Uptick in Texas Jobless Rate Puts Perry on the Spot  —  The unemployment rate in Texas rose a bit in August to 8.5%, its highest rate since 1987. … That leaves the Lone Star State in the middle of the pack nationally, but it's jobless rate remains below the national rate of 9.1%.

Abbas Says He Will Seek Palestinian State at the Security Council  —  JERUSALEM — The Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, announced Friday that he would seek membership for a state of Palestine from the United Nations Security Council next week, putting him on a collision course with Israel …

Clinton Popularity Prompts Buyer's Remorse  —  The most popular national political figure in America today is one who was rejected by her own party three years ago: Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.  —  Nearly two-thirds of Americans hold a favorable view of her and one-third are suffering …

The Planning Fallacy  —  When the Nobel Prize-winning psychologist Daniel Kahneman was a young man, he led a committee to write a new part of the curriculum for Israeli high schools.  The committee worked for a year, and Kahneman asked his colleagues how long they thought the rest of the project would take.

Supreme Court halts Texas execution  —  Justices act on an emergency appeal for a murderer sentenced to die after jurors were told he posed a greater danger because he is black.  Gov. Rick Perry and state judges had refused to intervene.  —  Duane Edward Buck, 48, was sentenced to die …

A dose of reality for the HPV debate  —  If Republican presidential candidates want to debate sexual health and hygiene, it would be nice if they displayed more collective knowledge and judgment than your average eighth-grade family-life class.  During the Tampa debate, a viewer longed for a blunt …

Wow: Ford ad blasts bailouts — and perhaps more  —  Is this just a business seeing a competitive edge against two of its rivals — or a political statement meant for wider purposes?  Ford has a new ad series called “Press Conference,” in which sales staff escort a Ford buyer into a room supposedly …

Documents show Solyndra sought second government loan guarantee for $469 million  —  Failed solar panel maker Solyndra's Securities and Exchange Commission filings show that seven months after the Obama administration's Department of Energy approved a $535 million federal loan guarantee …

Devout taxi drivers allowed to veto strip-club roof ads  —  The great religious war, waged on top of yellow cabs, has ended.  —  Devout Muslim hacks — who were crouched behind their steering wheels in shame while driving with ads for strip clubs atop their taxis — won a major victory yesterday in their war on roof smut.

Weiner gets 'brush'off  —  By S.A. MILLER in Washington and CARL CAMPANILE in NY  —  Scrub out the stench of Weiner!  —  Newly sworn-in Republican Rep. Bob Turner's family ordered a thorough cleaning of the House office space he inherited from his disgraced predecessor, Anthony Weiner …

Republican leaders assess Obama jobs plan in memo to members  —  House Republican leaders assessed President Obama's jobs plan Friday in a memo to their rank and file, and they found plenty of proposals to criticize.  —  The leaders cited trade agreements and incentives for small businesses …

You Don't Make Social Security More Solvent By Eliminating Its Funding Base  —  Television hosts who like to ask Republican Party members politically charges questions about Social Security (you know who you are) really ought to take 10-20 minutes to think about how Social Security works …

John Boehner's misfire on pending federal regulations  —  “At this moment, the Executive Branch has 219 new rules in the works that will cost our economy at least $100 million.  That means under the current Washington agenda, our economy is poised to take a hit from the government of at least $100 million — 219 times.”

Free to Die  —  Back in 1980, just as America was making its political turn to the right, Milton Friedman lent his voice to the change with the famous TV series “Free to Choose.”  In episode after episode, the genial economist identified laissez-faire economics with personal choice and empowerment …

Teaparty.com Could Make a Rock Band Rich  —  Political operatives may pay top dollar for the domain name, owned by a Canadian rock band that pioneered a style called “Moroccan roll”  —  There's no hotter name in politics right now than the Tea Party.  But anyone seized with a desire …

2 Men Accused Of Taking Dead Friend Out For Night On The Town  —  DENVER (CBS4) - Two men are facing charges in a crime that has family members shocked.  —  They are accused of putting their deceased friend into a car and then heading out for a night of bar hopping.  —  Jeffrey Jarrett died last month.

Mayor Bloomberg predicts riots in the streets if economy doesn't create more jobs  —  Mayor Bloomberg warned Friday there would be riots in the streets if Washington doesn't get serious about generating jobs.  —  “We have a lot of kids graduating college, can't find jobs,” Bloomberg said on his weekly WOR radio show.