Another politician forced to resign after sending naked pictures to woman he had online relationship with  —  A politician who emailed a woman nude photos of himself that were posted on a GOP activist's website has resigned and said he will consider all legal options to have the pictures taken down.

After Debt Bill, Obama Takes Staffers Out for Burgers  —  Congressional leaders will get the pens President Barack Obama used to sign the debt ceiling bill, but White House staffers who logged long hours to secure the deal got lunch with the boss. … Mr. Obama treated a handful …

Revealed: Operation Shady RAT  —  For the last few years, especially since the public revelation of Operation Aurora, the targeted successful intrusion into Google and two dozen other companies, I have often been asked by our worldwide customers if they should worry about such sophisticated …

D.B. Cooper Mystery: Alleged Niece Comes Forward  —  A woman claiming to be the niece of infamous skyjacker D.B. Cooper has spoken to ABC News in an exclusive interview about her role in the recently re-ignited 40-year-old cold case that has haunted the FBI for years.

As the economy threatens collapse President Obama celebrates signing debt deal with lavish 50th birthday dinner (featuring Jennifer Hudson)  — President to host massive birthday dinner in Chicago this evening, featuring a star turn by singer Jennifer Hudson

Bachmann vs. Romney … - Walter Kirn: Catch-22 Isn't Joseph Heller's Best Book - Devastating Photos of the Famine in Somalia - Sex Selection Happens in the U.S., Too.  How Should Doctors Deal With Such Cases?  - When They Test Birth-Control Pills, Who Takes the Placebos?

Washington Chain Saw Massacre  —  Even before Emanuel Cleaver, the Democratic congressman from Missouri, called the debt deal “a sugar-coated Satan sandwich” and Nancy Pelosi tossed in a side of “Satan fries,” the whiff of sulfur was rising from the Capitol.

In debt deal, the triumph of the old Washington  —  To keep Democrats honest, the trigger would bring automatic cuts to some federal agency spending.  To keep Republicans honest, Democrats wanted to trigger automatic cuts to the Pentagon's budget.  —  By Sunday afternoon …

How John Boehner escaped disaster  —  In the midst of a rebellion from his own colleagues, John Boehner faced a big decision.  —  It was 10 p.m. last Thursday, the most stressful moment of his Speakership.  —  Boehner's debt-limit bill was short on votes, and the GOP leadership was forced …

Private sector added 114,000 jobs in July  —  (Reuters) - Private employers added more jobs than expected in July, though less than in June, but planned layoffs rose to a 16-month high, according to separate surveys on Wednesday.  —  The data comes ahead of the U.S. government's key jobs report on Friday …

A Debt Deal Dissenter Explains His Vote  —  Here's why Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Ok) voted against the deal to raise the debt limit: … Coburn was one of two Republicans to vote in favor of the deficit reduction package put forth by President Obama's fiscal commission, as well as the bipartisan Gang of Six …

Senate Democrats' frustration with media begins to show in FAA fight with House  —  After an acrimonious, months-long debate over raising the national debt limit, a battle many Democrats think the Republicans won, Senate Democratic leaders are becoming increasingly frustrated over how the media reports …

Where's Your Budget, Mr. President?  —  Ever since they fudged the numbers to pass ObamaCare, Democrats have abandoned credible spending plans.  —  During the negotiations over raising the debt ceiling, President Obama reportedly warned Republican leaders not to call his bluff by sending him a bill without tax increases.

McConnell: ‘The debt ceiling will not be clean anymore’  —  (GETTY IMAGES) The most honest man in Washington did some more truth-telling on CNBC last night.  Speaking to Larry Kudlow, Mitch McConnell made perfectly clear that the hostage situation we just went through wasn't a one-shot deal.

The Scariest 4 Economic Graphs I've Seen This Year  —  This is a remarkable sequence of pictures from Calculated Risk showing that no major economic indicator has returned to its pre-crisis level.  In other words, after two years of recovery, not a single key broad measure of the economy has actually recovered.

Big ‘response’ for Rick Perry?  —  Washington (CNN) - It's likely not the response Rick Perry was expecting.  —  Earlier this year, the Texas Governor called on Christians across the U.S. to come to Houston for a prayer event aimed at bringing God's help to a “nation in crisis.”

Romney Advisor Robert Bork: Civil Rights Act Is ‘Unsurpassed Ugliness,’ But Contraception And Porn Bans Are Fine  —  Yesterday, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (R) announced his presidential campaign's “Justice Advisory Committee,” along with its co-chair Robert Bork.

Just Watch This of the Day: Why the Internet Exists, Reason #143,106: “Mariachi Connecticut performing for a beluga whale at Mystic Marinelife Aquarium.”  —  [thanks tracey!]

Gingrich denies fake follower allegation  —  Gingrich spokesman R.C. Hammond emails:  —  At no time has the campaign or Gingrich Communications employed an outside group to inflate the number of followers of @newtgingrich.  Any accusation of the kind is a lie, a smear and unsubstantiated.

Tense moments at Common Purpose meet  —  Tensions between the White House and its liberal allies came to a head last night at the weekly “Common Purpose” meeting, where progressive leaders and National Economic Council director Gene Sperling had a tense exchange about the debt deal, two Democratic sources said.

Moving forward after the debt deal  —  At last Washington has reached a deal that raises the debt limit and averts a default that would have been a national embarrassment and an economic and geopolitical catastrophe.  The forces shaping the deal are multifaceted and so are reactions.

Flying blind  —  ON DECEMBER 16th, 2008, President-Elect Barack Obama met in Chicago with key members of his economic team to discuss their response to the deteriorating economic situation.  Just two weeks earlier, the Bureau of Labour Statistics reported that 533,000 jobs had been lost in November …

Odds of Renewed U.S. Recession Seen Rising by Majority of Economic Panel  —  The two-year-old U.S. recovery's staying power may be diminishing as consumers and the government pare spending, say five of the nine economists on the academic panel that dates recessions.