TRENDING: Perry heckled as campaign shifts into new phase  —  Portsmouth, New Hampshire (CNN) - Rick Perry was greeted by protesters Thursday morning as he met with voters at a Seacoast cafe, a clear sign that the 2012 campaign for the presidency has entered a new phase.

U.S. Inquiry Is Said to Focus on S.&P. Ratings  —  The Justice Department is investigating whether the nation's largest credit ratings agency, Standard & Poor's, improperly rated dozens of mortgage securities in the years leading up to the financial crisis, according to two people interviewed …

“Have you ever had sex with Rick Perry?”  —  An Austin Ron Paul supporter has taken out a full-page ad in the local alt weekly newspaper seeking any “stripper ... escort ... or ‘young hottie’” who has slept with Rick Perry, part of his single-minded jihad against the presidential candidate.

Obama Calls on Syria's Assad to Step Down, Freezes Assets  —  President Obama today called on Syrian President Bashar Assad to step down, as his crackdown on the country's anti-government uprising continues to escalate.  —  “The future of Syria must be determined by its people …

Bachmann: I'll bring back $2 gas  —  NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — President Michele Bachmann has a promise: $2 gas.  —  “Under President Bachmann you will see gasoline come down below $2 a gallon again,” Bachmann told a crowd Tuesday in South Carolina.  “That will happen.”

Jon Huntsman: The Outsider  —  Kate Moss:  —  Kiss Me, Kate  —  Photographed by Annie Leibovtiz  —  If you're looking for the most conservative region in America, upcountry South Carolina would be a strong contender.  Greenville, the area's biggest city, is home base to Senator Jim DeMint …

West: I'll lead you off ‘plantation’  —  Rep. Allen West says he is a “modern-day Harriet Tubman” who wants to lead black voters away from the “plantation” of the Democratic Party.  —  There is a “21st century plantation” of African-American voters unwaveringly supporting Democrats …

New Low of 26% Approve of Obama on the Economy  —  Ratings on Afghanistan and foreign affairs have also declined  —  PRINCETON, NJ — A new low of 26% of Americans approve of President Barack Obama's handling of the economy, down 11 percentage points since Gallup last measured it in mid …

Top 10 Least Wanted  —  “Oh, there's nothing halfway about the Iowa way to treat you,  —  When we treat you which we may not do at all.  —  There's an Iowa kind of special chip-on-the-shoulder attitude.  —  We've never been without that we recall.  -"Iowa Stubborn" from The Music Man

O'Donnell walks out of CNN interview  —  (CNN) - Christine O'Donnell, the former Delaware GOP Senate candidate, walked off the set of CNN's “Piers Morgan Tonight” Wednesday when asked about her views on sexual abstinence and gay marriage.  —  “I'm not talking about policies.

Chris muscles Mike on 9/11 invite for pol  —  Hot-headed New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie yesterday threw his weight around to get his way for the upcoming 10th-anniver-  —  sary 9/11 ceremony after blasting Mayor Bloomberg for excluding ex-Jersey Gov. Donald DiFrancesco from the solemn event.

Liveblog: Coordinated terror attacks near Egyptian border  —  This is a liveblog of the events currently going on near the Egyptian border in the area of Eilat.  There are three events.  —  1. ‘Palestinian’ terrorists shot at an Egged bus - number 392 - from Beer Sheva to Eilat.

Wrong Answers in Britain  —  Nothing can justify or excuse the terrifying wave of violent lawlessness that swept through London and other British cities earlier this month.  Hardworking people in struggling neighborhoods were its principal victims.  Public support for racial and ethnic coexistence …

Phone hacking: News of the World Hollywood reporter is arrested  —  James Desborough is arrested by London police investigating UK hacking allegations  —  James Desborough, an award-winning reporter at the former News of the World newspaper, has been arrested by officers investigating the phone-hacking scandal.

Malcolm's moment  —  As I read Paul Rahe's recent Ricochet post “Rioting for fun and profit,” it occurred to me that events in England had made this Malcolm's moment — Malcolm as in Professor Joyce Lee Malcolm.  Professor Malcolm is a historian and constitutional scholar specializing …

Rush Limbaugh's “Or-Bam-eo” Slur  —  Today on his radio show, Rush Limbaugh described a new Oreo that will have both chocolate and vanilla cream as a “biracial” cookie and said that “it isn't going to be long before it's going to be called the Or-Bam-eo or something like this.”

3 attacks target Israelis near Egypt, 6 dead  —  JERUSALEM (AP) — Assailants armed with heavy weapons, guns and explosives launched three attacks in quick succession in southern Israel near the border with Egypt's Sinai Peninsula on Thursday, killing at least six people and wounding about a dozen more, officials said.

Gov. John Kasich asks union leaders to compromise on Senate Bill 5; union group says repeal it, then we'll talk  —  COLUMBUS, Ohio — Gov. John Kasich backtracked on Senate Bill 5 on Wednesday, asking union leaders to negotiate a compromise on the collective bargaining law he championed and end efforts to repeal it.

Coburn: Good thing I can't pack a gun  —  Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) ripped his colleagues during a tour of northeast Oklahoma, calling them “career elitists,” “cowards” and said, “It's just a good thing I can't pack a gun on the Senate floor.”  —  Coburn's gun-on-the- floor comment comes less …

The Dirty Thirties  —  Larry J. Sabato, Director, U.Va. Center for Politics  —  President Obama has found himself in the cellar for the first time since taking office: He fell to 39% in Gallup Poll tracking over the past weekend.  Obama may or may not have a month or months when his average is below 40%.