Harry Reid super committee picks in place  —  In the first of what will be a closely watched selection process for a powerful new deficit panel, Democratic sources say Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid will appoint Democratic Sens. Patty Murray (Wash.), Max Baucus (Mont.) and John Kerry …

Reading the Wisconsin Recall Vote  —  Wisconsin residents on Tuesday voted on whether to recall six Republican state senators, whose backing of Gov. Scott Walker in the dispute over collective bargaining rights this year made them targets for Democratic-aligned groups.

McCain faces angry crowd at Gilbert town-hall meeting  —  U.S. Sen. John McCain's town-hall meeting Monday in Gilbert broke down into a shouting match at times as “tea-party” activists directed their anger and frustration toward the senator over issues ranging from his characterization of them as …

About that plane over S&P  —  Who sent an aerial message to Wall Street?  —  Courtesy of NY Observer  —  Earlier today, a plane flew over S&P headquarters trailing a banner that read: … Fortune has learned that the person who paid to fly the banner is a Midwestern broker …

For immediate release  —  Information received since the Federal Open Market Committee met in June indicates that economic growth so far this year has been considerably slower than the Committee had expected.  Indicators suggest a deterioration in overall labor market conditions in recent months, and the unemployment rate has moved up.

Obama plan: Destroy Romney  —  Barack Obama's aides and advisers are preparing to center the president's re-election campaign on a ferocious personal assault on Mitt Romney's character and business background, a strategy grounded in the early stage expectation that the former Massachusetts governor is the likely GOP nominee.

Philadelphia mayor talks tough to black teenagers after ‘flash mobs’  —  ** FILE ** In this March 20, 2010, photo, young people run down South Street during a flash mob incident that involved thousands and closed the street to traffic from Front Street to Broad in Philadelphia.

S&P's Chambers: Balanced budget amendment would do more harm than good  —  (Scott Eells - BLOOMBERG) House and Senate Republicans have rallied around the notion of a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution as a solution to the country's dire fiscal straits.

Swing State Deficit Polling  —  We decided to look at public opinion on the debt deal in two swing states that could hold the key to Barack Obama's reelection, Colorado and North Carolina.  Here's what we found:  —Voters across party lines in both states think the deal will be bad for the economy.

Michelle Obama Takes Secret Vacation to Oregon  —  First Lady Michelle Obama Slipped out of Washington unnoticed Monday for a secret trip to visit her brother, Oregon State University men's basketball coach Craig Robinson, at his home on Corvallis, Ore.  —  Mrs. Obama reportedly jetted …

Is Obama Smart?  —  A case study in stupid is as stupid does.  —  The aircraft was large, modern and considered among the world's safest.  But that night it was flying straight into a huge thunderstorm.  Turbulence was extreme, and airspeed indicators may not have been functioning properly.

S.F. gay married couple loses immigration battle  —  Washington —  Citing the Defense of Marriage Act, the Obama administration denied immigration benefits to a married gay couple from San Francisco and ordered the expulsion of a man who is the primary caregiver to his AIDS-afflicted spouse.

Huckabee to perform with Pawlenty, Cain at Ames Straw Poll  —  Former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty and businessman Herman Cain (R) have landed a big-name performer for their Ames Straw Poll tents: former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee (R).  —  Huckabee, whose political action committee HuckPAC …

London's burning: a mob made by the welfare state  —  Many commentators are on a mission to contextualise the riots that have swept parts of urban London and other British cities.  'It's very naive to look at these riots without the context', says one journalist, who says the reason …

U.S. Credit Downgrade Leaves ‘Horrible Impact’ … Steve Inskeep talks to former Republican Senator Alan Simpson of Wyoming about the S&P downgrade of U.S. credit.  Simpson has been saying that he hopes the S&P downgrade will cause lawmakers to take deficit deliberations more seriously.

After Day of Tumult, Dow Closes Up 430 Points  —  Stocks rallied broadly on Wall Street on Tuesday, with most of the gains coming in late trading that followed a statement by the Federal Reserve saying it would hold short-term interest rates near zero through mid-2013.

Bachmann's ‘Must-Read’ List Included A Book That Claims Blacks Were ‘Better Off In Nearly Every Way’ Under Slavery  —  Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann (R) has already made one slavery-related gaffe during her presidential campaign, signing a pledge produced by the Iowa FAMiLY LEADER …