CNN Poll: Perry still at top but Romney stronger vs. Obama  —  Washington (CNN) - Despite his performances in the two most recent Republican presidential debates, a new national survey indicates that Texas Gov. Rick Perry remains on top of the field in the race for the GOP nomination.

Obama mocks Perry, Republican debates  —  President Obama broadened his attack on Republicans Sunday night, firing an indirect shot at Texas Gov. Rick Perry and condemning audience members at recent Republican debates.  —  At a fundraiser in San Jose, Calif., Obama said that some in the audience might …

New gaffe: Obama confuses Jews with janitors  —  President Obama spoke to the Congressional Black Caucus awards banquet over the weekend.  —  Those folks will stick with him in 2012, of course.  —  But they've been somewhat miffed in recent months that the first post-partisan president …

Cain nearly quit campaign before Florida straw poll, calls Obama a ‘liar’  —  ORLANDO, Fla. — Not everyone needs to go to Disney World to have fun in central Florida.  —  After one of Herman Cain's strongest showings yet at a Republican presidential debate Thursday, and two days …

Shutdown looms: Spotlight now on Senate after Boehner wrangled House GOP votes  —  With time running out, Congress returns Monday to try to pass a short-term funding measure to avert a government shutdown and avoid yet another market-rattling showdown over the federal budget.

Roger's Reality Show  —  First, Ailes dialed back the Tea Party talk.  Now he's turning the GOP race into a political X-Factor—and steering the election agenda one more time.  —  It was part political spectacle, part American Idol, part YouTube extravaganza, a pure Roger Ailes production …

Americans Express Historic Negativity Toward U.S. Government  —  Several long-term Gallup trends at or near historical lows  —  PRINCETON, NJ — A record-high 81% of Americans are dissatisfied with the way the country is being governed, adding to negativity that has been building over the past 10 years.

‘Firefly’ and Anti-Fascism Posters Get Professor Threatened with Criminal Charges on University of Wisconsin Campus  —  A professor has been censored twice, reported to the “threat assessment team,” and threatened with criminal charges because of satirical postings on his office door.

U.S. Government Used Taxpayer Funds to Buy, Sell Weapons During ‘Fast and Furious,’ Documents Show  —  Not only did U.S. officials approve, allow and assist in the sale of more than 2,000 guns to the Sinaloa cartel — the federal government used taxpayer money to buy semi-automatic weapons …

Why we need a third party  —  So here's where we are.  Our president calls himself “a warrior for the middle class” because he's campaigning for a plan that might add 2 million new jobs next year at a time when 25 million Americans who want full-time work can't find it.  —  If that's war, what would surrender look like?

A MORNING CALL INVESTIGATION  —  The Morning Call interviewed 20 current and former Amazon warehouse workers who offered a behind-the-scenes glimpse of what it's like to work in the warehouse, where temperatures soar on hot summer days, production rates are difficult to achieve …

Kean Confirms Christie Boomlet: 'It's Real'  —  Former New Jersey governor Tom Kean, who has known Chris Christie since he was a teenager and remains an informal adviser, tells National Review Online that the governor is “very seriously” considering a presidential bid.  —  “It's real,” Kean says.

Videos Show Police Using Pepper Spray at Protest on the Financial System  —  For a few moments on Saturday, the confrontations between the police and the protesters just south of Union Square in Manhattan seemed fairly typical.  People pushed, the police shoved and arrests were made …

Mearsheimer responds to Goldberg's latest smear  —  Ever since John Mearsheimer and I began writing about the Israel lobby, some of our critics have leveled various personal charges against us.  These attacks rarely addressed the substance of what we wrote — a tacit concession that both facts …

Euro Zone Death Trip  —  Is it possible to be both terrified and bored?  That's how I feel about the negotiations now under way over how to respond to Europe's economic crisis, and I suspect other observers share the sentiment.  —  On one side, Europe's situation is really, really scary …

‘Outrageous’  —  A Rick Perry spokesman pushed back on President Obama's use of the Texas wildfires in a fundraising speech last night to criticize the GOP frontrunner as a climate-change critic.  —  “It's outrageous President Obama would use the burning of 1,500 homes, the worst fires in state history …

Banking and Finance  —  Related articles, background features and opinions about this topic.  —  Going Rogue  —  Share Traders More Reckless Than Psychopaths, Study Shows  —  UBS trader Kweku Adoboli, shown leaving a London court on Sept. 22, allegedly made unauthorized trades that cost the Swiss investment bank billions.

Obama Proposes Protecting Unemployed Against Hiring Bias  —  WASHINGTON — President Obama has not been particularly successful in fostering the creation of jobs.  But he thinks he has found a way to pry open doors in the workplace for many of the unemployed, especially those who have been out of work for a long time.

Why Gay Rights Activists Are Winning—And What the Left Can Learn  —  Nothing seems to provoke President Obama more than being challenged by the progressive base.  Maybe that's why it's a tactic that works.  —  Remember when you believed that if we just elected enough Democrats to Congress …

Scalia: Duquesne should strive to retain Catholic identity  —  He is one of the most outspoken, influential and controversial justices in the recent history of the Supreme Court, and on Monday, Antonin Scalia marks his 25th anniversary on the nation's highest court.

Cocaine ‘blow’ to economy  —  Here's another sign of the stalled economy — New Yorkers are ditching their coke habits.  —  Cocaine-related emergency-room admissions, overdoses and requests for rehab have declined since the economy started its 2008 decline, according to data obtained by The Post.