Cain rises in Post-ABC poll despite scandal; most Republicans dismiss allegations  —  Businessman Herman Cain and former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney are running nearly even atop the field of 2012 GOP presidential hopefuls, a new Washington Post-ABC News poll shows …

Moore Lashes Out At CBS4 Over Wealth Questions  —  Filmmaker Visits Occupy Denver Protesters  —  DENVER (CBS4) - Filmmaker and activist Michael Moore joined a growing crowd at the “Occupy” Denver protest Thursday evening, but his encounter with CBS4 left him fuming when he was asked …

Huckabee defends Romney on abortion  —  Mike Huckabee was on Fox News today, where he talked about Mitt Romney's position on abortion, as well as the DNC's new attack ad, linking Mitt to an anti-abortion measure in Mississippi.  —  Huckabee: … Two comments.

As Regulators Pressed Changes, Corzine Pushed Back, and Won  —  Months before MF Global teetered on the brink, federal regulators were seeking to rein in the types of risky trades that contributed to the firm's collapse.  But they faced opposition from an influential opponent: Jon S. Corzine …

Sarah Palin: ‘Occupy Wall Street’ wants a bailout  —  Sarah Palin says the Occupy Wall Street protesters are just clamoring for the same “bailout” that the “fat cats” in the financial industry received from the government.  —  “They say, 'Wall Street fat cats got a bailout …

Obama's Flunking Economy: The Real Cause  —  Confidence Men: Wall Street, Washington, and the Education of a President  —  Harper, 515 pp., $29.99  —  Ron Suskind's Confidence Men is not a calm first draft of history.  It is not an impartial or unbiased look at the Obama administration's first two years.

Deranged homeless man goes on violent rampage in Zuccotti Park  —  This is the new face of Zuccotti Park!  —  A deranged homeless man who has been squatting among the Occupy Wall Street protesters in lower Manhattan went on a violent, early-morning rampage yesterday, cursing incoherently and kicking down tents.

Threat of the Day  —  This blog's seen a recent really unpleasant uptick in trolling and now, violent threats.  When I started posting some of the things people were saying on Twitter, Fast Company editor Nancy Miller suggested that bloggers start tweeting the harassment they get …

Deadbeat Rep. Joe Walsh, Who Owes $100k In Child Support, Receives ‘Pro-Family’ Award From Family Research Council  —  In July, the press learned that Rep. Joe Walsh (R-IL), a Tea Party freshman in Congress, owed $117,000 in unpaid child support to his ex-wife.

Oligarchy, American Style  —  Inequality is back in the news, largely thanks to Occupy Wall Street, but with an assist from the Congressional Budget Office.  And you know what that means: It's time to roll out the obfuscators!  —  Anyone who has tracked this issue over time knows what I mean.

Bleak Portrait of Poverty Is Off the Mark, Experts Say  —  WASHINGTON — When the Census Bureau said in September that the number of poor Americans had soared by 10 million to rates rarely seen in four decades, commentators called the report “shocking” and “bleak.”  Most poverty experts would add another description: “flawed.”

Why Science Majors Change Their Minds (It's Just So Darn Hard)  —  LAST FALL, President Obama threw what was billed as the first White House Science Fair, a photo op in the gilt-mirrored State Dining Room.  He tested a steering wheel designed by middle schoolers to detect distracted driving and peeked inside a robot that plays soccer.

Developer with shotgun scared off Oakland rioters  —  OAKLAND — Oakland developer Phil Tagami is used to working behind the scenes to broker some of the biggest deals in town.  Late Wednesday, he was using different persuasive skills - holding a loaded shotgun to scare away rioters trying to get into a downtown building.

A Democratic convention tests a right-to-work state [UPDATED]  —  As the Democratic National Convention gets rolling in Charlotte, the tensions between the party's labor allies and North Carolina's fiercely anti-labor political and business leaders remains on the surface.

U.S. Tightens Drone Rules  —  The Central Intelligence Agency has made a series of secret concessions in its drone campaign after military and diplomatic officials complained large strikes were damaging the fragile U.S. relationship with Pakistan.  —  The covert drones are credited …

Debbie Wasserman Schultz: Saying Life Begins at Conception Is ‘Extreme and Radical’  —  (CNSNews.com) - Rep. Debbie Wasserman-Schultz (D-Fla.), chair of the Democratic National Committee, said Thursday that for states to enact constitutional amendments that say human life begins at conception is “an extreme and radical step.”

Michigan City Removes Streetlights In Desperate Budget Cut  —  States and cities around the country have desperately slashed spending in the face of record budget deficits, including unpaving roads, shrinking schools, closing libraries, and even a failed attempt to decriminalize domestic violence.

Bishops' aide resigns over gay devil column  —  BOSTON (AP) — The author of a newspaper column suggesting the devil may be responsible for homosexuality has resigned from his job with the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.  —  A spokeswoman for the Roman Catholic bishops said Friday …

Democrat Blanche Lincoln Turns on Obama Over Small Business Regs  —  This week, former Arkansas Senator Blanche Lincoln (D) lead a cadre of small business owners from a number of states to Washington in an attempt to convince Congress that their commitment to over-regulating American entrepreneurs …

Dippin' Dots Files for Bankruptcy  —  The future of ice cream is having trouble surviving today.  —  Dippin' Dots Inc., the self-described “ice cream of the future,” filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Thursday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Paducah, Ky., near its headquarters …

Gingrich Cracks Double Digits in ABC-Post News Poll  —  Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich has gained ground in the 2012 presidential campaign.  He registered 12 percent support in an ABC News-Washington Post poll out this morning.  —  This is the former House speaker's first time out of the single digits in the poll.