Obama Should Raise the Debt Ceiling on His Own  —  PRESIDENT OBAMA should announce that he will raise the debt ceiling unilaterally if he cannot reach a deal with Congress.  Constitutionally, he would be on solid ground.  Politically, he can't lose.  The public wants a deal.

Pelosi Outlines Revenue-Free Path Forward On Debt Limit Fight  —  House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi acknowledged Friday that Democrats may reluctantly accept a last-minute compromise to avoid a default that involves up to $2.5 trillion in spending cuts — without agreed-upon new tax revenues …

Debt talks between Barack Obama and John Boehner break down  —  Debt talks between President Barack Obama and Speaker John Boehner broke down again Friday with Republicans accusing the White House of upping its demands for new revenues after a rival deficit reduction plan had emerged in the Senate.

Debt Ceiling Deadline Might Be August 10, Not August 2: Report … For months, markets have been girding themselves against the possibility that the U.S. will reach the limits of its borrowing ability on August 2 and default on its debts.  But researchers at Barclays Capital think the real deadline may not be until a week later.

Obama: Can They Say Yes to Anything?  —  After John Boehner breaks off debt-limit talks with the White House, the president laments the death of a potential compromise  —  President Obama ordered Democratic and Senate leaders to the White House for negotiations on Saturday …

11 days until disaster, three options to prevent it  —  (Andrew Harrer - BLOOMBERG) It always feels different in the room.  In the room, everyone wants a deal.  They want their name on legislation, in history books.  They want to do the big things and make the hard choices.

John Boehner walks away from debt talks  —  House Speaker John Boehner has walked away from negotiations with President Obama over a deal to raise the debt limit.  —  “In the end, we couldn't connect.  Not because of different personalities, but because of different visions for our country,” Boehner said in a letter to colleagues.

Death Toll Rises to 91 in Norway Attacks  —  OSLO — The Norwegian police on Saturday charged a 32-year-old man, whom they identified as a Christian fundamentalist with right-wing connections, over the bombing of a government center here and a shooting attack on a nearby island that together left at least 91 people dead.

‘Eighty dead’ in Norway shooting  —  Anders Frydenberg of Oslo police describes the rescue operation on Utoeya island  —  At least 80 people died when a gunman opened fire at an island youth camp in Norway, hours after a bomb attack on the capital, Oslo, police say.

Wu at center of sex allegation  —  Rep. David Wu has been accused of an “unwanted sexual encounter” with the teenage daughter of a longtime friend, the latest scandal to engulf the troubled Oregon Democrat.  —  The Oregonian reported that the 56-year-old Wu “acknowledged a sexual encounter …