Carney makes an accusation  —  Jay Carney took on Fox News's Ed Henry.  —  John Shinkle/POLITICO  —  The day after White House press secretary Jay Carney and Fox News reporter Ed Henry tangled over Henry's request for specifics on Obama's plan on debt limit and deficit reduction, Carney and Henry were back at it again on Wednesday.

Debbie Wasserman Schultz says GOP seeks ‘dictatorship ... spark panic’  —  'This is not leadership.  This is almost like dictatorship, said Debbie Wasserman Schultz.  AP Photo  —  Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.), chair of the Democratic National Committee, said Wednesday …

Last-Ditch 14th Amendment Plan Gains Momentum As Debt Clock Ticks  —  ABC News' Amy Bingham reports:  —  As fears intensify that Congress will not pass a debt limit increase in time to avoid default, some Democrats are pulling out their pocket Constitutions to find a back-up plan.

Herman Cain Apologizes To Muslims  —  Herman Cain had his much-ballyhooed meeting with Muslims Wednesday, and he emerged, he said in a campaign statement “humble and contrite for any statements I have made that might have caused offense to Muslim Americans and their friends.”

Franken's SNL moment on the Senate floor  —  For a moment Wednesday, Al Franken looked like he was back on the set of Saturday Night Live and not on the floor of the U.S. Senate.  In a speech explaining that there would be no money to pay for military and security personnel if Congress …

McKinney Planned Parenthood building damaged by arsonist  —  MCKINNEY — McKinney police are investigating a case of arson at the Planned Parenthood clinic.  —  Police said they responded after the fire department got a call of a fire at the clinic on West Eldorado Parkway near U.S. 75.

Palin to Keynote Tea Party Rally in Iowa  —  In the latest indication that her sights are still set on a presidential run, former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has accepted an invitation to keynote a Tea Party rally in Waukee, Iowa, on Sept. 3, RealClearPolitics has learned.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg greets Muslim leaders with ‘Shalom Alaikum’ at Ramadan meeting  —  Mayor Bloomberg practiced his version of verbal jujitsu Wednesday, mangling a greeting to Muslim leaders at a Ramadan gathering with “shalom alaikum.”  —  Hizzoner was shooting for “salaam alaikum” …

Jackson Lee at Radical Islam Hearing: Let's ‘Have a Hearing on Right-Wing Extremists, Ideologues’  —  (CNSNews.com) - At a hearing of the House Committee on Homeland Security today about the radicalization of young Somali American Muslims by the al-Shabaab terrorist group, Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee …

Healthcare spending to reach new heights  —  Healthcare spending will account for almost a fifth of the nation's economy by 2020 with government making up almost half of it, Medicare's actuaries project in a new report published by the journal Health Affairs.

WH to Darrell Issa: no impropriety in President Obama's fundraising  —  Issa wrote to White House Counsel Kathy Ruemmler earlier this month, demanding documents and e-mails about a March meeting Obama held with Wall Street donors in the Blue Room and a video Obama taped in the Map Room for a fundraising raffle run by his campaign.

Dem.  Lawmaker: 'We Don't Have a Deficit Problem Right Now'  —  The way to get out of “unemployment crisis is to spend money,” Rep. Nadler says.  —  (CNSNews.com) - Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) argued at a news conference with the Congressional Out of Poverty Caucus that the United States does not currently have a budget crisis.

50 Most Beautiful People for 2011  —  It's no accident that Amy Cheng exhibits model-like poise in front of a camera.  Growing up, her family would spend time outside their Chinese restaurant taking photos of one another in a park, and later on, Cheng would pose for her younger sister …