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Obama and Boehner Close to Major Deal, Officials Say — WASHINGTON —The Obama administration has informed Democratic Congressional leaders that President Obama and Speaker John A. Boehner were starting to close in on a major budget deal that would enact substantial spending cuts …
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Washington Post, Hot Air, Examiner RSS, Erick's blog, Swampland, msnbc.com, American Spectator, The Politico, The Lonely Conservative, The Note, The New Republic, National Review, The Hill, Clusterstock, Politics, Reuters, The Atlantic Online, Salon, Economist's View, CNN, The Huffington Post, Open Congress, TalkLeft, Poor Richard's News, The Page, AMERICAblog News, Washington Monthly, Political Punch, Daily Kos, Prairie Weather and Pirate's Cove
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Debt talks have senators angry about being left out — The White House faced a near rebellion from senators who were blindsided by word of a possible deal between President Barack Obama and House Speaker John Boehner, with Democrats worried the president would cave on taxes while Republicans complained …
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The Caucus, CNN, Sky Dancing, The Raw Story, msnbc.com, Connecting.the.Dots, Truthdig and The Note


Democrats Set Drop-Dead Date For Debt Ceiling Backup Plan — President Obama's quest to reach a historic budget agreement with House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) fell into deep doubt Thursday, after a noisy rebellion by Senate Democrats over reports that Obama might hand Republicans the farm …
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No More Mister Nice Blog and Eschaton

Latest debt deal under fire
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AMERICAblog News, emptywheel, The Page and JustOneMinute


Debt-limit talks: As Obama, Boehner rush to strike deal, Democrats are left fuming

Reid confronts Obama budget director on possible debt deal
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ThinkProgress, Pundit & Pundette, RealClearPolitics Video Log and Michelle Malkin

Barack Obama is gutting the core principles of the Democratic party
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Taylor Marsh and Newshoggers.com

Reid Presses Obama Not To Agree To Debt Plan With No Revenue
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The New Republic, Talking Points Memo, Firedoglake, Hullabaloo, Washington Monthly, Daily Kos and The Hill

Pentagon to Certify It is Ready to End 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' — Top defense officials plan to certify Friday that the Pentagon is ready to end the ban on gays serving openly in the military, officials said, a landmark moment after almost two decades of controversy.
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Military leaders to certify end of 'don't ask, don't tell' Friday
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Box Turtle Bulletin and Pam's House Blend

Military Reportedly Set on Repeal of 'Don't Ask'
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Truthdig


Pentagon ready for end of 'don't ask'
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Political Punch, The Note and Equality Matters

Military officials to certify that they're ready to repeal DADT
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Firedoglake and AMERICAblog Gay

CNN Poll: Perry near the top in GOP nomination race — Washington (CNN) - As Texas Gov. Rick Perry comes closer and closer to jumping into the race for the White House, he's also close to the top of a new national survey in the battle for the GOP presidential nomination.
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Fox News, GOP 12, The Politico, National Review, Taegan Goddard's … and Iowa Caucuses
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Pritzker turns heat lamps on striking Hyatt workers — It was already approaching 100° at 8 a.m. when I arrived at the Park Hyatt where, after 22 months of stalled negotiations, hotel workers were staging a one-day picket to protest the hotel chain's intolerable treatment of their housekeeping staff.
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Outside the Beltway, AMERICAblog News, Firedoglake and Daily Kos
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Workers: Heat Lamps Shined On Hyatt Hotel Picket Line
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nation.foxnews.com


Justice Department Prepares Subpoenas in News Corp. Inquiry — The U.S. Justice Department is preparing subpoenas as part of preliminary investigations into News Corp. relating to alleged foreign bribery and alleged hacking of voicemail of Sept. 11 victims, according to a government official.
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The Politico, Outside the Beltway, Guardian, Balloon Juice, The Wire, Gawker and msnbc.com, more at Mediagazer »

ABC Sports says Pawlenty violated copyright with ‘Miracle on Ice’ footage — ABC Sports may slap presidential candidate Tim Pawlenty with a cease-and-desist letter for improperly using its footage in a political advertisement, a company official told The Des Moines Register today.
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Outside the Beltway, Washington Post, Hot Air, Top of the Ticket, National Review, TPMDC, CNN, GOP 12 and NationalJournal.com
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Greece defaults — The latest Greek bailout is done — the official statement is here — and it involves Greece going into “selective default,” which is, yes, a kind of default. — I can't remember a major financial story which has been covered so inadequately by the financial press.
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FT Alphaville, Money & Company, Marginal Revolution, Free exchange and Reuters
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1937! 1937! 1937! — The Telegraph has a leaked draft …
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The Moderate Voice, Democracy in America, Marginal Revolution, FT Alphaville, Clusterstock and Telegraph

Euro in Crisis: Will the Latest Deal Restore Confidence?
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Financial Times, AMERICAN FUTURE, ThinkProgress, blogs.telegraph.co.uk and Pajamas Media

The Lesser Depression — These are interesting times — and I mean that in the worst way. Right now we're looking at not one but two looming crises, either of which could produce a global disaster. In the United States, right-wing fanatics in Congress may block a necessary rise in the debt ceiling …
Discussion:
Northern Reflections and Prairie Weather

Read My Lips: No New Taxes — THE Taxpayer Protection Pledge has received increased attention as the Aug. 2 deadline for raising the debt ceiling approaches. My organization, Americans for Tax Reform, created the pledge in 1986 as a simple, written commitment by a candidate or elected official …
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The Atlantic Online, The Politico, Lawyers, Guns & Money and National Review

Credit agencies warn GOP of ‘death spiral’ — House Republicans were warned Thursday in a closed door meeting with credit rating agency officials that a “death spiral” in the bond market was possible in the event of default. — One official warned that a default on the nation's credit …
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americanthinker.com, The Mahablog and CNN

Rove: Palin advisers push non-traditional campaign — Karl Rove, on whether Sarah Palin can wage a non-conventional campaign. … Rove then said she was ignoring the “niceties” at “her own peril”. — Again, I link to Scott Conroy's piece on Iowa today, where he notes that the old niceties might not mean as much in Iowa anymore.
Discussion:
Real Clear Politics and The Note


Emmett Tyrrell Bachmann and the Pope — WASHINGTON — It seems Rep. Michele Bachmann is under increased scrutiny for her religious views, even as she climbs ever higher in the presidential polls. With tea party support, she is now No. 2 in the Republican polls even though she has been in the race for only a short time.
Discussion:
The Reality-Based Community, Firedoglake and Riehl World View


G.O.P. Governors Swing Right, Leaving Voters Behind — If the states are laboratories of democracy, then the Republican Party's research pipeline has run dry. Moderate Republican governors, a thriving species before last year's elections, are all but extinct.