Markets Fall as Global Worries Multiply  —  HONG KONG — Stock markets plunged in the Asia-Pacific region on Friday, following the sharp sell-off that had battered U.S. and European markets the previous day as investors' fears about European debt levels and U.S. growth prospects intensified.

Inside Obama's 50th birthday party  —  Rapper Jay-Z, actor Tom Hanks and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton were among those who joined President Barack Obama's longtime friends to celebrate his 50th birthday with a barbeque bash at the White House.  —  After sending the White House press corps home early …

Reid announces deal to end FAA furloughs  —  The Senate will pass the House's bill to fund the Federal Aviation Administration through September to end the week-and-a-half-long partial shutdown of the agency, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) announced Thursday.

Time to Say It: Double Dip Recession May Be Happening  —  Double dip may be back.  —  It has been three decades since the United States suffered a recession that followed on the heels of the previous one.  But it could be happening again.  The unrelenting negative economic news of the past …

Disapproval Rate for Congress at Record 82% After Debt Talks  —  The debate over raising the debt ceiling, which brought the nation to the brink of default, has sent disapproval of Congress to its highest level on record and left most Americans saying that creating jobs should now take priority …

Gingrich fatalistic on Ames straw poll  —  On Fox News last night, Newt Gingrich didn't sound particularly interested in results from next Saturday's straw poll in Ames, Iowa. … He also sort of dissed the Iowa GOP on the straw poll.

Dow Down 500: Should Obama Resign?  —  The worldwide market plunge since the signing of the U.S. debt agreement tells us one thing above all: Almost no one on the planet has confidence in the leadership of Barack Obama.  —  A CEO with such a disastrous first three years as our president …

IRS: 235,000 millionaires  —  President Barack Obama and many Democrats are talking about raising taxes on the wealthy, but few Americans actually fit that bill, data released this week by the Internal Revenue Service suggests.  —  People and households earning more than $1 million annually …

What Caused The Deficit?  A Reply To Megan McArdle  —  One of the most effective Republican themes of the last two years has been blaming President Obama for the explosive growth in the budget deficit since 2009.  The accusation that “Obama's spending binge” has blown up the deficit …

$30 Million Pouring In to Influence Wisconsin Recall Elections  —  A voter in Glendale, Wis., casts a ballot in a Democratic primary on Thursday, July 12, 2011, as part of recall efforts against Republican state Sen. Alberta Darling.  Darling is one of six Republican state senators being targeted …

July payrolls rise soothes recession fears  —  (Reuters) - U.S. job growth accelerated more than expected in July as private employers stepped up hiring, a development that eased fears the economy was sliding into a fresh recession.  —  Nonfarm payrolls increased 117,000 …

The reason the markets are diving  —  (Scott Olson - GETTY IMAGES) Washington likes to talk about the economy in terms of things it can control.  Spending and deficits.  Stimulus.  Policy uncertainty.  —  But the Dow Jones isn't diving because spending has risen, deficits have grown or stimulus policy has changed.

Highest indoor radiation level detected at Fukushima Daiichi plant  —  TOKYO (Kyodo) — Radiation dosages of 5 sieverts per hour were detected indoors on the second floor of the No. 1 reactor at the crisis-hit Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant on Tuesday, the highest figure yet indoors, plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co. said.

FNC analyst: 'I've pulled my punches' on Palin  —  A pair of Fox News employees offered a brief but telling glimpse of what it is like to be a coworker with a woman who may or may not run for president in 2012: Sarah Palin.  —  On Wednesday after showing a Tuesday clip of Palin's angry rebuke …

If Conservatives Were Right About the Economy  —  Further to yesterday's post about the respective economic acumen of the Wall Street Journal editorial page vs. Prof. Paul Krugman:  —  My conservative friends argue that the policies of Barack Obama are responsible for the horrifying length and depth of the economic crisis.

Presidential Power  —  I apologize in advance for indulging in a wonky process post yet again today ("more boy talk," as Twitter follower Stella calls it), but I want to repeat a point that I haven't made for a while.  It got kicked off by this tweet from Dave Roberts:  —  My answer: No, he just has the easiest job.

Time for QE3, and Then Some  —  The global beating shares just took had many causes, no doubt.  Still disgusted by the US debt-ceiling fiasco, I am apt to give that masterclass in malice and incompetence more of the blame than it really deserves: the talk in markets today was more about signs …

Cartoonist Targeted With Criminal Probe For Mocking Police  —  RENTON, Wash. — The Renton City Prosecutor wants to send a cartoonist to jail for mocking the police department in a series of animated Internet videos.  —  The “South-Park"-style animations parody everything from officers having sex …

Arctic ‘tipping point’ may not be reached  —  The team said they had found an indirect method to give a picture of the ice cover dating back 11,000 years  —  Scientists say current concerns over a tipping point in the disappearance of Arctic sea ice may be misplaced.

Washington's appetite for self-destruction  —  It is difficult to remember a more dismal moment in American politics.  The debt ceiling crisis and the agreement that ended it point to deep dysfunction in our system.  In a variety of ways, the episode portends continued short-term economic misery and long-term national decline.

Here's The Problem With This Market Crash...  Well, it's deja vu all over again.  —  For anyone who followed the market crashes of 2000-2002 and 2007-2009—especially the crash of 2007-2009—the 512-point drop in the Dow feels awfully familiar.  —  And as those market crashes reminded us …

Arianna Huffington: Nobody Believes Obama's Top Priority Is Jobs - It's Getting Reelected  —  In the wake of liberal disappointment over December's budget agreement and this week's debt ceiling deal - both not including tax hikes - there's been a lot of squabbling from far-left media members about Barack Obama betraying them.