Perry Zooms to Front of Pack for 2012 GOP Nomination  —  Leads Romney by 29% to 17%  —  PRINCETON, NJ — Shortly after announcing his official candidacy, Texas Gov. Rick Perry has emerged as rank-and-file Republicans' current favorite for their party's 2012 presidential nomination.

Steve Jobs resigns from Apple, Cook becomes CEO  —  (Reuters) - Silicon Valley legend Steve Jobs on Wednesday resigned as chief executive of Apple Inc in a stunning move that ended his 14-year reign at the technology giant he co-founded in a garage.  —  Apple shares dived as much as 7 percent …

Cheney: My book will have ‘heads exploding’ in D.C.  —  Revelations include resignation letter kept locked in a safe in case of heart attack or stroke  —  Below:  —  updated 2011-08-24T19:33:23  —  When former Vice President Dick Cheney releases his memoir early next week …

Tea Partier Tells Rep. Lujan, Life-Long American, To ‘Get Out Of Politics And Make Room For An American’  —  The Tea Party continues to claim that racism, ethnocentrism, and xenophobia are not driving forces in its movement, but the actions of its members continue to belie those claims.

Norman Rockwell painting sends rare White House message on race  —  President Barack Obama has taken a decidedly low-key approach to racial issues since he became America's first black president two years ago.  But in a hallway outside the Oval Office he has placed a head-turning painting depicting …

Obama White House Must Back Its Backpedaling With Action on “One-Child” Policy  —  It's welcome news that a White House spokesman has clarified that the Vice President opposes China's repugnant “one-child” policy, as Speaker Boehner said Monday he hoped the White House would.

Despite my hopes, Sen. Marco Rubio will not run for president in 2012.  But that doesn't mean he won't soon be within a heartbeat of the presidency.  As the New Yorker's Ryan Liza asked on Twitter: “Is it time to rename GOP primaries 'the contest to become Marco Rubio's running mate'?”

BUDGET AND ECONOMIC OUTLOOK: AN UPDATE  —  Text-only.  —  The United States is facing profound budgetary and economic challenges.  At 8.5 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), the $1.3 trillion budget deficit that the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) projects for 2011 …

National Zoo Animals React to the Earthquake … Great Apes  — The earthquake hit the Great Ape House and Think Tank Exhibit during afternoon feeding time.  — About five to ten seconds before the quake, many of the apes, including Kyle (an orangutan) and Kojo (a Western lowland gorilla) …

Expensive massages, top shelf vodka and five-star hotels: First Lady accused of spending $10m in public money on her vacations  —  The Obamas' summer break in Martha's Vineyard has already been branded a PR disaster after the couple arrived four hours apart on separate government jets.

Perry Compared Homosexuality to Alcoholism in 2008 Book  —  The origin of homosexuality has become something of a political litmus test for presidential candidates, almost akin to their stance on abortion.  Candidates are now expected to explain whether or not they believe homosexuality is a hard-wired predisposition.

Flashback: Obama in 2008: Adding $4 Trillion to National Debt ‘Unpatriotic’  —  (CNSNews.com) - Although the national debt under President Barack Obama has increased $4 trillion since he took office in 2009, as a presidential candidate in 2008 Obama criticized then-President George W. Bush …

Keynesian Economics vs. Regular Economics  —  Food stamps and other transfers aren't necessarily bad ideas, but there's no evidence they spur growth.  —  Keynesian economics—the go-to theory for those who like government at the controls of the economy—is in the forefront of the ongoing debate on fiscal-stimulus packages.

With CIA help, NYPD moves covertly in Muslim areas  —  NEW YORK (AP) — In New Brunswick, N.J., a building superintendent opened the door to apartment No. 1076 one balmy Tuesday and discovered an alarming scene: terrorist literature strewn about the table and computer and surveillance equipment set up in the next room.