W.H. furious over speech delay  —  It seemed like a trivial matter: On Wednesday, House Republicans forced the president to delay his speech to a joint session of Congress by one day.  —  Who cares?  The White House cares.  Very much.  —  “It is a big deal that the House said ‘no’ to the president …

U.S. Is Set to Sue a Dozen Big Banks Over Mortgages  —  The federal agency that oversees the mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is set to file suits against more than a dozen big banks, accusing them of misrepresenting the quality of mortgage securities they assembled and sold …

Fox News Poll: Perry Overtakes Romney as Top GOP 2012 Pick; Most Say Palin Should Stay Out of Race  —  Even as Texas Gov. Rick Perry moves into the lead as Republican voters' preferred presidential candidate, a Fox News poll released Thursday shows that voters are more likely to view him as …

Road trip!  American student joins rebels in fight for Qaddafi stronghold  —  Chris Jeon, 21, a student at at University of California - Los Angeles, decided to travel to Libya to join the rebels for the last six weeks of his summer vacation.  Here he is surrounded by rebels who are amassing …

Top Ten Right-Wing Responses To CAP's Islamophobia Report: ‘Cowards,’ ‘Straight Out of Mein Kampf,’ ‘A Pile Of Dung’  —  The Center for American Progress's new report, “Fear, Inc.: The Roots of the Islamophobia Network in America” is receiving a positive welcome from neutral observers …

Sarah Palin's Saturday Speech Will Be a ‘Full Throated Defense of the Tea Party’  —  ABC's Shushannah Walshe and Sheila Marikar report:  —  Two days before Sarah Palin's much anticipated, on, off, and on again Iowa speech, details are emerging about what the former Alaska governor will say.

Florida Republicans Fight To Keep ‘Cohabitation’ Of Unmarried Couples Illegal  —  Thousands of unmarried couples who are living together in Florida may be surprised to learn that they are actually breaking the law.  Under outdated and rarely enforced state laws that have been on the books since …

Grassley, Issa Expand ‘Fast and Furious’ Investigation  —  That didn't take long.  —  Sen. Chuck Grassley (R., Iowa) and Rep. Darrell Issa (R., Calif.) said they were expanding their probe into a troubled anti-gun-trafficking program, two days after the Justice Department announced a shake-up of officials who oversaw the program.

CNN Poll: 8 in 10 think we're in a recession  —  Washington (CNN) - Economic fears are not diminishing.  More than eight in 10 Americans think the economy is in another recession, according to a new CNN/ORC poll.  One-third of those surveyed think it's serious.

White House downgrades 2012 jobs, economic forecasts; cites ‘turbulence’  —  The Obama administration downgraded its forecast for economic growth Thursday, predicting turmoil in the economy will likely keep unemployment above 9 percent through next year's election.

Protests disrupt Proms concert by Israel Philharmonic  —  Pro-Palestinian demonstrators inside the hall were greeted by boos when they tried to protest  —  Protesters have disrupted the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra's BBC Proms concert at London's Royal Albert Hall.

Is The Great Recession Forcing Graduates Of Elite Colleges Into A Desperate Life Of Rockstardom?  —  As we saw yesterday, the recession's bite has been broad, including on the earnings of recent college graduates.  But this seems to be going a bit far:

Is austerity killing Europe's recovery?  —  MADRID — After more than a year of aggressive budget cutting by European governments, an economic slowdown on the continent is confronting policymakers from Madrid to Frankfurt with an uncomfortable question: Have they been addressing the wrong problem?

Five GOP Presidential Candidates Have Proposed Eliminating Capital Gains Tax, A $1 Trillion Giveaway To The Rich  —  Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) and former Gov. Jon Huntsman (R-UT)  —  Yesterday, 2012 GOP presidential long-shot Jon Huntsman unveiled an economic plan that …

Dude!  Free weed lying on San Jose street snatched up by bystanders  —  It was a pot head's dream: Free marijuana lying on the street for the taking, without a cop in sight.  —  San Jose police say a truck illegally carrying marijuana crashed and ended up on its side near Oakridge Mall early Wednesday …

Tucson Republican Leader Slams County GOP For Giffords Gun Raffle  —  Eyebrows shot up all over the country Thursday following news that that the Republican Party in Pima County, AZ — home to Tucson and Rep. Gabrielle Giffords' (D) district — is raffling off a Glock similar to the one used to shoot Giffords in the head in January.

New Hampshire GOP chair resigns  —  Concord, New Hampshire (CNN) - Embattled New Hampshire GOP Chair Jack Kimball resigned his post Thursday, forestalling a planned vote by the party's executive committee that could have ended in his removal.  —  In an emotional speech …

Berlusconi vows to leave ‘s**tty’ Italy in conversation recorded by police  —  Transcripts from blackmail investigation reveal the Italian prime minister's frustration with his country  —  In a sign of his frustration at the investigations into his alleged crimes and misdemeanours …