Perry Slumps in Polls, but Not to Romney's Gain  —  There have been three scientific national polls released of Republican voters since the Sept. 22 debate: a CNN poll that was conducted over the last weekend, and polls by Fox News and Economist/YouGov released on Wednesday.

Congress Takes Group Of Schoolchildren Hostage  —  WASHINGTON—Brandishing shotguns and semiautomatic pistols, members of the 112th U.S. Congress took a class of visiting schoolchildren hostage this morning, barricading themselves inside the Capitol rotunda, where they remain at press time.

Anti-Obama sign in Uptown neighborhood draws controversy  —  NEW ORLEANS — There are several political signs attracting all kinds of attention in one Uptown neighborhood.  —  On Wednesday, crowds gathered at the corner of Calhoun and Coralie streets, looking at several signs depicting President Barack Obama …

Chris Christie: Is New Jersey Governor Too Overweight to Become President?  —  For Chris Christie, there was no way around it.  “In case you haven't noticed, I'm slightly overweight,” he said during a debate in his successful campaign for governor.  —  Two years later, Christie is the man …

A ‘Furious’ revelation  —  This just might be the smoking gun we've been waiting for to break the festering “Fast and Furious” gun-running scandal wide open: the Department of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives apparently ordered one of its own agents to purchase firearms with taxpayer money …

Shocking video shows attempted murder of teen outside Brooklyn McDonald's  —  Three toughs pulled off a choreographed plan to pass a gun between them like a hot potato before one of them opened fire at a teen outside a Brooklyn McDonald's - and all of it was caught on camera.

Democrats Dispirited About Voting in 2012  —  Republicans' enthusiasm for voting matches 2004 and exceeds 2008  —  PRINCETON, NJ — In thinking about the 2012 presidential election, 45% of Democrats and independents who lean Democratic say they are more enthusiastic about voting than usual …

Americans reject the right's bogus ‘class warfare’ charge  —  It's become an article of faith among conservatives — and even some neutral commentators — that Obama'a newly aggressive populism and call for tax hikes on the rich is “class warfare,” a nakedly partisan play for the Democratic base …

California and Bust  —  The smart money says the U.S. economy will splinter, with some states thriving, some states not, and all eyes are on California as the nightmare scenario.  After a hair-raising visit with former governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, who explains why the Golden State has cratered …

Joe Biden: The economy belongs to us, not Bush  —  Vice President Joe Biden said in a live interview with Miami public radio station WLRN Thursday that the Obama administration - not the Bush administration - now has ownership of the struggling U.S. economy.

U.S. Decries Salaries, Staffing in New UN Budget  —  The Obama administration told the United Nations that too few of its 10,307 workers are being cut and average salaries, currently $119,000 a year, have risen “dramatically.”  —  The U.S. ambassador for UN management and reform …

Obama may have more than five votes to uphold health-care law  —  The Obama administration's decision on Wednesday to seek review of a lower court's ruling on the constitutionality of its signature health-care program almost guarantees a Supreme Court decision by next June.  And the administration is predicting victory.

UW-Stout Chancellor Doubles Down on Censorship of ‘Firefly’ and Anti-Fascism Posters  —  The chancellor of University of Wisconsin-Stout (UWS) has declared that he will not defend faculty First Amendment rights from censorship.  UWS censored theater professor James Miller's poster featuring …

Breaking: anti-gay N.C. Senator Forrester falsifies credentials - and an open letter to the lawmaker  —  NOTE FROM PAM: It's sad that a lawmaker, namely North Carolina State Senator James Forrester, is so blinded by ignorance and bigotry that he embarrasses himself — and his cause …

Teacher penalizes students for saying “bless you”  —  FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) — A Northern California teacher says he doesn't want to hear a common courtesy in his classroom.  —  He's even lowering students' grades if they say “bless you” after someone sneezes.

Obama: A disaster for civil liberties  —  He may prove the most disastrous president in our history in terms of civil liberties.  —  President Obama failed to close Guantanamo Bay, continued warrantless surveillance and military tribunals and asserted the right to kill U.S. citizens he views as terrorists.

More Than 300,000 Ohio Voters Submit Petition Suspending Gov. Kasich's Anti-Voter Law  —  Earlier this year, Ohio Gov. John Kasich (R) signed a sweeping bill intended to make it harder to vote in his states' elections.  Kasich's anti-voter law drastically cuts back on early voting and erects …

Ladies and gentleman, we are currently cruising down Wall Street because we are fed up with our bosses!  Pilots stage protest  —  Wall Street saw yet another surge in protesters today - as hundreds of Continental and United Airlines pilots demonstrated in New York City's financial district.

Exclusive: Crook busted after robbing same bank for third day in row  —  Now that's customer loyalty.  —  A greedy bank robber starred in his own criminal version of “Groundhog Day” — holding up the same downtown Sovereign branch on three consecutive days before he was finally busted yesterday, police sources told The Post yesterday.

Killing the Recovery  —  The world has barely dug out of recession and the global economy is again slowing dangerously.  Most leaders seem eager to make things even worse.  —  Instead of looking for ways to reignite growth, Europe's leaders — and Republicans on Capitol Hill — are determined to slash public spending.