Minority leader Boehner to call for mass firing of Obama's economic team  —  CLEVELAND — House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) will call Tuesday for the mass firing of the Obama administration's economic team, including Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and White House adviser Larry Summers …

Karen Hughes: I don't remember any of my work with Imam  —  As you may have heard, former Bush senior adviser Karen Hughes came out against Cordoba House over the weekend.  Hughes called on Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf to move the project in order to “provide a path toward the peaceful relationships …

Rubio back on top  —  Democrats will get their stronger candidate if Kendrick Meek wins the Florida Senate primary tonight as expected- but the biggest winner coming out of the primary may be Marco Rubio.  PPP finds he would begin the general election in the lead at 40%, followed by Charlie Crist at 32%, and Meek at 17%.

July Existing-Home Sales Fall as Expected but Prices Rise  —  Existing-home sales were sharply lower in July following expiration of the home buyer tax credit but home prices continued to gain, according to the National Association of Realtors®.  —  Existing-home sales1 …

Conway: U.S. Withdrawal Deadline Boosts Taliban in Afghan War  —  The top U.S. Marine general said President Barack Obama's announced July 2011 deadline to start withdrawing troops from Afghanistan had given “sustenance” to the Taliban.  —  “We know the president was talking to several audiences …

Stimulus plan boosted GDP by as much as 4.5%, says CBO  —  WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — The oft-criticized stimulus plan boosted the economy in the second quarter by as much as 4.5%, the Congressional Budget Office said on Tuesday.  —  In a report published the same day as Minority Leader …

A Case of Mental Courage  —  In 1811, the popular novelist Fanny Burney learned she had breast cancer and underwent a mastectomy without anesthesia.  She lay down on an old mattress, and a piece of thin linen was placed over her face, allowing her to make out the movements of the surgeons above her.

GOP Maintains Edge in Midterm Voting Preferences  —  Holds 47% to 44% advantage in latest update  —  PRINCETON, NJ — Gallup tracking of 2010 midterm congressional election voting preferences shows 47% of registered voters saying they would vote for the Republican candidate and 44% …

‘CBS Evening News’ Ties All-Time Low  —  The network newscast ratings for last week are in and “CBS Evening News with Katie Couric” tied its all-time low in total viewers with an average of 4.89 million tuning in during the five days.  —  The low was set last June, when ABC also hit its own low.

Pickens Laments That He Failed To Convince Bush And Obama To Take Iraq's Oil  —  Oil tycoon T. Boone Pickens made headlines late last year as he openly advocated to members of Congress that the United States seize the oil fields of Iraq and use them for its own benefit, arguing that our country is “entitled” to the oil.

Dan Quayle defends son before vote  —  Former Vice President Dan Quayle didn't want to leave the supportive e-mail off the end of his son's campaign for Congress.  —  In a Monday night e-mail pitch to Ben Quayle's supporters, Dan Quayle makes a last-ditch effort to defend the 33-year-old Ben Quayle …

Is ‘Beckapalooza’ about cause or Beck?  —  Even as he prepares for a Saturday rally that could cement his status as an unparalleled force in conservative politics, Glenn Beck is facing quiet but persistent questions from some on the right about whether he can be a reliable partner …

Colleges say new health law may imperil student policies  —  WASHINGTON — Colleges and universities say that some rules in the new health law could keep them from offering low-cost, limited-benefit student insurance policies, and they're seeking federal authority to continue offering them.

Fed Split on Move to Bolster Sluggish Economy  —  WASHINGTON—The Aug. 10 meeting of top Federal Reserve officials was among the most contentious in Ben Bernanke's four-and-a-half year tenure as central bank chairman.  —  With the economic outlook unexpectedly darkening …

At this pace, early voters outnumber Election Day ballots  —  If the slow, rain-soaked day of voting continues, there's a chance more people will have cast ballots early than on Election Day in Hillsborough and Pinellas counties, officials said Tuesday.  —  “It's kind of looking that way now …

Zombies scare Minneapolis into cash settlement  —  ​Seven zombies accused of carrying weapons of mass destruction will be staggering to the bank shortly with a bundle of cash, courtesy of a legal settlement with the City of Minneapolis.  —  The seven were arrested in 2006 during Aquatennial …

Steele says immigration law ‘not a reflection of an entire political party’  —  Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele refused to embrace Arizona's controversial immigration law Tuesday during an interview with Univision, the country's largest Spanish-language television network.

HS test ‘slams’ Christianity, lauds Islam  —  State testmakers played favorites when quizzing high-schoolers on world religions — giving Islam and Buddhism the kid-gloves treatment while socking it to Christianity, critics say.  —  Teachers complain that the reading selections from the Regents exam …

Sherrod declines USDA job offer  —  Shirley Sherrod has declined a job offer from Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack.  —  (CNN) - Shirley Sherrod said Tuesday that she has enjoyed her work at the U.S. Department of Agriculture and “would want to see that work continue.”

TRENDING: Greene escorted from campaign event  —  South Carolina Democratic Senate nominee Alvin Greene was escorted from an event on Saturday.  —  Washington (CNN) - Embattled Democratic Senate candidate Alvin Greene was escorted from a meeting of the Oconee County Democratic Party on Saturday …