Growing Number of Americans Say Obama is a Muslim  —  Religion, Politics and the President  —  OVERVIEW  —  A substantial and growing number of Americans say that Barack Obama is a Muslim, while the proportion saying he is a Christian has declined.  More than a year and a half into his presidency …

Weekly Jobless Claims Post Surprise Jump, Hit 500,000  —  New U.S. claims for unemployment benefits unexpectedly climbed to a nine-month high last week, yet another setback to the frail economic recovery.  —  Initial claims for state unemployment benefits increased 12,000 to a seasonally adjusted 500,000 …

Sink Inching Up In Close Florida Gov Race, Quinnipiac University Poll Finds; Crist Leads Three-Way Senate Race  —  Apparently bolstered by the civil war for the Republican nomination for Governor in Florida, State Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink, the Democrat, is on the plus side …

Blunt employing throw everything at Robin and hope something sticks strategy  —  I am having a hard time understanding the campaign strategy of Seventh District Congressman Roy Blunt.  In the accompanying video, Blunt apparently wants us to be deeply offended because Robin Carnahan …

The shame of New York  —  The real story of the Ground Zero mosque is that the project only became feasible because of the appalling and astonishing fecklessness of the officials who were charged with the reconstruction of the site and the neighborhood all the way back in 2001.

Clemens to Be Indicted for Perjury in Doping Testimony  —  Federal authorities have decided to indict Roger Clemens on charges of making false statements to Congress about his use of performance-enhancing drugs, according to two people briefed on the matter.  —  An announcement is expected later today.

The Battle for the Term “Feminist”: Sarah Palin Wins This Round  —  Yesterday, the pro-choice group Emily's List released a video with a bunch of women in “mama grizzly” suits telling Sarah Palin that she doesn't speak for them.  Well, Palin's seen the video, and she's responded with an epic …

Last U.S. combat convoy has left Iraq  —  Mosul, Iraq (CNN) — The last U.S. brigade combat team in Iraq has left the country, a move that helps U.S. President Barack Obama reach his goal of 50,000 troops in the country by September 1.  —  Their departure leaves about 56,000 U.S. troops in the country, according to the U.S. military.

Breaking: Blago Holdout Retired State Employee Who Once Handed Out Campaign Literature For Relative Seeking Office; NPR and Liberal Talk Radio Listener  —  Here's what Fox local news in Chicago reports: … Note that that is not yet confirmed.  It is now confirmed by CBS local news Chicago.

How To Lose A Guy In 75 Days  —  Two years after his coattails helped sweep two dozen Democrats into office, President Obama is proving more a boon to Republicans than to Democrats during the midterm elections.  His poll numbers are so morose that Democrats are planning ways to avoid his shadow …

Skip the lecture on Israel's ‘risks for peace’  —  In the intifada that began in 2000, Palestinian terrorism killed more than 1,000 Israelis.  As a portion of U.S. population, that would be 42,000, approaching the toll of America's eight years in Vietnam.  During the onslaught …

Obama on the Trail  —  Illinois voters say they would be negatively influenced if a candidate was endorsed by Barack Obama.  And if his support isn't an asset in his home state it's hard to imagine where it is.  —  40% of voters in the state say they'd be less likely to support …

Joe Sestak, the 60th Democrat  —  Joe Sestak stepped out of a Chevy Suburban on the morning of July 3 and met up with a group of 15 campaign volunteers gathered in the parking lot of a drugstore in Canonsburg, Pa., just southwest of Pittsburgh.  The town is the birthplace of Perry Como.

NRSC: ‘The Next Time Democrats Call You Extreme, Show Them This Video.’  —  You see it here first, folks: the new web video from the NRSC about just whose views are “extreme” around here.  —  Their closing sequence, showcasing that the so-called extreme candidates are either leading or in dead heats …

Nancy's nefarious conspiracy theory  —  Is Nancy Pelosi making a bid to join Rob ert Welch, longtime leader of the John Birch Society, as a truly great conspir acy theorist?  —  It would seem only an inspired paranoic could find it so unaccountably strange — cue the “Twilight Zone” …

Please forgive me for the actions of extremists I have never met who commit acts of violence that I have never advocated  —  As a white male Baptist, it is my duty today to denounce the violence perpetrated by Patrick Gray Sharp, 29, who yesterday attacked the police headquarters in McKinney …

Rick Santorum: Farther down 2012 path than he expected  —  Rick Santorum today is farther down the road of weighing a presidential campaign than he expected to be when he first set foot in Iowa 10 months ago, the former Pennsylvania senator said in Iowa Wednesday.

Home Aquariums as Decorating Elements  —  KARIN WILZIG has a hard time choosing a favorite color from among the 64 that she and her husband can use to illuminate the 14 1/2- foot, 450-gallon aquarium in their TriBeCa town house.  The default is fuchsia, which turns the dozen koi a deep pink.