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.

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 …

U.S. Payrolls Rose in July; Jobless Rate at 9.1%  —  Employers added more jobs than forecast in July, the jobless rate fell and wages climbed, easing concern the U.S. economy is grinding to a halt.  Stock futures rallied and Treasuries fell.  —  Payrolls rose by 117,000 workers …

Behind a GOP Contender's Iowa Surge  —  MARION, Iowa—To understand why presidential candidate Michele Bachmann has surged in Iowa, watch when she is handed a baby.  On a recent stop here, she took off her bracelet, dangled it before the infant and cradled him while he teethed on the pearls.

$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 …

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.

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 …

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 …

IRS: 235,413 million-dollar earners  —  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 …

U.S. Posts Stronger Job Gains Amid Fear  —  As the United States economy continued to wobble, employers added 117,000 jobs in July, the Labor Department reported on Friday, a number that was above analysts' expectations.  —  The figure, far more than the 18,000 net new jobs originally reported in June …

About Virginia Postrel  —  Virginia Postrel writes about commerce and culture, innovation, economics and public policy.  Shes the author of “The Future and Its Enemies” and “The Substance of Style,” and is writing a book on glamour.  —  Postrel: Obama Glamour Can't Fix Charisma Deficit

Rick Perry Recommits To Religious Right At Saturday Prayer-Fest  —  The wait is over!  Rick Perry will host his much-buzzed about Christian prayer-fest “The Response” in Houston on Saturday, where participants will ask for divine help to overcome America's myriad problems.

Wall Street Rally Quickly Fizzles  —  Stocks opened higher on Wall Street on Friday after a stronger-than-expected labor report for July, but quickly gave up their gains as analysts warned of continuing pessimism about weak growth in the United States and worries about debt levels in the euro area.

Towering Wave of Alienation Threatens Both GOP, Dems in 2012  —  In the shadow of the bitterly fought agreement to raise the federal debt ceiling, the independent voters who usually hold the balance of power in American politics are expressing astronomical levels of discontent with President Obama …

July jobs report: Hiring picks up  —  NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — The job market strengthened in July, a welcome piece of good news that sharply contrasted other recent readings pointing toward an economic slowdown.  —  Employers added 117,000 jobs last month, well above the 46,000 jobs added in June …

New York Attorney General Accuses Bank Of New York Mellon Of Fraud, Moves To Block Bank Of America's Mortgage Deal … Bank Of America , Foreclosures , Bank Of New York Mellon , Countrywide Financial , Eric Schneiderman , New York Attorney General , Mortgage-Backed Securities , Business News

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.

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 …

Kucinich gets hero's welcome at union confab  —  Ohio Congressman Dennis Kucinich says he still hasn't made up his mind on whether he'll run for a congressional seat here in 2012.  —  But he's back in the state today, and got a terrific platform to endear himself to a key Democratic constituency.

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.

Food stamp use rises to record 45.8 million  —  NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — Nearly 15% of the U.S. population relied on food stamps in May, according to the United States Department of Agriculture.  —  The number of Americans using the government's Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program …

RNC takes wait-and-see approach to punishing primary states  —  Tampa, Florida (CNN) - Anxieties about the fate of the presidential nominating process broke out into the open Thursday during a meeting of the Republican National Committee, but party officials declined to take formal action …

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.

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 …

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 …

The ECB throws Italy and Spain to the wolves  —  The European Central Bank has abandoned Italy and Spain to their tortured fate.  —  Jean-Claude Trichet, the ECB's president, said the bank had purchased eurozone bonds for the first time since March.

TSA Transgender Training At LAX … Ashley Yang Firing , Ashley Yang Transgender , Transgender Lax , Tsa Transgender Policy , Tsa Transgender Training , Los Angeles News  —  SAN FRANCISCO — The Transportation Security Administration said Thursday that its managers at Los Angeles International Airport …