GOP Senator: Maybe We Shouldn't Have Tied Debt Vote To Deficit Deal (VIDEO) … WASHINGTON — Some Republicans are starting to have buyer's remorse over their party's insistence that a vote to raise the debt limit be tied to a long-term deficit reduction package.

Phone hacking: News International chief Brooks quits  —  Media analyst Steve Hewlett: ‘News International appears to be on the run’  —  Rebekah Brooks, chief executive of News International, has resigned, the company has confirmed.  —  Her departure follows days of increasing pressure to step down as the phone hacking crisis grew.

S&P warns that chance of downgrading U.S. credit rating is 50 percent  —  Standard & Poor's said late Thursday that it could downgrade the U.S. credit rating as soon as this month, and there is a 50 percent chance it will do so within three months, if Washington fails to come to an agreement over the nation's debt.

Go Ahead, GOP, Make Obama's Day  —  So how can the GOP get something it wants out of the sodden mess of our debt negotiations?  Here's my answer: pass a short-term debt-ceiling increase.  It seems pretty clear to me that there's no time or common ground for a grand bargain before August 2nd, so pass a short-term increase.

Palin political committee spent tens of thousands on bus trip  —  Sarah Palin's political action committee spent tens of thousands of dollars covering the costs of the former Alaska governor's “One Nation” East Coast bus tour this spring — a trip that Palin (R) has repeatedly characterized as a “family vacation.”

Getting to Crazy  —  There aren't many positive aspects to the looming possibility of a U.S. debt default.  But there has been, I have to admit, an element of comic relief — of the black-humor variety — in the spectacle of so many people who have been in denial suddenly waking up and smelling the crazy.

Bin Laden Plotted to Attack U.S. on 9/11 Anniversary  —  Osama bin Laden was working to assemble a team of militants to attack the U.S. on the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11 hijackings, according to communications that Navy SEALs seized from his Pakistani hideout when they killed the al Qaeda leader this spring.

“Republican Candidate” Extends Lead vs. Obama to 47% to 39%  —  Margin marks first statistically significant lead among registered voters  —  PRINCETON, NJ — Registered voters by a significant margin now say they are more likely to vote for the “Republican Party's candidate for president” …

Eric Bolling: 'I'll Never Forget 9/11, But Thank You, Liberals, For Reminding Me How Petty You Can Be'  —  In an emotional statement on Fox's The Five Thursday, Eric Bolling shot back at the “radical liberal left” that “pounced” on him after he said on the program Wednesday that “America was certainly safe between 2000 and 2008.

Sarah Palin Movie Debuts to Empty Theater in Orange County  —  “Why aren't you seeing Harry Potter?” an usher said to the reporter sitting alone in the audience  —  When the clock struck 12:01 am today, AMC theaters in select cities were permitted to start showing “The Undefeated,” a feature length documentary about Sarah Palin.

The Obama Downgrade  —  The real reason the U.S. could lose its AAA rating.  —  So the credit-rating agencies that helped to create the financial crisis that led to a deep recession are now warning that the U.S. could lose the AAA rating it has had since 1917.

Planned Monument for Mecca Goers Leaves Eilat Residents Shocked  —  Follow Israel news on and .  —  The residents of the southern Israeli city of Eilat are shocked at a plan by the municipality to establish a monument in the heart of the city's downtown to commemorate Arab pilgrims to Mecca.

Pawlenty Ends Quarter With $1.4 Million  —  Tim Pawlenty ended June with $1.4 million to spend on his bid for the Republican presidential nomination as his campaign dumps money into Iowa ahead of a crucial August straw poll.  —  The former Minnesota governor raised $4.5 million during …

Documents Show Obama White House Attacked, Excluded Fox News Channel  —  White House Emails Detail anti Fox Bias inside Obama White House: “I'm putting some dead fish in the fox cubby — just cause” “[FNC Anchor] Bret Baier...is a lunatic”  —  Judicial Watch, the public interest group …

The new normal: Once trailing, Oregon a leader in economic recovery  —  By Jack Roberts  —  The report last week of anemic job growth for the past two months — just 18,000 new jobs in June and a downward revision of May's new jobs number to just 25,000, less than half the initial estimate …

Democrats Dominate Republicans In Annual Congressional Baseball Game  —  ABC News' Amy Bingham reports:  —  Republicans may rule in House of Representatives, but Democrats reigned supreme on the baseball field Thursday night.  —  The liberals brought home the trophy in an 8-2 win …

Source: Bachmann raised $4 million in second quarter  —  A source close to GOP presidential aspirant Rep. Michele Bachmann has told CBS News that Bachmann will report a little less than $4 million raised for her campaign in the second quarter.  Bachmann, who kicked off her campaign in Waterloo …

Cain Rewrites History: I Said I Would Not Be Comfortable With ‘A Terrorist In My Cabinet’  —  ThinkProgress filed this report from Urbandale, Iowa.  —  The defining moment of former pizza executive Herman Cain's upstart presidential bid came in March when he told ThinkProgress …

Debt Ceiling: What's the End Game For Republicans?  —  Jonathan Podhoretz reads a Quinnipiac poll showing that by a margin of 48-34, the public is going to blame Republicans and not Obama if we don't raise the debt ceiling, and joins the ranks of the Washington sellouts:

Indiana $1.2 Billion In Black, Auditor Says  —  State's Financial Picture Better Than Projected  —  INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana leaders patted themselves on the back on Thursday because of a bigger than expected amount of money in the state's checking account.