Romney gets in heated exchange with hecklers at Iowa State Fair  —  Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney's (R) exchange with a few hecklers turned into somewhat of a shouting match while he was stumping Thursday in Iowa.  —  Romney faced aggressive inquiries with a liberal bent at the top …

Rick Perry Wants to Be President  —  Highlights here.  Subscribers can read Halperin's story on Perry in the latest issue of TIME.  —  Video highlight: Perry says he has decided he wants to be president.  —  Video highlight: Perry on 43's advice to him. Transcript of Mark Halperin's Interview with Rick Perry

Exclusive: Republican Camp won't rule out tax increases  —  (Reuters) - A leading Republican lawmaker would not rule out tax increases on Thursday if they could boost economic growth, adding that “everything is on the table” for a congressional panel charged with forging a deal to cut the deficit.

Tea Party Rep: Bank Should Have Known I Wouldn't Be Able To Repay $2.2 Million Loan  —  Tea Party aligned Georgia Rep. Tom Graves (R), who castigates Washington for fiscal irresponsibility, reached an out of court settlement Wednesday after he was sued for defaulting on a $2.2 million loan …

England Used to Be a Country of Men  —  With London succumbing to looters and muggers, it's time to ask what happened to the once-manly English people.  The August 9 issue of the Daily Mail, for example, includes a photo of a young man taking off his pants on the street as an impatient looter waits …

USPS proposes cutting 120,000 jobs, pulling out of health-care plan  —  In an attempt to stem its financial hemorrhaging, the U.S. Postal Service is seeking to reduce its workforce by 20 percent, including through layoffs now prohibited by union contracts.  USPS also wants to withdraw …

Sesame Workshop Statement on Bert and Ernie Petitions  —  Bert and Ernie are best friends.  They were created to teach preschoolers that people can be good friends with those who are very different from themselves.  —  Even though they are identified as male characters and possess …

Coming Home  —  Well, I guess she is interested!  Professor Warren, thanks so much for coming here and engaging with the BMG community.  You read it here first, folks. - promoted by david  —  Growing up, every decision for my family involved a careful calculation about how we could pay for it …

VIDEO: Michele Bachmann's Auschwitz Warning  —  In 2002, the tea party leader and GOP presidential candidate filmed a movie that warned Minnesota's educational standards could lead to a second Holocaust.  —  Post Comment  —  In a 2002 film highlighting her work as an education activist …

Extremist T-shirt offers different message after the first wash  —  When the 250 T-shirts were donated to a right-wing concert in Germany, they looked perfect: A skull and crossbones, nationalist flags and the slogan “Hardcore rebels.”  —  But when the T-shirts were washed for the first time, the message changed.

An Explosive New 9/11 Charge  —  In a new documentary, ex-national security aide Richard Clarke suggests the CIA tried to recruit 9/11 hijackers—then covered it up.  Philip Shenon on George Tenet's denial.  —  With the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks only a month away …

Wisconsin's Warning to Union-Busters  —  Five months after Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin pushed through a law stripping public unions of their bargaining rights, the Republican Party has paid a price.  Two of the state senators who backed the law were thrown out of office by voters on Tuesday and replaced with Democrats.

‘Drunk’ man pees on 11 year old on JetBlue flight  —  It was plane madness.  —  Chaos erupted on JetBlue's red-eye flight from Portland, Ore., to JFK yesterday when a drunk allegedly urinated on a sleeping 11-year-old girl.  —  The youngster was traveling with her sister and dad …

Mitch McConnell Called For Rich To Pay Their ‘Fair Share’ In 1990 Ad … WASHINGTON — The Republican Party's dogmatic opposition to raising taxes has been a consistent obstacle to patching together a broader deal to decrease the nation's growing debt.  And for Democrats with good long-term memories …

Buffett: The lower stocks go, the more I buy  —  Warren Buffett discusses the lowered outlook for Berkshire Hathaway debt, why some of his businesses aren't hiring, and why U.S. debt remains triple-A rated in his mind.  —  By Andy Serwer, managing editor  —  Warren Buffett sees buying opportunities

DeMint: Obama Administration The Most “Anti-American Administration In My Lifetime”  —  Senator Jim DeMint (R-SC) appeared on The Janet Mefferd Show yesterday to discuss his new book and his goals to elect more like-minded conservatives to the Senate.  DeMint told Mefferd that President Obama is promoting …

Pa. judge gets 28 years in ‘kids for cash’ case  —  SCRANTON, Pa. — A longtime northeastern Pennsylvania judge was ordered to spend nearly three decades in prison for his role in a massive juvenile justice bribery scandal that prompted the state's high court to toss thousands of convictions.

D.C., Hawaii Most Democratic, Utah Most Republican State in '11  —  North Dakota and Louisiana tilt more Republican than they did in 2010  —  PRINCETON, NJ — Hawaii shows the largest advantage for the Democratic Party over the Republican Party among U.S. states, along with the District of Columbia, in the first half of 2011.

Test of hypersonic aircraft fails over Pacific Ocean  —  A test flight of an experimental aircraft capable of speeding through air at 20 times the speed of sound ended prematurely Thursday morning when the arrowhead-shaped plane failed and stopped sending back real-time data to engineers and scientists who were moderating the mission.