Poll: 71% shun GOP handling of debt crisis  —  CBS News Poll analysis by the CBS News Polling Unit: Sarah Dutton, Jennifer De Pinto, Fred Backus and Anthony Salvanto.  —  Americans are unimpressed with their political leaders' handling of the debt ceiling crisis, with a new CBS News poll showing …

NoW phone-hacking whistleblower found dead  —  Death of Sean Hoare - who was first named journalist to allege Andy Coulson knew of hacking - not being treated as suspicious  —  Sean Hoare, the former News of the World showbusiness reporter who was the first named journalist to allege …

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.

Elizabeth Warren to ‘think’ about Senate run against GOP's Scott Brown  —  Elizabeth Warren, the Harvard law professor tapped by President Obama to set up the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), said Monday she would think about running for Sen. Scott Brown's (R-Mass.) seat in 2012.

NIH-Backed Study Examined Effects of Penis Size in Gay Community  —  The federal government helped fund a study that examined what effect a gay man's penis size has on his sex life and general well-being.  —  The study was among several backed by the National Institutes of Health …

New O'Keefe investigation uncovers Medicaid fraud [VIDEO]  —  Conservative filmmaker James O'Keefe released the first installment in a new video investigation Monday morning, this one focused on Medicaid fraud.  The first video in the series shows government employees in Ohio assisting two men …

Rep. Louie Gohmert Wonders If Obama Chose Debt Ceiling Deadline To Coincide With His Birthday Party  —  While a startling number of House Republicans refuse to accept experts' dires warnings about the possibility of default come Aug. 2 if Congress doesn't raise the debt ceiling …

The Slow, Painful Coming Death Of The Independent, Conservative Blogosphere  —  Way, way back in 2001, when I got started in the blogosphere, the Right side of the blogosphere was bigger and more influential than the Left.  Why?  Well, in American politics, the energy tends to be with the party that's out of power.

Letting Bankers Walk  —  Ever since the current economic crisis began, it has seemed that five words sum up the central principle of United States financial policy: go easy on the bankers.  —  This principle was on display during the final months of the Bush administration …

Police examine bag found in bin near Rebekah Brooks's home  —  Former NI chief executive's husband denies bag - containing computer, paperwork and phone - belonged to his wife  —  Detectives are examining a computer, paperwork and a phone found in a bin near the riverside London home of Rebekah Brooks …

Video of a brutal Taliban execution of Pakistani policemen emerges  —  Warning, the video below is extremely graphic in nature.  If you choose to watch this video, you will see the Taliban brutally execute more than a dozen bound Pakistani policemen.  The Taliban then proceed to pump rounds into those who survived the initial firing.

Roemer to launch W.H. bid Thursday  —  It's official: Buddy Roemer will formally announce his presidential campaign Thursday from New Hampshire.  —  While the former Louisiana governor's campaign has not set a location for the announcement, he's scheduled to speak at Dartmouth College …

White House: Budget cuts to president's office hurt debt efforts  —  Proposed House cuts to the Executive Office of the President's (EOP) budget will hurt administration efforts to cut the deficit, the White House argues.  —  The Obama administration made the argument in comments on H.R. 2434 …

EMPTY WALLETS  —  In the midst of the debt crisis in Washington, D.C., Danny Hartzell backed a Budget rental truck up to a no-frills apartment building that is on a strip of motels and pawnshops in Tampa, Florida.  He had been laid off by a packaging plant during the financial crisis of 2008 …

Gay conservative group reaches out to Bachmann  —  As gay-issue advocacy groups increase pressure on Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann over her views about homosexuality, the gay conservative group GOProud is requesting a meeting with the Republican presidential candidate to possibly lend a hand.

Romney Backtracks: 'I Don't Think Carbon Is A Pollutant'  —  ThinkProgress filed this report from Derry, NH.  —  It's getting close to impossible to track Mitt Romney's vacillating position on global warming.  Appearing in Derry, NH, the Republican presidential candidate reversed …

How Much Longer Can Obama Defy Political Gravity?  —  ANALYSIS By AMY WALTER (@amyewalter): Although President Obama's job approval rating of 48 percent (according to Pollster.com average) isn't exactly stellar, it is remarkably high given the level of economic pessimism and despair among American electorate.

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Cain: I would attack Iran to protect Israel  —  GOP presidential hopeful met Monday with Israeli ambassador  —  Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain speaks with reporters and editors during an interview Monday at The Washington Times' office building in D.C. (Rod Lamkey Jr./The Washington Times)

The Limits of Left Neo-Liberalism  —  Doug Henwood has a go at Matthew Yglesias. … This is wrong in the particulars - as a correspondent has pointed out to me, Yglesias has repeatedly called for employment-boosting infrastructure projects and the like.  But - getting away from the polemics …