Impressions of Tonight's Debate  —  The GOP presidential debate is coming to a close.  Here are some random thoughts:  —  * I doubt that many people saw it.  My wife wasn't able to find it on television, and finally tracked it down on the internet, when it was half done.  So the impact is likely to be slight.

Obama's jobs plan blocked in Senate  —  President Obama received a slap from members of his own party Tuesday as the Senate voted 50-49 to block his $447 billion jobs package.  —  The jobs plan, which the president has spent much of the last month touting on a cross-country tour, fell well short of the 60 votes it needed to proceed.

U.S. Says Iran-Tied Terror Plot in Washington, D.C. Disrupted  —  FBI and DEA agents have disrupted a plot to commit a “significant terrorist act in the United States” tied to Iran, federal officials told ABC News today.  —  The officials said the plot included the assassination …

Israel Reaches Deal With Hamas to Free Gilad Shalit  —  JERUSALEM — Israel and Hamas announced an agreement on Tuesday to exchange more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners for an Israeli soldier held captive in Gaza for five years, a deal brokered by Egypt that seemed likely to shake …

Slovakia Rejects Euro Bailout  —  WARSAW — Slovakia's Parliament rejected participating in a crucial euro rescue fund on Tuesday night in a vote that backfired on the prime minister, who had tied her government to the legislation through a confidence vote.  —  Negotiations to try to stave off …

Occupy L.A. Speaker: Violence will be Necessary to Achieve Our Goals  —  Citizen journalist Ringo captured this speaker at the Occupy Los Angeles camp a few days ago letting the cat out of the bag: After dismissing nonviolence as a dead end, he admits that for the Occupiers to achieve their goals …

Mitt Romney: Perry Must ‘Repudiate’ Pastor's Anti-Mormon Remarks [UPDATED] … 2012 Election , Mitt Romney , Elections 2012 , Republicans 2012 , Rick Perry , Video , 2012 Presidential Race , Mitt Romney Mormonism , Robert Jeffress , Robert Jeffress Mormonism , Chris Christie 2012 …

The Left's Nervous Breakdown  —  Obama has failed, and his supporters are turning to nihilism.  —  The White House is “bracing for the defeat of President Obama's jobs bill,” the Hill reports.  That's hardly surprising, since Republicans control the House—except that it is the Senate …

Police arrest scores of Occupy Boston protesters  —  Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino today defended the arrests of scores of Occupy Boston protesters in a section of the city's Greenway park, saying he agrees with them on the issues but they couldn't be allowed to “tie up the city.”

Family of Al Qaeda's Samir Khan Gets ‘Condolence Call’ From U.S. State Department  —  The U.S. State Department made a phone call to the family of Al Qaeda propagandist Samir Khan to offer the government's condolences on his death during a U.S. drone strike in Yemen, a department spokesman confirms.