Statement by the President on Libya Blue Heron Farm, Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts  —  THE PRESIDENT: Good afternoon, everybody.  I just completed a call with my National Security Council on the situation in Libya.  And earlier today I spoke to Prime Minister Cameron about the extraordinary events taking place there.

Obama in Close Race Against Romney, Perry, Bachmann, Paul  —  Romney has slight edge over Obama, Bachmann slightly lags  —  PRINCETON, NJ — President Barack Obama is closely matched against each of four possible Republican opponents when registered voters are asked whom they would support …

Conservative elites pine for 2012 hero  —  It's a tough time to be a conservative intellectual.  —  From the Weekly Standard to the Wall Street Journal, on the pages of policy periodicals and opinion sections, the egghead right's longing for a presidential candidate of ideas …

FCC officially kills Fairness Doctrine, wiping it from rules  —  Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski announced the elimination of 83 outdated and obsolete agency rules on Monday, including the controversial Fairness Doctrine.  —  “The elimination of the obsolete …

Sharma to step down as S&P president  —  Deven Sharma is stepping down as president of Standard & Poor's only weeks after the rating agency issued an unprecedented downgrade of the credit of the US, the company said.  —  Mr Sharma will remain as an adviser to S&P's owner, McGraw-Hill …

In LD8, Delany derailed by wife's email to Lewis  —  Former Assemblyman Pat Delany abruptly resigned last month from his post representing the 8th district after his wife sent a racially tinged email to senate challenger Carl Lewis, the former Olympic Gold medalist.

Huntsman criticizes rivals in prime time interview  —  (CNN) - For a second straight day, Jon Huntsman is going after his rivals for the Republican presidential nomination.  —  In an interview to run Monday and Tuesday at 9 p.m. ET on CNN's “Piers Morgan Tonight,” the former Utah governor …

National debt has increased $4 trillion under Obama  —  The latest posting by the Treasury Department shows the national debt has now increased $4 trillion on President Obama's watch.  —  The debt was $10.626 trillion on the day Mr. Obama took office.  The latest calculation from Treasury shows the debt has now hit $14.639 trillion.

Will Palin be in by Labor Day?  ‘I doubt it’  —  (CNN) - Karl Rove caused a commotion in recent days by predicting that Sarah Palin will run for president and hinting that she could announce her campaign during a speech to a tea party group in Iowa over Labor Day weekend.  —  That might be news to Palin.

District Attorney Asks Judge to Drop Strauss-Kahn Case  —  Prosecutors from the Manhattan district attorney's office formally moved on Monday to dismiss the three-month-old sexual assault case against Dominique Strauss-Kahn, filing a 25-page motion that serves as their intricate and devastating anatomy of a case collapsing.

Joe Biden: ‘I Fully Understand’ China's One Child Policy  —  Good news, reproductive rights advocates and neo-Malthusian environmentalists!  Vice President Joe Biden has no problem with the government forcibly sterilizing people and compelling abortions.  From his remarks at Sichuan University …

Spending, not entitlements, created huge deficit  —  It's conventional wisdom in Washington to blame the federal government's dire financial outlook on runaway entitlement spending.  Unless we rein in Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, the conventional wisdom goes, the federal government is headed for disaster.

Milken's Gift Stirs Dispute at U.C.L.A. Law School  —  When the U.C.L.A. School of Law announced a $10 million gift from Lowell Milken to establish a business law institute in his name earlier this month, the university described him as a “pioneer in education reform” and a “leading philanthropist.”

Goldman CEO hires high-profile defense attorney  —  (Reuters) - Goldman Sachs Chief Executive Lloyd Blankfein has hired Reid Weingarten, a high-profile Washington defense attorney whose past clients include a former Enron accounting officer, according to a government source familiar with the matter.

Warren's criticism of Wall Street poses fundraising dilemma  —  Elizabeth Warren's combative history with Wall Street could create a fundraising dilemma for her burgeoning Senate campaign.  —  Her ardent grassroots following on the left — forged during stints as TARP watchdog and as mastermind …

Pataki to join Paul, McCotter at Polk County GOP fundraiser Saturday  —  Then-New York Gov. George Pataki addresses a Republican Party of Iowa picnic in Des Moines in 2006.  (Register file photo)  —  Former New York Gov. George Pataki, who is considering a bid for the Republican presidential nomination …

It's a Flawed Settlement  —  The Obama administration has turned up the heat on Eric Schneiderman, New York's attorney general, to go along with a proposed settlement with the nation's largest banks over dubious foreclosure practices.  Mr. Schneiderman should stand his ground in not supporting the deal.