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 …

On Deficit, Americans Prefer Spending Cuts; Open to Tax Hikes  —  Twenty percent favor deficit reduction by cutting spending only  —  PRINCETON, NJ — Americans' preferences for deficit reduction clearly favor spending cuts to tax increases, but most Americans favor a mix of the two approaches.

One by one, bars get tapped out  —  Hundreds of bars, restaurants and stores across Minnesota are running out of beer and alcohol and others may soon run out of cigarettes — a subtle and largely unforeseen consequence of a state government shutdown.  —  In the days leading up to the shutdown …

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 …

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.

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”.

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 …

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.”

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 …

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.

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.

Police charge mother in Nashville airport altercation  —  Woman refused to let officers screen daughter  —  A 41-year-old Clarksville woman was arrested after Nashville airport authorities say she was belligerent and verbally abusive to security officers, refusing for her daughter to be patted down at a security checkpoint.

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.

Rick Perry's Confederate past  —  Rick Perry made national headlines in 2009 when, during a speech to a Tea Party group, he floated the possibility that Texas could secede from the union.  But the governor's substantive ties to the neo-Confederate movement may be deeper than previously known.

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.

So much for the obesity epidemic  —  Despite the obesity epidemic, North Carolina Democratic Sen. Kay Hagan, Wisconsin Democratic Rep. Tammy Baldwin, and Academy Award-winning actress Geena Davis are pushing legislation to encourage the media to produce healthier images of women.

Prosecute News Corp.  —  The U.S. government should go after Murdoch's media company for its corrupt practices and revoke its TV licenses if it's found guilty.  —  Bribery, illegal wiretapping, interference in a murder investigation, political blackmail, and rampant disregard for both the truth and basic decency.

Laughably bogus poll tries to ‘prove’ Obama is losing Jewish support  —  Republicans are touting yet another poll that purports to predict the end of the Jewish allegiance to the Democratic Party.  Citing a new poll by Republican John McLaughlin and Pat Caddell, the GOP's favorite “Democrat …

Amazon Plans iPad Rival  —  Amazon.com Inc. plans to introduce a tablet computer before October, said people familiar with the matter, in a move that will heighten the online retailer's rivalry with Apple Inc.  —  The Seattle-based company will also release two updated versions …