Stress-related condition ‘incapacitates’ Bachmann; heavy pill use alleged  —  In late July 2010, Rep. Michele Bachmann's then-communications director, Dave Dziok, told his boss that he planned to take a new job with the public relations firm Edelman.  —  Dziok had worked for Bachmann …

GOP has no backup plan after vote  —  There's a narrative gaining traction in Washington as a debt crisis looms: House Republican hard-liners might soften their stance once they've gotten a vote on their Cut, Cap and Balance proposal.  —  But if that's the case, the conservatives aren't in on the plan.

The Road Not Taken  —  Over the past months, Republicans enjoyed enormous advantages.  Opinion polls showed that voters are eager to reduce the federal debt, and they want to do it mostly but not entirely through spending cuts.  —  There was a Democratic president eager to move to the center.

Bachmann Nation: For Republicans and Tea Partyers, there is no imminent crisis  —  A new Pew poll finds that a majority of Republicans voters, and an even larger majority of Tea Party supporters, simply don't think failing to raise the debt ceiling will lead to a crisis:

Phone-hacking: Murdochs and Rebekah Brooks face MPs - live  —  • Rupert says ‘This is the most humble day of my life’  —  • Rupert ‘shocked, appalled and shamed’ at Dowler revelations  —  • NI ‘relied’ on PCC findings of 2009 into allegations

Exclusive Bill Clinton Interview: I Would Use Constitutional Option To Raise Debt Ceiling And “Force The Courts To Stop Me”  —  Former President Bill Clinton says that he would invoke the so-called constitutional option to raise the nation's debt ceiling “without hesitation …

FAMiLY LEADER's Bob Vander Plaats Erupts In Laughter At Faggot Joke: 'That's Pretty Good'  —  The FAMiLY LEADER's 14-point marriage fidelity pledge has divided the GOP's 2012 presidential field and raised concerns among GOP operatives that the group and its president — three …

Wynn CEO Goes On Epic Anti-Obama Rant On Company Conference Call  —  Who doesn't love a good rant?  —  We certainly do, and as usual, Steve Wynn, the CEO of casino company Wynn Resorts, delivered on his company's quarterly conference call today.  —  Via Seeking Alpha, here's the crux of it:

Justice Department lawyers contradict FBI findings in anthrax case  —  WASHINGTON — The Justice Department has called into question a key pillar of the FBI's case against Bruce Ivins, the Army scientist accused of mailing the anthrax-laced letters that killed five people and terrorized Congress a decade ago.

In a ‘quiet moment,’ gay judge makes history  —  The remarkable thing about what happened on the Senate floor Monday night was that it was utterly unremarkable.  —  The matter under consideration - the nomination of the first openly gay man to serve on the federal bench - would at one time have been a flashpoint in the culture wars.

Borders Forced to Liquidate, Close All Stores  —  Above, the exterior of a closed store in San Rafael, Calif.  —  Borders Group Inc. said it would liquidate after the second-largest U.S. bookstore chain failed to receive any offers to save it.  —  Borders, which employs about 10,700 people …

What if the President Told a Joke and Nobody Laughed?  —  Not possible, you say—not for the funniest person alive.  But it's true.  President Obama was on the White House lawn today, introducing former Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordary as the new head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Conservative groups threaten GOP lawmakers who vote for McConnell's last-ditch plan - @OMBPress - Panetta's spokespair: George Little and Capt. John Kirby - NYC moguls entreat Christie to run  —  FIRST LOOK — Jason Furman, deputy director of the White House's National Economic Council, on …

Climate change sceptics should get less BBC coverage and be challenged ‘more vigorously’, says report on science output  —  Opponents of global warming should be given less coverage by the BBC than the climate change lobby, the corporation will rule.  —  The BBC is set to publish a report tomorrow …

Uncle Sam, sugar daddy  —  Forget all the numbers being tossed around in Washington — the millions and billions and trillions of dollars being taxed, borrowed, printed and spent as the country approaches the Aug. 2 debt-ceiling deadline.  —  Forget the political jockeying for position between …

Murdoch and Son Testify at Hearing on Hacking  —  LONDON — Rupert Murdoch and his son James appeared Tuesday before British lawmakers probing the phone hacking scandal that has seized public life, raising questions about the police, politicians and the media elite in the worst crisis to confront Prime Minister David Cameron.

Mich. voters prefer Romney in matchup with Obama, poll finds  —  WASHINGTON — Republican Mitt Romney still holds a slight lead among voters over President Barack Obama in a head-to-head matchup in Michigan, a new poll showed Monday.  —  The poll of 600 likely voters by Lansing-based EPIC …

Software Designer Reports Error in Anthony Trial  —  MIAMI — Assertions by the prosecution that Casey Anthony conducted extensive computer searches on the word “chloroform” were based on inaccurate data, a software designer who testified at the trial said Monday.

US drones target white jihadis  —  ISLAMABAD - The July 5 killing of yet another white jihadi commander in an American drone strike in the North Waziristan tribal agency of Pakistan - an Australian national this time - has given credence to earlier reports by Western intelligence agencies …

Hacked DOT Road Sign Reads “Impeach Obama”  —  UNION COUNTY, N.C. (WGHP)— An electronic DOT road sign was apparently hacked when a displayed message read “Impeach Obama.”  —  DOT officials told WSOC they had not heard of the display when first contacted on Sunday night, but sent an engineer to correct the sign afterward.