CNN's Crazy, No-Holds-Barred, Social-Media Debate  —  It's got more bells and whistles than a video game and could send the candidates into anaphylactic shock  —  Manchester, N.H. — By nature, I'm a debate skeptic.  They're hard to differentiate, and the last one is usually forgotten as soon as the next one rolls around.

Obama: ‘I would resign’ in Weiner's situation  —  President talks scandal, debt ceiling in an exclusive interview with TODAY's Ann Curry  —  Below:  —  In an exclusive interview with TODAY's Ann Curry that will air on Tuesday's show, President Barack Obama said that if he were Democratic …

Joe Scarborough To RNC Chairman: ‘Shut Up’ With ‘Cheap Shots’ On Rep. Weiner  —  On Morning Joe, Joe Scarborough previously shared his hesitancy to cover the Anthony Weiner scandal at all until it had real political developments.  Now that the Democratic leadership in the House is calling …

Supreme Court Upholds Nevada's Law on Conflict of Interest  —  WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Monday unanimously rejected a First Amendment challenge to a Nevada law that barred officials there from voting on matters in which they had a conflict of interest.

In Reversal, 3 Democratic Senators Will Back Gay Marriage  —  ALBANY — Three wavering Democratic lawmakers in the State Senate have agreed to support legislation legalizing same-sex marriage in New York, several people with knowledge of the negotiations said on Monday, marking a potential turning point for the long-debated measure.

WI Democrat Tells Female Constituent He Wants to “Smack Her Around” in Message (Audio)  —  Typical democrat.  —  A Wisconsin democrat running in a recall election left a message on a woman's answering machine.  The democrat said he ought to smack her around in a message he didn't know was being recorded.

Obama Jokes at Jobs Council: ‘Shovel-Ready Was Not as Shovel-Ready as We Expected’  —  President Obama's Council on Jobs and Competitiveness met today in Durham, NC at Cree Inc., a company that manufactures energy-efficient LED lighting.  One of the Council's recommendations to President Obama …

Gov. Perry: Economic Crisis Is Part of God's Plan To Return Us To Biblical Principles  —  For the past week, Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) has been roundly criticized by religious and LGBT groups alike for inviting other governors to join him at an anti-gay prayer event hosted by stridently bigoted American Family Association.

‘Paula Brooks,’ editor of ‘Lez Get Real,’ also a man  —  Just one day after the author behind a popular Syrian lesbian blog admitted to being a married, American man named Tom MacMaster, the editor of the lesbian news site Lez Get Real, with the tag­line “A Gay Girl's View on the World,” acknowledged that he is also a man.

Pawlenty: Bush Tax Cuts “Didn't Fully Serve Their Intended Purposes”  —  DERRY, N.H. — Addressing a packed, boisterous room at Halligan Tavern here, accompanied by half a dozen state legislators (not all had endorsed him), Tim Pawlenty made a mostly economics, competence-based case against the Obama administration.

Palestinian statehood: What is the U.N.'s role?  —  A divisive showdown is almost certain.  —  A Palestinian protester holds a Palestinian flag in one hand and a stone in the other hand on the 44th Anniversary of the Arab defeat in the 1967 Six Day War of the Middle East.  (David Vaaknin / Getty Images)

Sarah Palin's letter from God  —  Two items of note this morning on America's most interesting, reviled and adored politician who isn't a candidate for anything and probably won't be in 2012 — Sarah Palin.  —  Up first is Toby Harnden, a prolific author and correspondent for the Daily Telegraph of London.

Missing Iraq money may have been stolen, auditors say  —  U.S. Defense officials still cannot say what happened to $6.6 billion, sent by the planeload in cash and intended for Iraq's reconstruction after the start of the war.  —  Rep. Henry A. Waxman (D-Beverly Hills, pictured last month, has held hearings on waste and fraud in Iraq.

US Is in Even Worse Shape Financially Than Greece: Gross  —  When adding in all of the money owed to cover future liabilities in entitlement programs the US is actually in worse financial shape than Greece and other debt-laden European countries, Pimco's Bill Gross told CNBC Monday.

As the GOP Presidential Debate Begins...  ...we were reminded again today that Barack Obama is eminently beatable.  The 2012 election will be mostly a referendum on the success or failure of his administration's economic policies.  Every day, more voters are becoming convinced that the verdict is in, and Obama is a failure.

Neocon flack: Weiner may have converted to Islam  —  (UPDATED) We thought everything that could be said about Anthony Weiner's lewd photo scandal had been said.  But Eliana Benador, a former influential neoconservative public relations operative, has proved us wrong.

Indiana Senate Candidate Mourdock's Campaign Assaults Citizen Journalist  —  This weekend we attended a Tea Party event in Kokomo, Indiana.  As we were interviewing Republican U.S. Senate Candidate Richard Mourdock; his campaign manager, Chief Deputy & General Counsel for Indiana …

Why We're Going Back to Single-Sex Dorms  —  Student housing has became a hotbed of reckless drinking and hooking up.  —  My wife and I have sent five children to college and our youngest just graduated.  Like many parents, we encouraged them to study hard and spend time in a country where people don't speak English.

Scientific Consensus on Global Warming  —  Scientific societies and scientists have released statements and studies showing the growing consensus on climate change science.  A common objection to taking action to reduce our heat-trapping emissions has been uncertainty within the scientific community …

F.B.I. Agents Get Leeway to Push Privacy Bounds  —  WASHINGTON — The Federal Bureau of Investigation is giving significant new powers to its roughly 14,000 agents, allowing them more leeway to search databases, go through household trash or use surveillance teams to scrutinize the lives of people who have attracted their attention.

McLean woman ‘involuntarily committed’ in alleged Red Line bomb threat  —  [This story was originally posted at 8:39 a.m. with updates at 12:15 p.m., 1:50 p.m. and 2:33 p.m. Stay with PostLocal.com as more information becomes available.]  —  A 51-year-old Mclean woman was “involuntarily committed” …

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