New CNN Poll: Majority want tax increase for wealthy and deep spending cuts  —  Washington (CNN) - Most Americans want a special congressional committee tasked with drafting a long-term solution to the nation's mounting federal deficits to include tax hikes for the wealthy and businesses …

Republicans take 4 of 6 in recall elections, hold Senate  —  Both sides see victories in hard-fought contests  —  By Tom Tolan and Patrick Marley of the Journal Sentinel  —  Democrats won two state Senate seats in Tuesday's historic recall elections, but failed to capture a third seat …

Jon Huntsman for President  —  In 2008, Florida and the presidency went to Barack Obama because he offered hope.  To defeat the President in 2012, we need a candidate who will offer solutions.  That man is Jon Huntsman.  —  Today at 11:15 a.m. at Scotty's Landing in Miami …

Romney takes aim at 2012 Iowa caucuses  —  Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (R) suggested Wednesday that he'll be spending more time in Iowa this fall, and that he's gunning for a good finish in the state's caucuses next year.  —  Romney, speaking at an economic roundtable in Pella …

The Day Our Leaders Got Unstuck  —  This is a scary economic moment.  The response we need is not easy, but it is totally obvious.  We need a Grand Bargain between America's two parties — and we need it right now.  Until you read the following news article, we'll be stuck in a world of hurt.

Santorum: Marriage Is Like Water, Not Beer  —  Rick Santorum turned more than a few eyebrows on Monday when he explained his opposition to same-sex marriage by holding up a napkin and observing that it was not a paper towel.  On Friday, during a meeting with the Des Moines Register …

King: Probe W.H. role in Osama movie  —  House Homeland Security Chairman Peter King (R-N.Y.) on Wednesday demanded an investigation into a report that the White House is cooperating with a film on the mission to kill Osama bin Laden.  —  In a letter to the Defense Department and the CIA …

Michele Bachmann Repeatedly Sought Stimulus, EPA, Other Government Funds … WASHINGTON — Few candidates in the Republican presidential primary field have decried the federal government with as much gusto as Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.).  The three-term congresswoman has belittled the stimulus package …

The Secret History of Guns  —  The Ku Klux Klan, Ronald Reagan, and, for most of its history, the NRA all worked to control guns.  The Founding Fathers?  They required gun ownership—and regulated it.  And no group has more fiercely advocated the right to bear loaded weapons in public …

A New Strategy for Economic Growth  —  Growth is not just about economics.  Growth unleashes human potential.  —  As the economy continues to struggle, we are reminded of a course offered at Yale University titled “Grand Strategy.”  Drawing on a weighty curriculum of history and philosophy …

Pay Television Faces ‘Toxic Mix’ as Subscribers Cancel in Record Numbers  —  The six largest publicly traded U.S. cable and satellite-TV providers combined to lose about 580,000 customers in the second quarter, the biggest such decline in history, according to company and Bloomberg data.

U.S. Says Strike Killed Taliban Who Downed Copter  —  WASHINGTON — An American airstrike has killed the Taliban fighters believed responsible for shooting down a Chinook helicopter, killing 38 people including 30 American military personnel, the senior commander in Afghanistan said Wednesday.

A Fox News Science Lesson  —  Those who watched Fox News over the weekend were treated to a brief but ambitious science lesson on “Why CO2 Can't Cause Warming”:  —  Oh boy.  Let's take these one at a time.  —  During the segment Fox's global warming expert, Joe Bastardi …

Poll surprise: Weiner seat in play  —  New York Democrat David Weprin holds a surprisingly narrow lead over Republican Bob Turner in the Sept. 13 special election to replace former Democratic Rep. Anthony Weiner, according to a new Siena Research Institute poll.

A Test for Obama's View of a One-Term Presidency  —  WASHINGTON — It was a year and a half ago when President Obama told Diane Sawyer of ABC News in an interview that he would rather be a good one-term president than a mediocre two-term president.  —  Now, coming off one of his worst weeks …

Tea Party Made Up of ‘Freaked Out White Men’: Whitney  —  Tea Party members are primarily “freaked out white men” who pose the greatest political threat to Democrats in 2012, according to banking analyst Meredith Whitney.  —  Speaking in the broader context of a discussion on CNBC regarding …

Judge fines ACORN $5,000 for voter registration scheme  —  A judge Wednesday slapped the defunct grass-roots community organizing group ACORN with a maximum $5,000 fine for its role in a voter registration compensation scheme in the 2008 election cycle.  —  District Judge Donald Mosley …