Prominent Pastor Calls Romney's Church a Cult  —  WASHINGTON — A Texas pastor introduced Rick Perry at a major conference of Christian conservatives here on Friday as “a genuine follower of Jesus Christ” and then walked outside and attacked Mitt Romney's religion, calling the Mormon Church …

CBO: Deficit is on track to be $1.3 trillion  —  The Congressional Budget Office on Friday said that the federal budget deficit is on track to be $1.3 trillion this year, $14 billion more than the deficit CBO predicted in August.  —  Despite all the wrangling in the spring between Republicans …

Rand Paul blames Obama for ‘inflaming’ Occupy Wall Street protests, worries of ‘lawlessness’  —  Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) said Friday that he believes the Occupy Wall Street protests stem from divisive rhetoric from President Obama, who has called for the richest Americans to pay increased taxes to help close the budget deficit.

Obama Fundraiser Pushed Solyndra Deal From Inside  —  An elite Obama fundraiser hired to help oversee the administration's energy loan program pushed and prodded career Department of Energy officials to move faster in approving a loan guarantee for Solyndra, even as his wife's law firm …

U.S. State Dept. contacts Khan family  —  An official from the U.S. State Department has called the Charlotte family of al-Qaida propagandist Samir Khan to offer the government's condolences on his death in a U.S. drone attack last week in Yemen, according to a family spokesman.

After a Rating Downgrade, U.S. Treasuries Turn a Profit  —  TWO months ago, Standard & Poor's downgraded the bond rating of the United States government.  So far, at least, the move has done wonders for investors in the very bonds that the rating agency disparaged.

GOP lauds pro-trade proposals, ignores Obama's pitch for jobs bill  —  Washington (CNN) - This week's radio spokesperson for the Republican Party said he is “glad to see that President Obama finally” did something to his liking.  —  South Dakota Sen. John Thune during the weekly Republican address …

ABOUT CHRIS BRENNAN AND CATHERINE LUCEY  —  Chris Brennan, a native Philadelphian and graduate of Temple University, joined the Daily News in 1999.  He has written about SEPTA, the Philadelphia School District, the legalization of casino gambling, state government, the mayor, the governor, City Council and political campaigns.

Attorney General Eric Holder fires back on Fast & Furious  —  Attorney General Eric Holder is denying charges that he misled Congress about his knowledge of Operation Fast and Furious, and he's denouncing lawmakers for “political posturing” in their strident criticism of the ill-fated gunrunning probe.

State Department readies Iraq operation, its biggest since Marshall Plan  —  The State Department is racing against an end-of-year deadline to take over Iraq operations from the U.S. military, throwing up buildings and marshalling contractors in its biggest overseas operation since the effort to rebuild Europe after World War II.

Karl Rove, Erik Paulsen Glitter Bombed at Anti-Gay Conference [VIDEOS]  —  BLOOMINGTON, MN — At the Minnesota Faith and Freedom Coalition strategy session about the upcoming ballot measure seeking to re-write the state constitution to ban marriages for same-sex couples, Republican Party hit-man Karl Rove …

Romney: century of American dominance ahead  —  Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney said Friday the next president would face complex foreign policy decisions but offered few details on his plan for one of the nation's most protracted international entanglements — the decade-old Afghanistan war.