Boehner: ‘Maybe 50-50’ Chance of a Debt Deal Reached Within 48 Hours  —  House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, speaks with reporters after a meeting with House Republicans on Capitol Hill on Thursday.  —  House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, informed fellow House Republicans on Thursday …

News of the World to close amid hacking scandal  —  Police are investigating allegations of phone hacking by the News of the World  —  This Sunday's issue of the News of the World will be the last edition of the paper, News International chairman James Murdoch has said.

Why the Republicans Resist Compromise  —  The chart that I'm going to show you is one of the more important ones that we've presented at FiveThirtyEight in some time.  It helps explain a lot of what's going on in American politics today, from the negotiations over the federal debt ceiling to the Republican presidential primaries.

Father spoke of having Obama adopted  —  US immigration files from '61 reveal Kenyan student's plan  —  President Obama as a young boy, with his father, who left when his son was 2.  (Obama for America via Associated Press)  —  In the spring of 1961, President Obama's father revealed …

Elizabeth Smart, Network Pundit?  —  Amid the Casey Anthony frenzy, ABC News is close to unveiling its latest contributor.  Howard Kurtz reports exclusively on the kidnap victim's new career.  —  Elizabeth Smart first came into our consciousness nearly a decade ago as a 14-year-old girl kidnapped from her Salt Lake City bedroom.

Jailed for cashing Chase check at Chase bank  —  AUBURN, Wash. - Buying his own home was a big accomplishment for construction worker, Ikenna Njoku, of Auburn.  He's only 28 years old.  —  “I was really excited.  For the first time, I actually got to buy a lawn mower, mow my lawn and everything,” said Njoku.

Exclusive: Treasury secretly weighs options to avert default  —  (Reuters) - A small team of Treasury officials is discussing options to stave off default if Congress fails to raise the debt limit by the August 2 deadline, sources familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.

Brody File Exclusive: GOP Presidential Candidates Will be Asked to Sign a Marriage Vow  —  The Brody File has learned that The Family Leader, an influential pro-family group in Iowa will ask each of the 2012 presidential candidates to sign a marriage pledge that professes everything …

Why Jamie Leigh Jones Could Lose Her KBR Rape Case  —  Her story of a brutal attack in Iraq sparked a national outcry—but how much of it is true?  —  Post Comment  —  The allegations were explosive when they first hit in 2007: A 20-year-old woman named Jamie Leigh Jones alleged that four days …

‘Fast & Furious’ gets hotter for Holder  —  Don't look now, but the real action in Washington this week isn't the parti san wrangling over the debt ceiling but something — literally — even more incendiary: Operation Fast and Furious, which seems about to explode right in the face …

Orrin Hatch: The ‘Poor’ Should Do More To Shrink Debt, Not The Rich (VIDEO) … WASHINGTON — Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) voted against beginning debate on a measure that would have the Senate declare the rich should share the pain of debt reduction Thursday, a day after arguing that it's the poor and middle class who need to do more.

Apple Plans Fix for iPhone Flaw  —  Apple Inc. said Thursday it is working to resolve a security hole in its iPhone and other mobile products that German authorities warned could allow cyber criminals to access confidential information or intercept phone conversations.

First Study of Its Kind Shows Benefits of Providing Medical Insurance to Poor  —  When poor people are given medical insurance, they not only find regular doctors and see doctors more often but they also feel better, are less depressed and are better able to maintain financial stability …

Michele Bachmann on Iowa TV: ‘Waterloo’  —  Michele Bachmann is going up in Iowa with the first television ad of her presidential campaign, a 30-second spot titled “Waterloo” that Bachmann's team says will start running statewide today.  —  The bio spot, produced by Strategy Group Media …

GOP Congressman: House Republicans Have Privately Discussed Impeaching Obama Over Debt Ceiling  —  Last month, Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner suggested that the debt ceiling is unconstitutional because of Section 4 of the 14th Amendment, which states that “the validity of the public debt of the United States...shall not be questioned.”

MSNBC Nixes Chris Matthews's Cameo in Aaron Sorkin's Pilot About Cable News [UPDATED]  —  While he was writing the pilot script for his new HBO project More As This Story Develops, Aaron Sorkin reportedly spent some time on the set of Hardball With Chris Matthews.

LulzSec doc drop: Arizona Officials Say Hezbollah Operating in Mexico  —  A document drop by LulzSec has revealed an ominous bulletin from police officials in Tucson, Arizona.  In short, law enforcement is advised to be on the lookout for Hezbollah terrorists operating in the traditional smuggling corridors …

House to vote on repealing light bulb efficiency standards  —  House Republicans introduced legislation that would repeal a light bulb efficiency law.  —  House Republicans introduced legislation Wednesday they hope to bring to the floor next week that would repeal a light bulb efficiency law.

What's the Magic Number?  —  Predicting 2012 With Economic Data  —  Larry J. Sabato, Director, U.Va. Center for Politics  —  A recent New York Times story ricocheted around the political community after opening with this revelatory sentence: “No American president since Franklin Delano Roosevelt …

Are there Too Many Homes in America Ctd / There Will Be Inflation / This is the Story of 2012  —  A chart on rental vacancies from Ries via Calculated Risk  —  So what do we see directly: Rental vacancies are falling.  The rental market is tightening up.  We should expect higher rents and thus higher inflation in the near future.

Romney cash haul sparks GOP fears  —  The Republican presidential fundraising reports are still coming in, but a clear winner has already emerged: Barack Obama.  —  Whoever claims the GOP nomination is going to find it close to impossible to keep pace with the president's fundraising juggernaut.