A New York Hurricane Could Be a Multibillion-Dollar Catastrophe  —  Time to think about the unthinkable.  What if a major hurricane were to pass close to New York City, as several forecasting models now suggest that Hurricane Irene might?  —  Apart from the potential loss of life …

President Rick Perry?  —  A few weeks ago it was possible to believe that Mitt Romney would win the New Hampshire primary and cruise easily to the Republican nomination.  It's harder to see that now.  —  There have been a slew of polls showing Gov. Rick Perry of Texas surging to double-digit national leads.

The Near- and Longer-Term Prospects for the U.S. Economy  —  Good morning.  As always, thanks are due to the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City for organizing this conference.  This year's topic, long-term economic growth, is indeed pertinent—as has so often been the case at this symposium in past years.

Ron Paul: Who Needs FEMA Anyway?  —  ABC News' Jason Volack reports:  —  With Hurricane Irene bearing down on the East Coast and taking direct aim at America's biggest city, who needs the Federal Emergency Management Agency anyway?  —  At least that's the question that presidential candidate …

Guitar Frets: Environmental Enforcement Leaves Musicians in Fear  —  Federal agents swooped in on Gibson Guitar Wednesday, raiding factories and offices in Memphis and Nashville, seizing several pallets of wood, electronic files and guitars.  The Feds are keeping mum, but in a statement …

Republican Politician Naked, Bending Over on Gay Sex Site  —  Puerto Rico's Anthony Weiner is much more thrilling than ours: Last week, images from Puerto Rican senator and GOP cheerleader Roberto Arango's alleged profile on gay hook-up app Grindr surfaced.  When a Puerto Rican TV show confronted him …

ESPN ‘reminds’ Azinger to lay off tweets about President Obama  —  UPDATE: ESPN is coming down on Paul Azinger for mocking President Barack Obama on Twitter.  The golf analyst tweeted Friday that the Commander-in-chief plays more golf than he does — and that Azinger has created more jobs this month than Obama has.

U.S. Offers Key Support to Canadian Pipeline  —  WASHINGTON — The Obama administration gave a crucial green light on Friday to a proposed 1,711-mile pipeline that would carry heavy oil from Canada across the Great Plains to terminals in Oklahoma and the Gulf Coast, saying the project …

Fear, Inc.  —  The Roots of the Islamophobia Network in America  —  Anti-Muslim graffiti defaces a Shi'ite mosque at the Islamic Center of America in Dearborn, Michigan.  —  SOURCE: Getty Images/Bill Pugliano  —  Download individual chapters of the report (pdf):

ATTORNEY GENERAL TOM HORNE SUES FEDERAL GOVERNMENT TO DECLARE PRECLEARANCE UNCONSTITUTIONAL  —  Attorney General Tom Horne today filed lawsuit against the federal government for an injunction and a declaratory judgment that the portion of the Voting Rights Act requiring Arizona to pre clear …

Seeds of Discontent for Bachmann in Iowa; Told to Cut the ‘Barack Obama Rock Star Crap’  —  Not two weeks removed from cheers surrounding her momentous victory at the Iowa GOP's Straw Poll, there is a growing chorus of criticism about the way Rep. Michele Bachmann has been conducting her campaign in the Hawkeye State.

Indiana College Bans “Too Violent” National Anthem  —  First it banned the words, now the whole song  —  The National Anthem is a tradition at sporting events, but it is banned at Goshen College.  —  Tiny Goshen College in Indiana has banned the “The Star Spangled Banner …

Giant rat killed by pitchfork in Marcy Houses is believed to be Gambian pouched rat  —  It sounds like an urban legend: giant mutant-looking rats roaming a city housing project.  —  Only there's a picture.  —  A photo making the rounds shows Housing Authority worker Jose Rivera minutes …

About Jonathan Alter  —  You Think Obama's Been a Bad President?  Prove It: Jonathan Alter  —  Tell me again why Barack Obama has been such a bad president?  I'm not talking here about him as a tactician and communicator.  We can agree that he has played some bad poker with Congress.

527 group waned after Gingrich campaign imploded in June  —  The Newt Gingrich money machine that raised $52 million in just four years to promote his ideas and image, American Solutions for Winning the Future, has quietly gone belly up.  —  Gingrich set up the 527 group in 2007 …

Horror scenes at Tripoli hospital  —  The BBC's Wyre Davies says staff in one Tripoli hospital fled the fighting leaving patients to die  —  More than 200 decomposing bodies have been found abandoned at a hospital in a district of the Libyan capital, Tripoli, that has seen fierce fighting.