Murdoch Aides Long Tried to Blunt Scandal Over Hacking  —  LONDON — Two days before it emerged that The News of the World had hacked the cellphone of a murdered schoolgirl, igniting a scandal that has shaken Rupert Murdoch's media empire, his son James told friends that he thought the worst of the troubles were behind him.

News and Its Critics  —  A tabloid's excesses don't tarnish thousands of other journalists.  —  When News Corp. and CEO Rupert Murdoch secured enough shares to buy Dow Jones & Co. four years ago, these columns welcomed our new owner and promised to stand by the same standards and principles we always had.

Another Top Police Official Resigns in British Scandal  —  LONDON — Britain's phone hacking crisis claimed another high-profile casualty on Monday when John Yates, the deputy commissioner of London's Metropolitan Police resigned, a day after Britain's top police officer quit and Rebekah Brooks …

Obama officially threatens to veto GOP's ‘cut, cap and balance’ bill  —  The White House on Monday warned President Obama will veto GOP legislation to “cut, cap and balance” spending and the budget.  —  In a statement of administration policy, the White House Office of Management …

The Republican Retreat  —  In the negotiations over the debt ceiling, the Republican Party had everything mapped out except the endgame.  —  For months, Republican leaders used all the tools at their disposal — the anti-spending intensity of their base, the White House's desire for a deal …

Default could ‘sink the whole boat’  —  The warnings are apocalyptic.  “Armageddon,” President Barack Obama intones.  “Catastrophic,” Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner insists.  “Calamitous,” Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke admonishes.  —  But suppose — just suppose …