Obama Offered To Raise Medicare Eligibility Age As Part Of Grand Debt Deal … WASHINGTON — In his press conference on Monday morning, President Barack Obama repeatedly insisted that he was willing to tackle some sacred cows as part of a larger package to raise the debt ceiling.

TIR Poll: Bachmann Overtakes Romney in Iowa  —  Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann has surpassed former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney in a recent Iowa poll that was conducted by TheIowaRepublican.com.  With Bachmann now leading in Iowa, Romney has fallen to second place …

News International papers targeted Gordon Brown  —  Newspapers obtained information from the former prime minister's bank account, legal file and family medical records  —  Journalists from across News International repeatedly targeted the former prime minister Gordon Brown …

Michelle Obama orders 1,556-calorie meal at Shake Shack  —  First lady Michelle Obama ordered a whopper of a meal at the newly opened Washington diner Shake Shack during lunch on Monday.  —  A Washington Post journalist on the scene confirmed the first lady, who's made a cause out of child nutrition …

Panetta appears to link al-Qaeda presence with Iraq invasion  —  Pool/Reuters - U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta delivers remarks to U.S. troops as he visits Camp Victory in Baghdad July 11, 2011.  Panetta arrived in Iraq on Sunday on his first trip there as U.S. defence secretary.

EXCLUSIVE: Mila Kunis Says She'll Accompany U.S. Marine to Corps Ball  —  Most men will spend their lives dreaming about going on a date with Mila Kunis - but for one U.S. Marine, that fantasy may very well turn into a reality.  —  Sgt. Scott Moore, of the 3rd Battalion 2nd Marines in Musa Qala …

Economy Faces a Jolt as Benefit Checks Run Out  —  An extraordinary amount of personal income is coming directly from the government.  —  Close to $2 of every $10 that went into Americans' wallets last year were payments like jobless benefits, food stamps, Social Security and disability, according to an analysis by Moody's Analytics.

Chicagoans Overwhelmingly Vote to Ban Palin, Beck & Coulter Books at Book Fair in Obama's Home Town  —  In June we attended the Printer's Row Literature Festival in Chicago.  City blocks were closed off for tents and booths full of all types of literature.  We presented a board with a selection …

Sarah Palin as Newsweek cover girl — again  —  As celebrity glamour shots go, Sarah Palin's cover photo on this week's Newsweek is danged good!  The best-selling author and reality-TV star looks young and vibrant.  Her devil-may-care countenance aided and abetted by the wind conspicuously blowing hair back.

Top Senate Dems privately warn: Deep Medicare cuts will squander our big advantage on issue  —  Top Democrats in charge of keeping the Senate in Dem hands and maintaining the political health of the party — DSCC chair Patty Murray and messaging chief Chuck Schumer — have privately expressed frustration …

Clinton surpasses $75 million in speech income after lucrative 2010  —  Washington (CNN) - Former president Bill Clinton enjoyed his most lucrative year ever on the speaking circuit in 2010, capping a decade of paid speaking events that has earned him $75.6 million since leaving office in 2001 …

Guns in Arizona: Legislator's gun highlights debate  —  State Sen. Lori Klein did not intend to make a political statement when she carried a loaded weapon into the state Capitol two days after the mass shooting outside Tucson.  The raspberry-pink handgun was simply in her purse, alongside her lipstick and keys.

Obama vs. Obama  —  Not long ago, Obama warned that raising taxes in a struggling economy is “the last thing you want to do.”  —  In a 75-minute meeting Sunday night, President Obama once again demanded that more than $1 trillion in tax increases be part of any deficit reduction package attached to a vote on the debt ceiling.

The Glum and the Restless  —  Nearly one in five recent grads is out of work.  Could that hurt Obama's reelection bid?  —  Still waiting: A college job fair at Rutgers University.  —  Here's a fact that should give economists—and maybe President Obama's political team—heartburn …

The Great Fiction  —  Catherine Rampell, Bruce Bartlett, and Matt Yglesias are all pushing the chart below from a paper by Suzanne Mettler.  According to this gang, people who use, for example, the mortgage interest deduction or who have a 529 college savings program are willfully ignorant …

‘Eat our peas’: Pea growers react to Obama remark  —  Three types of spring peas, from left: English peas, sugar snap peas and snow peas.  (Susan Tusa/Detroit Free Press/MCT)  —  Message to President Obama: give peas a chance.  —  That's the reaction of the USA Dry Pea & Lentil Council …

BELTWAY CONFIDENTIAL  —  Paul Ryan accuser won't talk  —  Susan Feinberg, an associate professor of management and global business at Rutgers University, caused a stir in the left-wing blogosphere over the weekend with her account of witnessing House Budget Committee chairman Paul Ryan drinking …

McConnell: Casey Anthony verdict a warning  —  The Casey Anthony acquittal shows why U.S. civilian courts should not be trusted to handle terror-suspect cases, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell said.  —  “We just found with the Caylee Anthony case how difficult is to get a conviction in a U.S. court …