Govt official: US expecting S&P downgrade  —  A government official tells ABC News that the federal government is expecting and preparing for bond rating agency Standard & Poor's to downgrade the rating of US debt from its current AAA value.  —  Officials reasons given will be the political …

Obama's Hip-Hop BBQ Didn't Create Jobs  —  POLITICO EXCLUSIVE — The President's private 50th birthday bash, not listed on his public schedule: His gift to the press corps was a travel/photo lid shortly after 4 p.m., prompting what pooler Julie Mason called “general cheering in WH workspace.”

Rick Perry's College Transcript: A Lot Of Cs and Ds … WASHINGTON — As governor of Texas, Rick Perry has pursued a controversial agenda that would gut Texas' vaunted public university system in favor of something that more closely resembles a business.  —  As the Washington Post reported on Thursday …

Click on the video link to see raw video of police and sheriff's deputies investigating the scene.  —  Did you witness the attacks outside State Fair, or were you attacked?  Were you hurt?  E-mail us your story!  —  WEST ALLIS - Witnesses tell Newsradio 620 WTMJ and TODAY'S TMJ4 of a mob …

The Incredible Shrinking Tea Party  —  If there's one thing the debt ceiling battle revealed, it's that the Tea Party continues to enjoy outsized influence in Washington in general and over the GOP in particular.  —  So it's interesting to note that according to the internals of today's New York Times poll …

The Wrong Worries  —  In case you had any doubts, Thursday's more than 500-point plunge in the Dow Jones industrial average and the drop in interest rates to near-record lows confirmed it: The economy isn't recovering, and Washington has been worrying about the wrong things.

John Kerry: Media Has “Responsibility” To “Not Give Equal Time” To Tea Party  —  Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) told MSNBC's “Morning Joe” on Friday that the media has the responsibility to not give equal time or credence to the Tea Party's views: SEN. JOHN KERRY: “And I have to tell you, I say this to you politely.

Why Democrats are very nervous about Wisconsin  —  Publicly, Democrats are projecting great confidence about the likelihood of taking back the Wisconsin state senate in the upcoming recall elections.  They claim their private polling shows them ahead or tied in all six races targeting GOPers for recall …

‘Rent is Too Damn High’ candidate facing eviction from rent-controlled apartment  —  The man who ran for governor because the “Rent is Too Damn High” claims he's being kicked out of his Manhattan apartment — because the rent is too damn low!  —  Jimmy McMillan says he pays $872.96 …

Cantor Opposes Extending Unemployment Benefits: We Need To Stop ‘Pumping Up’ Jobless Americans  —  The unemployment rate inched downwards to 9.1 percent today, with private sector jobs increasing by 154,000.  While a slight improvement, these better-than-expected figures provide little comfort …

GOP austerity agenda damaging Obama's reelection chances  —  The Republican austerity agenda is continuing to hamper job growth, making Obama's defeat in 2012 all the more likely.  —  Today's jobs numbers were better than expected, but as Matthew Yglesias points out, a fundamental problem remains …

Can Obama's 2012 hopes survive 9%+ unemployment? … The consensus used to be that President Obama might be OK if the jobless rate fell below 8 percent by Election Day.  That seems increasingly unlikely.  The economy is, at best, in slow-growth mode, just churning and churning, creating few jobs.

Obama ‘smarter’ than critics, says Alan Simpson  —  Former Sen. Alan Simpson, a Republican who co-chaired President Barack Obama's fiscal commission, says that the president is “a little bit smarter” than some of his critics, who “ought to give it up.”  —  Simpson, who represented Wyoming …

Teachers union disavows internal memo endorsing deception of parents  —  American Federation of Teachers officials have disavowed an internal report after it was posted on the union's website following its annual conference, embedded on each of its 19 pages with the union's logo and signed by a union official.

Pulling Rank  —  John Quiggin has some fun with an economist named Stephen Williamson who attacks his work from a position of robust ignorance; Noah Smith has even more fun.  —  I'll pass the specific arguments by, and note another feature of this “debate” that has struck …

The FAA shutdown and the new rules of Washington  —  Congressman John Mica, the Florida Republican blamed for single-handedly shutting down the Federal Aviation Administration, sounded like a beaten man when he called me Thursday evening.  —  The usually biting chairman …

TSA Confiscates Pregnant Woman's Insulin, Ice Packs  —  Security Tells Woman Isulin Vial Was An Explosives Risk  —  DENVER — A Denver couple has filed a formal complaint with the Transportation Security Administration after a pregnant woman's insulin and ice packs were confiscated by screeners at Denver International Airport.

Video: They're still not listening to Rick Santelli  —  Want to see a microcosm of everything that's been wrong with American economic policy over the last couple of years?  Watch this exchange between Ezra Klein and Rick Santelli from earlier today on MSNBC's Morning Joe.

Santorum: Courts have created ‘super-right’ of sexual liberty  —  GOP presidential candidate Rick Santorum, talking about same-sex marriage, said today that the courts have created a right to “sexual liberty” that diminishes the right to religious liberty.  —  Santorum was meeting with the Register editorial board this morning.

Walsh tries to clear air at town hall-style meeting … WAUCONDA - When controversy erupts, public figures can hide or face their critics.  —  U.S. Rep. Joe Walsh seems to have chosen the latter, facing his constituents for the first time after the debt ceiling battle and allegations …

VIDEO: Security Guards At American Legislative Exchange Council Conference Physically Attack ThinkProgress Reporters  —  Scott Keyes' thumb after being attacked by security guards at the American Legislative Exchange Council conference  —  Yesterday, at a conference in New Orleans …

Italy agrees to liberalise economy  —  By Guy Dinmore in Rome, Quentin Peel in Berlin, James Boxell in Paris and Joshua Chaffin in Brussels  —  Silvio Berlusconi, Italy's centre-right prime minister, and Giulio Tremonti, finance minister, held several hours of emergency talks on Friday …