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.

Obama's 50th Birthday bash: Stevie Wonder, Chris Rock, Tom Hanks, Whoopi Goldberg, Herbie Hancock, Jay Z  —  li> (Screen grab of Chris Rock's Twitter feed)  —  WASHINGTON—President Obama celebrated his 50th birthday Thursday night with a celebrity-filled bash, as entertainer Chris Rock reported …

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 …

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.

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 …

July Employment Report: 117,000 Jobs, 9.1% Unemployment Rate  —  From MarketWatch: U.S. economy gained 117,000 jobs in July … Click on graph for larger image in graph gallery.  —  This graph shows the unemployment rate.  —  The unemployment rate decreased to 9.1%.

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.

Tzipi Livni Praises Obama for Pressuring Netanyahu, Suggests U.S. Should Keep Up the Heat  —  An interview with the leader of Israel's largest opposition party  —  Tzipi Livni, the leader of Israel's Kadima Party, the largest opposition party in the Knesset — and the largest party in the entire Knesset …

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 …

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 …

Potential jurors shouldn't be dismissed for being gay, court told  —  An appellate panel hears arguments in an assault case against a gay inmate in which a lesbian was dismissed during jury selection.  Defense lawyers want the panel to consider constitutional issues.

Lessons of the Crisis  —  The debt-ceiling debacle revealed that politics is broken in every possible way and there's no point in explaining complicated matters to the American people.  —  It is hard to remember a more dismal moment in American politics.  The debt-ceiling crisis and the agreement …

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 …

Mason moved in amended US House plan for W.Va.  —  CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The Senate Redistricting Task Force discarded plans Thursday to put Republican incumbents Shelley Moore Capito and David McKinley into the same congressional district.  —  The group also abandoned plans to allow congressional lines …

Isn't it time to admit our system is broken?  —  (HARRY HAMBURG/ASSOCIATED PRESS) My Bloomberg column today is about what happens when Congress can't agree to act.  The standard theory is that nothing happens.  Congress simply gridlocks.  It paralyzes.  The standard theory is wrong.

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 …

Pharmacies fight for right to challenge state Medicaid cuts  —  Four pharmacy groups are calling on the Supreme Court to give patients and healthcare providers such as hospitals the right to challenge states' Medicaid cuts.  —  The four trade associations filed an amicus brief …

‘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 …

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.

The Death of Super Tuesday?  —  The venerable one-day delegate jackpot has been a mainstay of presidential primaries, but all that will change in 2012.  McKay Coppins on what it means for Palin, Romney, and Perry.  —  Pundits have hyped it.  Candidates have built entire campaigns around it.

Neb. mine find to challenge China's dominance of vital rare minerals  —  Elements coveted for high-tech uses  —  Elk Creek, Neb. (population 112), may not be so tiny much longer.  Reports suggest that the southeastern Nebraska hamlet may be sitting on the world's largest untapped deposit of …

IRS: 235,413 million-dollar earners  —  President Barack Obama and many Democrats are talking about raising taxes on the wealthy, and new data released this week by the Internal Revenue Service reveals new details about the number of Americans who fit that bill.

The Science of ‘Planet of the Apes’: Could Simians Get Scary Smart?  —  Is the film plausible?  Kinda sorta, say experts.  —  20th Century Fox  —  There's only about 1.2 percent of genetic difference between human beings and chimpanzees.  It's not much of a separation from our evolutionary relatives …