The Mother of All No-Brainers  —  The Republicans have changed American politics since they took control of the House of Representatives.  They have put spending restraint and debt reduction at the top of the national agenda.  They have sparked a discussion on entitlement reform.

BMW layoffs exemplify the evisceration of the middle class  —  Every working American should be dismayed by — and afraid of — what BMW is doing.  —  By all accounts, BMW's parts distribution warehouse in Ontario was one of the jewels of the company's system.

Time in House Could Be Short for Republican Newcomers  —  WASHINGTON — Just when freshman House Republicans have finally learned their way to the Cannon Caucus Room, how to vote on a motion to proceed and which commissary serves the best tuna sandwiches, someone back home — worse …

Boat People  —  Some questions for the “activists” aboard the Gaza flotilla.  —  The tale of the Gaza “flotilla” seems set to become a regular summer feature, bobbing along happily on the inside pages with an occasional update.  A nice sidebar for reporters covering the Greek debt crisis …

Bill Clinton Handicaps the GOP Presidential Candidates  —  At the Aspen ideas festival, the former commander in chief offers his thoughts on Romney, Huntsman, Bachmann, and how Obama can win in 2012  —  ASPEN, Colo. — Former President Clinton, playing handicapper in chief …

Solid Majority of Jewish Americans Still Approve of Obama  —  Changes in approval among Jews continues to reflect broader U.S. patterns  —  PRINCETON, NJ — Jewish Americans gave President Barack Obama a 60% job approval rating in June, down from 68% in May, but statistically unchanged from 64% in April.

Behind the Scenes, Christian Right Leaders Rally Behind Rick Perry  —  In early June, TIME has learned, a group of prominent figures on the Christian Right held a conference call to discuss their dissatisfaction with the current GOP presidential field, and agreed that Rick Perry would be their preferred candidate if he entered the race.

DA set to drop charges vs. DSK  —  Pop the champagne, DSK.  —  Prosecutors will agree to drop the charges against Dominique Strauss-Kahn — either on his next court date in two weeks or even sooner, according to a top investigator in the case who called the eventual dismissal “a certainty.”

Administration Offers Health Care Cuts as Part of Budget Negotiations  —  WASHINGTON — Obama administration officials are offering to cut tens of billions of dollars from Medicare and Medicaid in negotiations to reduce the federal budget deficit, but the depth of the cuts depends …

Newt Gingrich offers bleak view of campaign finances  —  Presidential candidate Newt Gingrich talks with residents of Clear Lake, Iowa during the town's Independence Day parade Monday.  (Charlie Neibergall/AP)  —  Newt Gingrich, whose presidential bid has been beset by problems including …

Op-Ed: Jews becoming commonplace in conservative ‘new media’  —  PHILADELPHIA (JTA) — Many reviews already have appeared of “The Undefeated,” the soon-to-be-released documentary about Sarah Palin's tenure in Alaska.Yet none of them — even in The Los Angeles Times, Huffington Post or The Washington Post …

Nikki Haley's rise raises tensions back home  —  Even the basics of Haley's relationships with the legislators have suffered.  —  “We used to have this problem with Sanford.  He'd veto items in the budget that he put in there and asked us to pass,” said GOP state Sen. Larry Grooms.

America's Troubling Investment Gap  —  For the first time in decades, America is on net losing, not attracting, growth capital.  —  In June, President Obama celebrated a rare sliver of good economic news: Foreign investment was up 49% last year over 2009.  The president says that this boost …

White Supremacist Stampede  —  A startling number of white-power candidates are seeking public office.  Eve Conant reports on their under-the-radar strategy and David Duke's White House flirtation.  —  Add to the growing list of candidates considering a bid for the GOP presidential nomination …

White House's New Anti-Terror Strategy: Kill the Suspects?  —  Usama bin Laden has been killed.  The U.S. is poised to begin withdrawing troops from Afghanistan.  And the Obama administration's shift in counterterrorism strategy from land wars to precision strikes and raids is raising concerns …

The Sorrow and Pity of Another Liquidity Trap  —  There is only one real law of economics: the law of supply and demand.  If the quantity supplied goes up, the price goes down.  —  Back in the third quarter of 2008, the public held about $5.3 trillion of U.S. Treasury bills, notes and bonds.

Perry Breaks With a Fellow Texan: Bush  —  AUSTIN, Tex. — Gov. Rick Perry, a Republican contemplating a presidential run, shares many attributes with the last man who ran for president from here, his predecessor and onetime patron, George W. Bush.  He has the same straight-legged Texas swagger …

Rick Santorum's Math Fail: Blasts Obama For Creating ‘Only 240 Million Jobs’  —  2012 GOP presidential hopeful Rick Santorum continued his long-shot campaign this morning with an appearance on CNN.  During the interview, Santorum attempted to criticize the Obama administration's record on jobs …

Arizona conservatives scramble after campaign finance law's defeat  —  The state's Clean Elections Act had swept a surge of small-government Republicans into power.  —  Arizona Republican state Sen. Steve Smith, right, had never run for public office before last year.

AP Enterprise: The man who hunted Osama bin Laden  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — After Navy SEALs killed Osama bin Laden, the White House released a photo of President Barack Obama and his Cabinet inside the Situation Room, watching the daring raid unfold.  —  Hidden from view, standing just outside …

Let's Not Linger in Afghanistan  —  LAST month President Obama announced plans for withdrawing by next summer the approximately 30,000 American troops sent to Afghanistan as part of the 2009 surge.  —  We commend the president for sticking to the July date he had outlined for beginning the withdrawal.

Voting Blocs to Watch as 2012 Nears  —  There's a long way to go before next year's presidential election, but it's already possible to frame the decisive question: Will the giant demographic trends benefiting President Barack Obama and his Democrats be enough to offset the erosion caused by a poor economy?

European Union Parliament Backs Restrictions on Naked Credit Default Swaps  —  European lawmakers called for restrictions on traders' use of credit-default swaps to profit from defaults on sovereign debt they don't own.  —  The European Union Parliament in Strasbourg, France …

The Missing US Ambassador at the feast for Ronald Reagan  —  Last night's Guildhall dinner in honour of Ronald Reagan's centenary was a truly glittering and warm occasion.  —  The British roasted lamb and the sunny Californian chardonnay evoked the close Anglo-US relationship of Reagan …