President Obama abruptly walks out of talks  —  President Barack Obama abruptly walked out of a stormy debt-limit meeting with congressional leaders Wednesday, a dramatic setback to the already shaky negotiations, according to GOP sources.  —  “He shoved back and said 'I'll see you tomorrow' and walked out …

Graham: GOP has no one ‘to blame but ourselves’  —  South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham conceded Wednesday that he and his fellow Republicans are now eating their own words as they try to convince the country they are working to stave off a federal default.  —  “Our problem is we made a big deal about this for three months.

Shutdown forces MillerCoors to pull beer from shelves  —  Miller Time in Minnesota is over — until lawmakers reach a budget deal.  —  The state's government shutdown, now in its 13th day, will soon force MillerCoors to pull its beer from Minnesota liquor stores, bars and restaurants.

Michele Bachmann's Church Says the Pope Is the Antichrist  —  The Iowa front-runner for the GOP nomination was a longstanding member of a strict Lutheran synod with controversial views of Catholicism  —  Michele Bachmann is practically synonymous with political controversy …

Maid's ‘Fiancé’ Speaks  —  A call with an Arizona inmate tarnished the case of Strauss-Kahn's accuser.  The man, who says he's the maid's fiancé, gives his side of the story to The Daily Beast.  —  One of the most important and controversial characters in the complicated …

Mitch McConnell: We Must Rewrite The Constitution Because ‘Elections’ Haven't ‘Worked’  —  Speaking on the Senate floor this morning, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) offered what may be the most concise summary of conservative constitutionalism ever spoken …

US more unpopular in the Arab world than under Bush  —  I've written numerous times over the last year about rapidly worsening perceptions of the U.S. in the Muslim world, including a Pew poll from April finding that Egyptians view the U.S. more unfavorably now than they did during the Bush presidency.

The Kenneth Gladney Charade Collapses  —  It took a St. Louis County jury less than 50 minutes to return a not guilty verdict in the assault trial featuring Kenneth Gladney and two union members who were charged with attacking him outside a two hall event during the tumultuous summer of 2009.

Austrian driver's religious headgear strains credulity  —  Having received his driving licence, Niko Alm now wants to get pastafarianism officially recognised  —  An Austrian atheist has won the right to be shown on his driving-licence photo wearing a pasta strainer as “religious headgear”.

Manning-Lamo Chat Logs Revealed  —  A little more than a year ago, Wired.com published excerpts from instant messenger chats between accused WikiLeaks source Bradley Manning and Adrian Lamo, the ex-hacker in whom he confided and who reported him to the authorities.

The Debt Debate's Real Doomsday Scenario  —  On Tuesday, in the late morning, I asked a banker to explain what will happen if the debt ceiling is not raised on August 2.  He was not just any banker; he was and is the authority on the U.S. bond market at one of the biggest banks in the world.

Religious right rushes to Bachmann's defense following ‘ex-gay’ reports  —  Several religious right groups — including those listed as anti-gay hate groups by the Southern Poverty Law Center — rushed to Michele Bachmann's defense following reports that she and her husband Marcus' Christian …

Debt ceiling: Moody's puts U.S. on notice  —  By: CNNMoney.com Senior Writer Jeanne Sahadi  —  NEW YORK (CNNMoney) - The public pressure on lawmakers to raise the debt ceiling was ratcheted up Wednesday when a major rating agency said it would put the sterling bond rating of the United States on review for possible downgrade.

Morning Bell: Obama Aims for the Money You Don't “Need”  —  Over the past several weeks, America has seen on grand display in Washington a singular mindset emanating from the White House: We must raise taxes so that we can keep on spending.  This week, though, America was treated to something different …

When there's no method to the madness  —  The New York Times' Ross Douthat argued this week that the congressional Republicans' debt-ceiling hostage strategy only seems crazy. … There's a fair amount to Douthat's pitch, but to summarize, GOP officials are really just shrewd negotiators, pushing for the best possible deal.

GOPer wants FBI probe of Rupert Murdoch  —  New York Republican Pete King is calling on the FBI to investigate whether Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation hacked into the voicemail accounts of Sept. 11 victims, calling the allegations of the scandal “disgraceful.”

S.F. weighs protecting ex-cons seeking homes, jobs  —  Ex-convicts may soon become a “protected class” in San Francisco - joining African Americans, Latinos, gays, transgender people, pregnant women and the disabled.  —  A proposal being circulated at City Hall would make it illegal …

Palin nemesis goes nude  —  GOP presidential hopeful Sarah Palin and her family are the subjects of a profile by George Gurley in the September issue of Playboy, according to sources.  Insiders say the story will run next to a four-page nude pictorial of Mercede Johnston, the sister of Bristol Palin's estranged baby daddy, Levi.