First on CNN: Florida will likely hold Jan. primary, threatening presidential calendar  —  Washington (CNN) — Florida is now expected to hold its presidential primary on the last day in January 2012, a move likely to throw the carefully arranged Republican nominating calendar into disarray …

Obama's top ‘fat cat’ strays  —  JP Morgan honcho Jamie Dimon, once a “fat cat” ally of President Obama, seems to have strayed to Republican contender Mitt Romney.  —  Dimon, a lifelong Democrat who was rumored to be on Obama's short list for treasury secretary before he settled on Tim Geithner …

Perdue suggests suspending Congressional elections for two years — was she serious?  —  UPDATED: File this in the random-things-politicians-say file.  —  Speaking to a Cary rotary club today, N.C. Gov. Bev Perdue suggested suspending Congressional elections for two years so that Congress …

Solyndra Said to Have Violated Terms of Its U.S. Loan  —  Solyndra LLC had such steep financial problems in late 2010 that the company violated terms of its loan-guarantee agreement with the Department of Energy and technically defaulted on its $535 million loan, according to people familiar with the matter.

Why Establishment Media & the Power Elite Loathe Occupy Wall Street  —  Straw Poll on Direct Action (photo: Collin David Anderson)  —  Over the past ten days, hundreds of people have occupied Zuccotti Park in lower Manhattan in New York as part of Occupy Wall Street.

Obama Jobs Plan May Prevent 2012 Recession  —  President Barack Obama's $447 billion jobs plan would help avoid a return to recession by maintaining growth and pushing down the unemployment rate next year, according to economists surveyed by Bloomberg News.  —  The legislation …

Despite Negativity, Americans Mixed on Ideal Role of Gov't  —  At the same time, the majority tend to see government reaching too far  —  PRINCETON, NJ — Americans have divided opinions when asked to think broadly about the purpose of government.  About as many Americans (35%) …

Chris Christie Speech at the Reagan Library: Full Text  —  “Real American Exceptionalism”  —  Mrs. Reagan, distinguished guests.  It is an honor for me to be here at the Reagan Library to speak to you today.  I want to thank Mrs. Reagan for her gracious invitation.  I am thrilled to be here.

Palin sends more mixed signals  —  Sarah Palin, as often, sent ambivalent signals in her interview on Fox News last night.  —  The clip that everyone is buzzing about last night and this morning as a sign that she's leaning against a run: … I say “ambivalent signals” because …

A President Who's Well-Liked Falls Well Short On Execution  —  President Obama faces head winds from independents, an important voting bloc for re-election in 2012.  Many of them think well of him personally, but they are disenchanted.  They don't like his policies, and they see him as inexperienced.

Euro Crisis  —  Related articles, background features and opinions about this topic.  —  The World from Berlin  —  Obama's Euro-Crisis Lecture Is ‘Pitiful and Sad’  —  Obama slammed the Europeans at an event in Mountain View, California on Monday.  —  US President Obama has given …

Blacks leave Obama  —  Behind the president's whining to the Black Caucus, begging them to “quit grumbling,” is a decline in his personal popularity among African-American voters that could portend catastrophe for his fading reelection chances.  —  According to a Washington Post/ABC News survey …

O-bummer!  MTV tunes out prez campaign  —  President Obama's re-election campaign wants to connect with young Americans and reached out recently to MTV for help — but the cable network turned them down, sources tell The Post.  —  The president's Get Out the Vote campaign, run by Buffy Wicks …

A Tea Party Invitation to Morgan Freeman  —  My name is Ali Akbar.  I'm a 26 year-old African-American small business owner and a tea party activist.  I'm not writing to rake you over the coals in the way that many conservatives have done in the last 48 hours.

Germany slams ‘stupid’ US plans to boost EU rescue fund  —  Germany and America were on a collision course on Tuesday night over the handling of Europe's debt crisis after Berlin savaged plans to boost the EU rescue fund as a “stupid idea” and told the White House to sort out its own mess before giving gratuitous advice to others.

For David Plouffe, a top Obama adviser, a new strategy and old doubts  —  View Photo Gallery —  President Obama's reelection campaign and DNC together raised $86 million in the second quarter of 2011.  Outside of fundraising, the president is ramping up support for his reelection …

As Scorn for Vote Grows, Protests Surge Around Globe  —  MADRID — Hundreds of thousands of disillusioned Indians cheer a rural activist on a hunger strike.  Israel reels before the largest street demonstrations in its history.  Enraged young people in Spain and Greece take over public squares across their countries.

Perry's Wife Influenced Stance on HPV Vaccine  —  Four years after Gov. Rick Perry issued an executive order that would have made Texas the first state to require that sixth-grade girls be vaccinated against a sexually transmitted disease linked to cervical cancer, its genesis remains a mystery.

Two Cheers for Luddism  —  An interesting discussion in the comment thread to Erik's post on the welcome decline of robocheckers below.  There's been some mild pushback against the notion of resisting robocheckers out of solidarity with the actual paycheck-drawing, rent-paying, family-feeding workers.

EPA delays auto emissions, mileage rule rollout  —  The Environmental Protection Agency and the Transportation Department are delaying the release of proposed regulations establishing the next round of joint greenhouse gas and mileage standards for cars and light trucks.

Cantaloupe Listeria Outbreak Is The Deadliest In A Decade; 16 Dead So Far … WASHINGTON — Health officials say as many as 16 people have died from possible listeria illnesses traced to Colorado cantaloupes, the deadliest food outbreak in more than a decade.