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.

Pataki not running-Perry talking with Trump-Romney, Bachmann staying the course-Huntsman's purple tie-Kimball: Never Quit-GOP turning on Palin  —  SCORE EXCLUSIVE - TRUMP TALKING WITH PERRY: Rick Perry has been speaking with Donald Trump by phone since wading into the presidential race, a Trump representative told Morning Score.

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 inevitable 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.

When bad governors try bad ideas  —  Florida Gov. Rick Scott (R) came up with an idea he considered pretty clever.  First, he told Floridians that people on welfare were more likely to be drug addicts.  What did Scott base this on?  Nothing in particular — he seemed to just make it up — but Scott was quite fond of the argument.

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 …

CERN: ‘Climate models will need to be substantially revised’  —  New atomsmasher research into cloud formation  —  CERN's 8,000 scientists may not be able to find the hypothetical Higgs boson, but they have made an important contribution to climate physics, prompting climate models to be revised.

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 …

NLRB OKs new rule, faces new controversy  —  The National Labor Relations Board, already under attack from conservatives concerned about regulatory overreach, is requiring that businesses must post information in the workplace telling employees about their rights to unionize.

Carmakers' rebound is driving jobs in U.S.  —  The industry that once needed bailing out could be the one to stave off recession.  —  Taxpayers bailed out much of the U.S. auto industry.  Now the carmakers might be what saves the nation's economy from falling back into recession.

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):

Gadafy daughter who ‘died’ in 1986 alive  —  The adopted daughter of Muammar Gadafy, whom he claimed died as an infant in the 1986 US bombing of his Tripoli compound, appears to be alive and worked as a doctor in the Libyan capital, documents discovered by The Irish Times indicate.