Seized Phone Offers Clues to Bin Laden's Pakistani Links  —  ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — The cellphone of Osama bin Laden's trusted courier, which was recovered in the raid that killed both men in Pakistan last month, contained contacts to a militant group that is a longtime asset …

New Jersey Lawmakers Approve Benefits Rollback for Work Force  —  TRENTON — New Jersey lawmakers on Thursday approved a broad rollback of benefits for 750,000 government workers and retirees, the deepest cut in state and local costs in memory, in a major victory for Gov. Chris Christie …

McConnell: GOP Would Not Voice Opposition To Libya Campaign If Obama Was A Republican  —  The NATO-led air campaign in Libya is causing a significant rift within the GOP.  House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH), House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA), and House Republicans have said the U.S. involvement violates …

Obama Addresses New York Marriage Equality Bill At LGBT Fundraiser: Issue Best Left To States  —  President Obama spoke at an LGBT fundraiser this evening in New York City, just as the New York Senate prepares to take up marriage equality legislation.  Obama addressed the measure directly …

Airline to Jewish rumor: ‘Delta does not discriminate.’  —  Earlier today some Jewish and Christian readers in the blogosphere were fired up about stories that Delta Airlines, in its new alliance with Saudi Arabian Airlines, might wind up enforcing a Saudi policy of not admitting Iraelis …

Fighting Words: DeMint Warns Republicans They May Be ‘Gone’ if They Support Debt Ceiling Increase  —  Jonathan Karl interviews Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C. (ABC News)  —  Conservative firebrand Sen. Jim DeMint has a message to fellow Republicans in Congress: If you support increasing …

Politicians Who Fear the Public Light  —  As we wrote this editorial on Thursday evening, we were still waiting for the New York State Senate to do what it should have done long ago — end a basic inequality under the law by allowing same-sex couples the full right to marry.

Commander In Chief Misspeaks About Soldier Killed in Afghanistan  —  During his remarks to troops at Fort Drum today, the President was reminiscing about the times he has spent with the US Army's 10th Mountain Division, when he got something wrong. … The problem is, Jared Monti was killed in action in Afghanistan, on June 21, 2006.

Hillary Clinton, to Libya War Critics: “Whose side are you on?”  —  Are you with us, or with the dictator and the terrorism he supports?  That's the White House formulation that infuriated liberals and Democrats from 2001-2008, and it's the formulation being used right now by the administration …

Iran giving out condoms for criminals to rape us, say jailed activists  —  Smuggled letters allege authorities are using mass rape as a weapon inside Iran's most notorious prisons  —  Prison guards in Iran are giving condoms to criminals and encouraging them to systematically rape young …

Johnson proves to be a big spender - and taker: Firm pays him $10 million  —  After dropping nearly $9 million from his own pocket to win a seat in the U.S. Senate, Ron Johnson didn't have to feel the pain for very long.  —  Johnson's plastics company paid him $10 million in deferred compensation shortly …

Sterilization victim “raped by the state of NC”  —  PLAY CBS NEWS VIDEO  —  RALEIGH - At 57, Elaine Riddick has a house full of god children, great nieces and nephews, but only one child of her own - a son.  When she was 14, Riddick was raped.  The day she gave birth …

Geithner: Taxes on ‘Small Business’ Must Rise So Government Doesn't ‘Shrink’  —  (CNSNews.com) - Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner told the House Small Business Committee on Wednesday that the Obama administration believes taxes on small business must increase so the administration does not have to …

Romney dominates GOP cash dash  —  Everyone knows Mitt Romney is going to outpace the GOP presidential field when next month's fundraising reports come out.  But the scale of his money advantage is finally coming into shape: the rest of the field is going to be eating his dust.

Palin film to debut in Iowa next week  —  A pro-Sarah Palin documentary film will make its premiere in the first in the nation caucus state of Iowa next week, according to sources familiar with the plans.  —  The film, titled “The Undefeated,” had been scheduled to debut in key early primary states …

Crossroads chairman: 'There's not too much money in politics'  —  The chairman of the conservative political group American Crossroads disputed the notion that there's too much money in politics, defending the role of outside spending groups in elections.  —  Mike Duncan, the chairman …

Osama wanted new name for al-Qaida to repair image  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — As Osama bin Laden watched his terrorist organization get picked apart, he lamented in his final writings that al-Qaida was suffering from a marketing problem.  His group was killing too many Muslims and that was bad for business.

Officials Say Two Planned Armed Attack in Seattle  —  SEATTLE — Federal law enforcement officials have arrested two men who they say planned to attack a military processing center here using machine guns and grenades.  —  The men — Abu Khalid Abdul-Latif, also known as Joseph A. Davis …

Bernanke Public Approval Falls to Lowest Level  —  Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke's standing with the public has slid to its lowest level in almost two years of polling on the issue, even as faith in the Federal Reserve holds up.  —  Bernanke is viewed favorably by 30 percent of those polled …

BELTWAY CONFIDENTIAL  —  Remember the flap over foreign ships and the Deepwater Horizon cleanup?  —  Soon after the Deepwater Horizon disaster began, with raw crude pumping out of the seabed into the Gulf of Mexico in the worst oil spill in American history, foreign nations began offering help with the clean up.