UNION MEMBERS OUTRAGED After White House Hires Non-Union Crew For Obama's Birthday Bash  —  Somebody's Having a Birthday Party and You're Not Invited  —  That is, if you belong to a union.  —  In case you live under a rock and haven't heard, Barack Obama turns 50 today.  And, the place to be tonight is the Aragon.

Poll: Thumbs down on the debt-ceiling deal  —  WASHINGTON — The hard-won, last-minute agreement to raise the debt ceiling and cut the deficit gets low ratings from Americans, who by more than 2-1 predict it will make the nation's fragile economy worse rather than better.

Tim Pawlenty to pull ads ahead of Ames Straw Poll  —  Tim Pawlenty will be pulling his radio and television ads off the air in the 72 hours before next Saturday's straw poll in Ames.  —  The former Minnesota governor's presidential campaign says it's not short on cash …

US borrowing tops 100% of GDP: Treasury  —  US debt shot up $238 billion to reach 100 percent of gross domestic project after the government's debt ceiling was lifted, Treasury figures showed Wednesday.  —  Treasury borrowing jumped Tuesday, the data showed, immediately after President Barack Obama signed …

GOP ponders Perry: Savior or flop?  —  To a sizable slice of the Republican base, Rick Perry looks like the conservative, charismatic presidential candidate they have been waiting for in the 2012 campaign.  —  To many GOP elites, however, the Texan looks more like a general election flop in the making.

69% Say It's Likely Scientists Have Falsified Global Warming Research  —  The debate over global warming has intensified in recent weeks after a new NASA study was interpreted by skeptics to reveal that global warming is not man-made.  While a majority of Americans nationwide continue …

Pressured by White House, Treasury Secretary Is Expected to Stay at Post  —  WASHINGTON — Timothy F. Geithner, the Treasury secretary and dean of President Obama's economic team, is expected to stay through the president's term after intense White House pressure, according to officials familiar with the discussions.

Al Gore: We need an American ‘Arab spring’  —  Ever since CNBC's Rick Santelli inspired the Tea Party movement's creation in early 2009, the left has been looking for a similar spark on their own side.  The earliest liberal alternative, the so-called Coffee Party, was a flop.

MSNBC Host, Guest Consider Whether Tea Partiers Are Addicts, ‘Delusional’  —  MSNBC host Martin Bashir interviewed Stanton Peele, a psychologist and an “expert on addiction,” this afternoon.  Bashir urged Peele to psychologically evaluate supporters of the Tea Party.

Taxpayers Will Pay for Obama Bus Tour of Battleground States, Says White House  —  (CNSNews.com) - President Barack Obama's upcoming bus tour through the Midwest states typically viewed as swing states during presidential election years will be paid for by the taxpayers, the White House says.

Rivals in G.O.P. Struggle to Woo Bush's Donors  —  The calls come at least once a week these days, with growing urgency: friends of the Republican presidential candidates, aides to the candidates, and often the candidates themselves, wondering if Al Hoffman Jr. might be ready to lend a hand.

Judge allows American to sue Rumsfeld over torture … WASHINGTON (AP) — A judge is allowing an Army veteran who says he was imprisoned unjustly and tortured by the U.S. military in Iraq to sue former Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld personally for damages.

Media Matters Puts Tax-Exempt Status in Jeopardy  —  David Brock, chairman and chief executive of Media Matters for America, told a news website earlier this year that his nonprofit is now moving to “sabotage” FOX News because it says the network is now the “de facto head of the GOP,” among other things.

Airlines to Reap $1.3 Billion Fare ‘Windfall’ Amid FAA Limbo  —  U.S. airlines led by United Continental Holdings Inc. (UAL) may pocket $1.3 billion in higher fares tied to the Federal Aviation Administration's partial shutdown as Congress deadlocks on the agency's funding.

Going nowhere: Economy struggles to find footing  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — Shoppers won't shop.  Companies won't hire.  The government won't spend on economic stimulus - it's cutting instead.  And the Federal Reserve is reluctant to do anything more.  —  Without much to invigorate growth …

Obama: “We're Not Even Halfway There Yet”  —  “It's been a long, tough journey.  But we have made some incredible strides together.  Yes, we have.  But the thing that we all ought to remember is that as much as good as we have done, precisely because the challenges were so daunting …

Top Pawlenty adviser leaves campaign  —  Tampa, Florida (CNN) - A top policy adviser to former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty's has left the Republican's presidential campaign.  —  Al Hubbard, a former director of the National Economic Council under George W. Bush, had been the chairman of Pawlenty's …

Bloomberg to Use Own Funds in Plan to Aid Minority Youth  —  The administration of Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, in a blunt acknowledgment that thousands of young black and Latino men are cut off from New York's civic, educational and economic life, plans to spend nearly $130 million …

Tired of the Crazies  —  Looks like Chris Christie is sick of the nutters, too:  —  Maybe it is just me, but why don't more Democrats talk like that- forceful, in your face, etc.  I know a lot of you think Christie is a dick, and I think a lot of the time you are right, but performances like this just resonate with people.

Eric Cantor: Obama ‘in over his head’  —  President Barack Obama is “in over his head” when it comes to tackling the country's economic troubles, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor said Wednesday.  —  The president has not run a business or created jobs and has proven himself ill-suited …

Inside the Huntsman ‘drama’  —  'Goodness will overcome the temporary difficulties and early turf-protecting," wrote the candidate.

Exclusive: Randi Zuckerberg Leaves Facebook to Start New Social Media Firm (Resignation Letter)  —  Randi Zuckerberg, who is director of marketing at Facebook and also the sister of CEO and Co-founder Mark Zuckerberg — is leaving Facebook after six years to start a new media firm to help companies become more social.