back to the moon …

GOP Shows Strongest Positioning Yet in 2010 Vote Test  —  Leads Democrats by 50% to 43% in latest update on congressional voting preferences  —  PRINCETON, NJ — Gallup's latest update on 2010 congressional voting preferences finds 50% of registered voters saying they would vote …

Israel has ‘8 days’ to hit Iran nuclear site: Bolton  —  WASHINGTON (AFP) - Israel has “eight days” to launch a military strike against Iran's Bushehr nuclear facility and stop Tehran from acquiring a functioning atomic plant, a former US envoy to the UN has said.

GOP reveals midterm blueprint  —  The GOP blueprint for winning control of the House is rapidly coming into focus, with the National Republican Congressional Committee readying a $22 million TV ad blitz aimed at a handful of powerful, long-serving incumbents and several dozen of the most junior members of the Democratic majority.

Economy Led to Cuts in Use of Health Care  —  WASHINGTON — The economic crisis in the United States has reduced the use of routine medical care, and the cutbacks here are much deeper than in countries with universal health care systems, researchers say in a new report.

McCain blames press for new image  —  Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) on Monday blamed the “Eastern press” for planting the idea he has changed his positions on key issues in recent months.  —  McCain dismissed the notion that he has tacked to the right on matters such as immigration and climate change …

Voters Back Tough Steps to Reduce Budget Deficit  —  RICHMOND, Va.—Frustrated voters, fixing on the $1.5 trillion federal deficit as a symbol of Washington's paralysis, appear increasingly willing to take drastic steps to address the red ink.  —  Leonard Anderson, 56 years old, a Richmond …

Auto Workers Chase Out UAW Executives  —  From the irony proof Communists at the World Socialist Website: … Isn't it hilarious to see the shoe on the other foot.  The national UAW are ‘the bosses’ now that they effectively own General Motors.  Now they are the ones riding the backs of the proletariat.

No ‘Graceful Exit’  —  In his book, “The Promise,” about President Obama's first year in office, Jonathan Alter describes a brief conversation between the president and Vice President Joe Biden that took place last November at the end of Mr. Obama's long deliberation about what to do in Afghanistan.

The next big government/Big Labor bailout  —  And the hits just keep coming.  Fresh off the $26 billion BigGovJobs union bailout, the Dems are pushing another labor-backed rescue for beleaguered pension funds.  Estimated initial cost: $8 to $10 billion, with as much as $165 billion …

White House Directive: Erect Signs at All Stimulus Projects as 'Symbol of President Obama's Commitment to American People'  —  (CNSNews.com) - Federal contractors receiving money for projects funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA)—the $862 billion economic stimulus law …

Radio, RIAA: mandatory FM radio in cell phones is the future  —  Music labels and radio broadcasters can't agree on much, including whether radio should be forced to turn over hundreds of millions of dollars a year to pay for the music it plays.  But the two sides can agree on this …