DEBT DEAL DOESN'T RESCUE OBAMA FROM FLORIDA CRASH, QUINNIPIAC UNIVERSITY POLL FINDS; ROMNEY CLOSES GAP IN 2012 PRESIDENTIAL RACE  —  The national debt ceiling deal does not rescue President Barack Obama's crashing job approval rating in Florida as he gets a negative 44 …

Inside the Huntsman ‘drama’  —  A blistering internal feud in the Jon Huntsman presidential campaign is erupting into public view, with dueling camps trading charges and an exodus of campaign officials.  —  And now, a longtime family friend tells POLITICO that Huntsman's wife and father fret …

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.

Obama's big drags  —  The politics of the debt fight were a drag for President Barack Obama, yanking his popularity to new lows.  Here's an even bigger drag: Obama emerges from the months-long fracas weaker - and facing much deeper and more durable political obstacles - than his own advisers ever imagined.

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 …

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 …

Happy birthday?  —  How much don't we know about Barack Obama as he nears the end of his third year of White House occupation?  —  Well, he claims today is his 50th birthday.  —  Yet, incredibly, it is still only an unsubstantiated claim - and, perhaps, more suspect than ever.

Firm gives $1 million to pro-Romney group, then dissolves  —  Records offer no clues who was behind mystery company that donated to ‘super PAC’  —  Below:  —  updated 2011-08-04T10:01:38  —  A mystery company that pumped $1 million into a political committee backing Mitt Romney …

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 …

Obama's new fundraising speech: 2008 was really bad, so I need a second term  —  After a rough month of enforced presidenting from within the White House, President Obama fled Washington and governing Wednesday, back to Chicago allegedly to celebrate his birthday with home folks.

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.

Even Marked Up, Luxury Goods Fly Off Shelves  —  Nordstrom has a waiting list for a Chanel sequined tweed coat with a $9,010 price.  Neiman Marcus has sold out in almost every size of Christian Louboutin “Bianca” platform pumps, at $775 a pair.  Mercedes-Benz said it sold more cars last month …

Citing new research, psychology group supports gay marriage  —  WASHINGTON - The world's largest organization of psychologists took its strongest stand to date supporting full marriage equity, a move that observers say will have a far-reaching impact on the national debate.

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.

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.

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 …

Do presidents age faster in office?  —  (CNN) — President Barack Obama has had the weight of the free world on his shoulders for the 2½ years, and he might be starting to look like it.  —  At 50, which he turns Thursday, his hair is a little grayer, and his face and neck are a little more creased …

Italy ‘to default’ but Spain may ‘just’ escape  —  On Wednesday Silvio Berlusconi told parliament that Italy's economy was “solid”  —  Debt-laden Italy is likely to default, but Spain might just avoid it, according to the British think tank, the Centre for Economics and Business Research.

Documents: Feds allegedly allowed Sinaloa cartel to move cocaine into U.S. for information  —  U.S. federal agents allegedly allowed the Sinaloa drug cartel to traffic several tons of cocaine into the United States in exchange for information about rival cartels, according to court documents filed in a U.S. federal court.

New Jockeying in Congress for Next Phase in Budget Fight  —  WASHINGTON — Republicans and Democrats maneuvered for advantage on Wednesday in the next battle over federal spending, trying to influence the choice of members and frame the agenda for a powerful “supercommittee” …

Deal could endanger health care law  —  The debt ceiling agreement could jeopardize millions of dollars, and perhaps billions, in initiatives from President Barack Obama's health care reform law if the super committee can't come up with required spending cuts.

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.

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.

Austerity Top Priority As Economy Sputters, Americans Suffer … WASHINGTON — This week's big debt deal has left progressives despairing over a disconnect between Washington and the rest of the country that they say has possibly never been wider.  —  Their concern arises from the fact …