Rick Perry slips, Herman Cain rises in bid for GOP nomination, poll finds  —  After a quick rise in the race for the Republican presidential nomination, Texas Gov. Rick Perry has experienced an almost equally dramatic decline, losing about half of his support over the past month, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.

On Wall Street, a Protest Matures  —  “I think a good deal of the bankers should be in jail.”  —  That is what Andrew Cole, an unemployed 24-year-old graduate of Bucknell University, told me Monday morning in Zuccotti Park, the epicenter of the Occupy Wall Street movement.

ESPN yanks Hank Williams for comparing Obama to Hitler  —  Hank Williams Jr., the voice famous for asking millions of viewers if they're ready for some football, has been pulled from Monday's broadcast of “Monday Night Football” over a comment he made on Fox News this morning.

White House kept Democratic senators hanging on the phone  —  President Obama's relations with Senate Democratic leaders are deteriorating along with his poll numbers.  —  With Obama's approval ratings at record lows and the 2012 electoral map favoring Senate Republicans …

Fund-Raiser Offers Clues on Governor's Intentions  —  New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who has kept the political world in suspense for weeks over his presidential intentions, told prominent California fund-raisers and donors as recently as last Wednesday he had no plans to seek the White House.

After Ruling, Hispanics Flee an Alabama Town  —  ALBERTVILLE, Ala. — The vanishing began Wednesday night, the most frightened families packing up their cars as soon as they heard the news.  —  They left behind mobile homes, sold fully furnished for a thousand dollars or even less.

Testimony  —  Economic Outlook and Recent Monetary Policy Actions  —  Before the Joint Economic Committee, U.S. Congress, Washington, D.C.  —  Chairman Casey, Vice Chairman Brady, and other members of the Committee, I appreciate this opportunity to discuss the economic outlook and recent monetary policy actions.

‘Durbin fee’ will cost bank customers billions  —  U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) conducts a news conference in the Rock Island Country Market grocery store in Rock Island, Ill. on Sept. 30, 2011 to discuss reforms to the debit interchange system that will go into effect on Oct. 1, 2011.

E-Mails Show Obama Was Warned; Bitter OMB, DOE Divide Over Solyndra  —  President Obama tours Solyndra's California headquarters in 2010 to tout investment in renewable energy.  New emails show the White House was warned before the visit about Solyndra's long-term viability …

Docs show Holder was informed of Fast and Furious in 2010  —  Attorney General Eric Holder was issued multiple memos from senior Justice Department officials about a controversial gun-tracking operation months before he said he first became aware it, according to documents.

Facebook is fine with hate speech, as long as it's directed at women |  Cath Elliott  —  The social network's ‘jokes in the pub’ analogy, defending its decision not to take down pro-rape pages, is offensive  —  It doesn't matter how hard I study Facebook's terms and conditions …

Sources: Christie's Out  —  Trenton, N.J. - New Jersey Republicans tell National Review Online that Gov. Chris Christie will not run for president.  The governor, they predict, will make this clear at a press conference this afternoon.  Per his schedule, he'll meet with reporters at 1 p.m. outside his office.

Romney Can't Bring Himself To Condemn Jeering Of Gay Soldier  —  Mitt Romney couldn't bring himself to condemn the booing of a gay soldier serving in Iraq during an interview with the the editor and publisher of the Union Leader yesterday.  The former Massachusetts governor admitted that he heard …

Wonkbook: The jobs bill is dead  —  It's not much of a surprise, I guess.  The American Jobs Act never had a particularly good chance of passing the House.  But as of yesterday, it's officially dead.  Majority Leader Eric Cantor isn't even pretending the two sides will work something out.