Statement From the Family of Osama bin Laden  —  Statement from the family of Sheikh Osama bin Laden  —  I Omar Ossama Binladin and my brothers the lawful children and heirs of the Ossama Binladin (OBL) have noted wide coverage of the news of the death of our father, but we are not convinced …

Potential presidential candidate Jon Huntsman makes a stop in St. Petersburg  —  Jon Huntsman and his wife, Mary Kaye, met with potential donors Tuesday night in Snell Isle in St. Petersburg.  Homeowner James MacDougald introduced Huntsman.  Al Austin, standing by the chair, led Tampa's successful bid for the 2012 GOP convention.

Boehner's Views on Economy Contradicted by Studies  —  House Speaker John Boehner, giving Wall Street leaders his prescriptions for growing the U.S. economy and reducing the nation's debt, built his case on several assertions that are contradicted by market indicators and government reports.

AP-Gfk poll: Obama approval hits 60 percent  —  WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama's approval rating has hit its highest point in two years — 60 percent — and more than half of Americans now say he deserves to be re-elected, according to an Associated Press-GfK poll taken after U.S. forces killed al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden.

Ryan: GOP faces messaging challenge in selling 2012 budget  —  Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) said Wednesday that Republicans are running into a “communications challenge” in selling their 2012 budget proposal to Americans.  —  Ryan, the chairman of the House Budget Committee who authored the 2012 budget …

How Perpetual War Became U.S. Ideology  —  Since the last realist president, George H.W. Bush, left office, two groups— neoconservatives and liberal interventionists—have overtaken American foreign policy  —  The United States has found itself in a seemingly endless series of wars over the past two decades.

Obama hits Fox News  —  Washington (CNN) - President Barack Obama used an immigration speech Tuesday to take a jab at News Corporation CEO, Rupert Murdoch, who owns Fox News Channel.  —  Obama quoted the CEO, an Australian native, who said “Immigrants have made America great as the world leader in business …

President to Renew Muslim Outreach  —  WASHINGTON—President Barack Obama is preparing a fresh outreach to the Muslim world in coming days, senior U.S. officials say, one that will ask those in the Middle East and beyond to reject Islamic militancy in the wake of Osama bin Laden's death and embrace a new era of relations with the U.S.

Netanyahu waited too long to strike Iran  —  Aluf Benn reflects on developments in Israel's policies toward Iran, claiming Netanyahu makes ‘hollow threats’.  —  1. Barack Obama's achievement: From the day he assumed office, the president of the United States made preventing an Israeli military strike …

Palin and the Curse of a Thin Skin  —  In the June Atlantic, Joshua Green has a terrific piece called “The Tragedy of Sarah Palin” that gets at the maddening aspect of Palin's gifts and strengths as a politician better than any single article has with the exception of Yuval Levin's COMMENTARY piece two years ago.

Palin and Trump: It's complicated  —  Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and businessman Donald Trump have formed a political bond, one united by their populist ideology and contempt for the mainstream media.  —  Their kinship grew during the height of the birther controversy.

Same-sex marriage and the '16 nomination  —  It's basically self-parody here at POLITICO to write about the 2016 presidential campaign, and I don't plan to do it much.  But I thought it was worth passing on a point Bob Shrum made to me yesterday about one of the three or four Democrats already operating …

Boeing Is Pro-Growth, Not Anti-Union  —  Washington's actions have assaulted the capitalist principles that have sustained America's competitiveness since it became the world's largest economy nearly 140 years ago.  —  Deep into the recent recession, Boeing decided to invest more than $1 billion in a new factory in South Carolina.

Ends don't justify the means  —  Bin Laden's death does not warrant the use of torture  —  Demonstrator Maboud Ebrahimzadeh is held down during a simulation of waterboarding outside the Justice Department in Washington.  (Reuters)  —  WHEN US Representative Steve King learned …

Irish Bombshell: Government Raids PRIVATE Pensions To Pay For Spending  —  The Irish government plans to institute a tax on private pensions to drive jobs growth, according to its jobs program strategy, delivered today.  —  Without the ability sell debt due to soaring interest rates …

Navy Halts Move to Allow Gay Marriages by Chaplains After Complaints From Lawmakers  —  The Navy has abruptly reversed its decision to allow chaplains to perform same-sex marriages once the military's ban on openly gay service members is lifted, after dozens of House lawmakers complained.

House Republican Budget Plan: State-By-State Impact of Changes in Medicaid Financing  —  This analysis projects the state-by-state impact of converting Medicaid into a block grant and eliminating the planned expansion of the program by repealing the health reform law, as called for under the House Budget Plan.

GOP frosh protest Dems' rhetoric on Medicare  —  A group of House Republican freshmen, tired of getting hammered on Medicare, is leading a fresh protest against Democrats' tactics on the senior citizen health care program.  —  Rep. Adam Kinzinger sent a letter to the White House Tuesday signed …

Neo-Nazi Father Is Killed; Son, 10, Steeped in Beliefs, Is Accused  —  RIVERSIDE, Calif. — The day before he allegedly shot his father, the sandy-haired 10-year-old boy showed off a prized possession to a visitor.  It was a thin leather belt emblazoned with a silver insignia of the Nazi SS.

Syrians Report Shelling of City and Mass Arrests  —  BEIRUT, Lebanon — At least 10,000 protesters have been detained in the past several days in a mass arrest campaign aimed at quelling a seven-week uprising in Syria against the government of President Bashar al-Assad, activists said …

IRS gift tax move could hit new anonymous groups  —  The Internal Revenue Service appears to have begun to enforce a tax on gifts to the non-profit organizations that were a key vehicle for anonymous politics in the last five years and had promised to play a large role in the presidential cycle …

Trump Stumped: No Big Announcement on Celebrity Apprentice Finale  —  Reset your DVRs!  You can make that Sunday night dinner with mom after all: Contrary to his own personally advanced hype, Donald Trump will not be making any kind of announcement about his presidential plans on the Celebrity Apprentice season finale.

Source: Retired general to run for Senate as Democrat in Texas  —  Washington (CNN) — It seems national Democrats have found their candidate in Texas.  —  Retired Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez will file paperwork Wednesday in San Antonio to launch a campaign for the U.S. Senate in Texas …

NJ State Police “Outraged” Over Rapper Invite to White House  —  Common at the 2011 Common Ground Foundation gala fundraiser at the Intercontinental Hotel in Chicago last month.  —  The invitation of rapper Common to the White House this week is drawing the ire of the union representing New Jersey state police.

Democrats to reintroduce DREAM Act  —  Senate Democrats will re-introduce the long-stalled DREAM Act, hoping to tap into momentum from President Barack Obama's speech along the border Tuesday about America's need to pass comprehensive immigration reform.  —  Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid …

Southern border is more secure, but not thanks to Obama, says Cornyn  —  Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) conceded this week that security on the Mexican border has improved under the Obama administration - but not, he said, because of the president's policies.  —  “We are better than we were …