White House putting off release of budget update  —  WASHINGTON (AP) - The White House is being forced to acknowledge the wide gap between its once-upbeat predictions about the economy and today's bleak landscape.  —  The administration's annual midsummer budget update is sure to show higher deficits …

Approval Ratings Drop for Obama on Health Care, Other Issues  —  Approval Rating on Health Care Falls Below 50 Percent  —  Obama's approval ratings on other front-burner issues, such as the economy and the federal budget deficit, have also slipped over the summer, as rising concern …

Kristol: Kill It, and Start Over  —  With Obamacare on the ropes, there will be a temptation for opponents to let up on their criticism, and to try to appear constructive, or at least responsible.  There will be a tendency to want to let the Democrats' plans sink of their own weight …

Morning Fix: Jindal Rises Again  —  Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal (R) will wade into the national debate over health care this week by penning op-eds in Politico and the Wall Street Journal and appearing on a series of cable chat shows today and tomorrow.  —  “Governor Jindal has seen enough …

Financial Rescue I.G. Says Banks Funneled TARP Aid to Various Expenses  —  Many of the banks that got federal aid to support increased lending have instead used some of the money to make investments, repay debts or buy other banks, according to a new report from the special inspector general overseeing …

Video: Pvt. Bowe Bergdahl Full Hostage Video  —  Here is the entire video showing Private Bowe Berdahl in Taliban captivity.  The Taliban have threatened to murder him if the U.S. does not leave Afghanistan.  —  Until Bowe Bergdahl's captors are dead I will not rest.

A pause for serious self-reflection  —  When US President Barack Obama met with 15 representatives of American Jewish organizations on July 13, Haaretz reported that he told them that he wanted to help Israel achieve peace but that if they were to benefit from his well-intentioned counsel …

God, Guns, Guts, and CNN's Idiot Reporters  —  Greetings, Instapundit readers!  —  “You don't have a problem with God, do ya?”  —  This is a question posed to CNN reporter Carol Costello during a recent interview with Mark Muller, a Missouri car dealer whose company is offering an unusual incentive …

Democrats Worry Over Rich Voters  —  A group of Democrats elected in recent years from some of the country's richest congressional districts have emerged as a stumbling block to raising taxes on the wealthy to pay for President Barack Obama's ambitious health-care overhaul just as the plan …

2012 Match-ups: Obama, Romney Tied at 45%; Obama 48%, Palin 42%  —  If the 2012 presidential election were held today, President Obama and possible Republican nominee Mitt Romney would be all tied up at 45% each, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey.

India rebuffs US carbon demands  —  By James Lamont in New Delhi, James Fontanella-Khan in Mumbai and Daniel Dombey in Washington  —  India on Sunday night rebuffed an appeal by Hillary Clinton, US secretary of state, to embrace a low-carbon future in which the two countries would work together …

Frank McCourt, Whose Irish Childhood Illuminated His Prose, Is Dead at 78  —  Frank McCourt, a former New York City schoolteacher who turned his miserable childhood in Limerick, Ireland, into a phenomenally popular, Pulitzer Prize-winning memoir, “Angela's Ashes,” died in Manhattan on Sunday.

Corzine campaign showing signs of obvious desperation  —  Gov. Jon S. Corzine's campaign continues to make even Democrats think the governor is desperate, the latest installment being his adding a “reality show” winner to his list of lieutenant governor candidates.

Race in 2028  —  During last week's Supreme Court confirmation hearings, Republican senators kept bringing the conversation back to 2001 — the year when Sonia Sotomayor delivered the most famous version of her line about how a “wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences” might outshine a white male judge.

Subprime Brokers Resurface as Dubious Loan Fixers  —  LOS ANGELES — From the ninth floor of a downtown office building on Wilshire Boulevard, Jack Soussana delivered staggering numbers of mortgages to homeowners during the real estate boom, amassing a fortune.  —  By Mr. Soussana's own account, his customers fared less happily.

REJECTING THE IDEA OF AN OVERHAUL.... Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R) of Kentucky was on “Meet the Press” yesterday, talking about his opposition to the health care reform proposal(s).  That's fine; he's the opposition leader.  Of course he's going to oppose the majority's agenda.

The U.S. Steers Left on Honduras  —  Why would Hugo Chavez expect Obama to help him?  —  Printer  —  Friendly  —  When Hugo Chávez makes a personal appeal to Washington for help, as he did 11 days ago, it raises serious questions about the signals that President Barack Obama …

After bashing K Street, Dodd mingles with lobbyists  —  After distancing himself from lobbyists in campaign ads, Sen. Christopher Dodd (D-Conn.) was on Martha's Vineyard this weekend meeting with some of the most well known names on K Street.  —  The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee …