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.

Cheney Says He Urged Bush to Bomb Syria in '07  —  WASHINGTON — Former Vice President Dick Cheney says in a new memoir that he urged President George W. Bush to bomb a suspected Syrian nuclear reactor site in June 2007.  But, he wrote, Mr. Bush opted for a diplomatic approach after other advisers …

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 …

Rick Perry/Barack Obama comparison in Twitter picture  —  David Limbaugh, the conservative author and brother of Rush, tweets an image you're likely to see again.  —  A spokesman for Rick Perry didn't respond to a request for comment on the photo, the origin of which is unknown.

U.S. May Back Refinance Plan for Mortgages  —  The Obama administration is considering further actions to strengthen the housing market, but the bar is high: plans must help a broad swath of homeowners, stimulate the economy and cost next to nothing.  —  One proposal would allow millions …

Expect a Third-Party Candidate in 2012  —  Ross Perot in 1992 and John Anderson in 1980 garnered exceptionally high levels of support.  —  The United States is in the midst of what we would both call a prerevolutionary moment, and there is widespread support for fundamental change in the system.

Libya: SAS leads hunt for Gaddafi  —  British special forces are on the ground in Libya helping to spearhead the hunt for Col Muammar Gaddafi, The Daily Telegraph can disclose.  —  Jomana Karadsheh and Matthew Chance from CNN are evacuated by the International Red Cross from the Rixos hotel in Tripoli

AP-GfK poll: Views on economy, Obama role sour  —  WASHINGTON - Americans' views on the economy have dimmed this summer.  But so far, the growing pessimism doesn't seem to be taking a toll on President Barack Obama's re-election prospects.  —  More people now believe the country is headed …

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.

Ex-Senate leader: Law is here to stay  —  Repeal unlikely, Frist tells Avera crowd  —  The health care reform law will survive even if the Supreme Court declares the individual mandate unconstitutional, former Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist said Wednesday in Sioux Falls.  —  “It's going to survive.

Slate lays off four, including Jack Shafer  —  In the occasionally prickly world of media reporting, it's hard to find anyone who does not love, respect and, yes, slightly fear Jack Shafer.  —  So widespread is the love that American Journalism Review published a valentine to him earlier today …

Germany fires cannon shot across Europe's bows  —  German President Christian Wulff has accused the European Central Bank of violating its treaty mandate with the mass purchase of southern European bonds.  —  There is widespread concerns in Germany that ECB intervention in the Italian …

France introduces new tax on high incomes  —  Liliane Bettencourt was among those offering up some of her wealth  —  The French government is to impose an extra tax of 3% on annual income above 500,000 euros (£440,000; $721,000).  —  It is part of a package of measures to try to cut …

Gadhafi's ‘darling’: Condoleezza Rice photos found … In the ruins of Gadhafi's lair, rebels find album filled with photos of his ‘darling’ Condoleezza Rice  —  The ransacking of Moammar Gadhafi's compound is turning up some bizarre loot.  Following on from the Libyan leader's eccentric fashion accessories …

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'?”

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 Goes All Out For Dirty Banker Deal  —  A power play is underway in the foreclosure arena, according to the New York Times.  —  On the one side is Eric Schneiderman, the New York Attorney General, who is conducting his own investigation into the era of securitizations …

What Happened to Howard Dean, Anti-War Champion?  —  Now that his party is in power, the former DNC chair is praising a war that transgresses against values he once touted  —  Although he spent 12 years as governor of Vermont, Howard Dean gained national attention during George W. Bush's …

Asking Candidates Tougher Questions About Faith  —  If a candidate for president said he believed that space aliens dwell among us, would that affect your willingness to vote for him?  Personally, I might not disqualify him out of hand; one out of three Americans believe we have had Visitors and, hey, who knows?