TRENDING: Palin bus tour to roll into Iowa  —  (CNN) - After a more than two-month hiatus, former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin is planning to crash the presidential party once again with a heartland-themed re-launch of her “One Nation” bus tour this week in Iowa, according to a Palin fundraising email obtained by CNN.

John Boehner and Mitch McConnell's super committee picks  —  The top Republican congressional leaders have appointed six members to the deficit reduction “super committee,” naming a half-dozen lawmakers with conservative policy credentials to make up the GOP half of the panel charged reducing …

Americans Want New Debt Supercommittee to Compromise  —  Only Tea Party supporters take hard-line stance  —  PRINCETON, NJ — Six in 10 Americans say members of the new bipartisan “supercommittee” mandated to find new ways of reducing the federal budget deficit should compromise …

The Day Our Leaders Got Unstuck  —  This is a scary economic moment.  The response we need is not easy, but it is totally obvious.  We need a Grand Bargain between America's two parties — and we need it right now.  Until you read the following news article, we'll be stuck in a world of hurt.

Wisc.  Results Suggest Recall of Governor Would Be Close  —  Close doesn't count in elections — just ask Al Gore or Norm Coleman.  —  It appeared as late as midnight on Tuesday that Democrats had a chance to win the three seats necessary to give them control of Wisconsin's State Senate in an unusual and expensive recall election.

The Two-Minus-One Pregnancy  —  As Jenny lay on the obstetrician's examination table, she was grateful that the ultrasound tech had turned off the overhead screen.  She didn't want to see the two shadows floating inside her.  Since making her decision, she had tried hard not to think about them …

VIDEO: Colbert launches first super PAC ad  —  Comedian Stephen Colbert's super PAC released its first ad, “Episode IV: A New Hope” paid for by Americans for a Better Tomorrow, Tomorrow.  —  The video takes aim at the money being spend to promote candiates before the Ames Straw Poll in Iowa.

Tea Party Made Up of ‘Freaked Out White Men’: Whitney  —  Tea Party members are primarily “freaked out white men” who pose the greatest political threat to Democrats in 2012, according to banking analyst Meredith Whitney.  —  Speaking in the broader context of a discussion on CNBC regarding …

Gov't considers turning foreclosures into rentals … WASHINGTON (AP) — The Obama administration may turn thousands of government-owned foreclosures into rental properties to help boost falling home prices.  —  The Federal Housing Finance Agency said Wednesday it is seeking input from investors …

Bachmann: Obama Told Me The Affordable Care Act Eliminates Medicare  —  Demonstrating yet again her ability to fabricate information on a whim, presidential hopeful Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) told Fox News host Bill O'Reilly Monday that President Obama personally told her that “Obamacare” …

Taxes key to Mitt Romney's '04 pitch to Standard & Poor's  —  Gov. Mitt Romney lobbied the credit ratings agency Standard & Poor's in 2004 to raise his state's credit rating in part because Massachusetts had raised taxes during an economic downturn two years earlier.

Secret peace talks between US and Taliban collapse over leaks  —  Secret exploratory peace talks between the United States and the Taliban leadership have broken down after details of the negotiations were leaked, Western diplomats have told The Daily Telegraph.

Bruce Schneier's Telepathic Takeover of the TSA  —  Bruce Schneier is a telepath of unimaginable power.  That's the only possible explanation for the stunning reversal at the top of the Transportation Security Administration.  —  For years, Schneier, the well-known security gadfly …

Coulter — ‘queen of fabulous’ for gay conservatives  —  A pro-homosexual faction within the Republican Party is touting the appointment of an outspoken conservative writer to its panel of advisors.  —  Columnist Ann Coulter  —  GOProud says conservative columnist Ann Coulter will carry the title of …

Obama leads in Colorado  —  Barack Obama isn't terribly popular in Colorado.  But he has healthy leads over all of his potential Republican opponents there anyway and this is looking like one of the states he flipped in 2008 that's most likely to remain in his column for 2012.

We will use water cannons on them: At last Cameron orders police to come down hard on the looters (some aged as young as NINE)  — U-turn on ‘softly softly’ approach earlier this week as police finally vow to come down hard on offenders  — 109 arrests in West Midlands …

Matt Miller  —  Why the center-left is fed up with Obama  —  Does the president sense what the moment requires?  It helps to think like Mitch McConnell.  Once you do, you'll see there's no way Republicans will partner with Obama to do anything that matters, because they have the president right …

Gaffney: Chris Christie May Be Guilty Of “Misprision Of Treason”  —  After New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie vocally rejected claims that by appointing Muslim lawyer Sohail Mohammed to be a judge he was abetting the rise of Sharia law, calling talk of creeping Sharia “crazy,” …

Bend Soldier Back Home Amid Foreclosure Furor  —  Hours Earlier, Bank Auctions Family's Home on Courthouse Steps  —  BEND, Ore. — It was a bittersweet, even ironic “homecoming” day for Bend resident Tim Collette who's home is in foreclosure.  His son, Aaron, arrived back home on leave from a tour of duty in Iraq.

Michele Bachmann Repeatedly Sought Stimulus, EPA, Other Government Funds … WASHINGTON — Few candidates in the Republican presidential primary field have decried the federal government with as much gusto as Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.).  The three-term congresswoman has belittled the stimulus package …

Birmingham riots: three men killed ‘protecting homes’  —  A murder investigation has been launched after three people were killed “doing the job of the police” during widespread rioting.  —  Keen amateur boxer Haroon Jahan, 21, and two brothers were hit by a speeding car in Birmingham in the early hours of this morning,

Half-Measures From the Fed  —  It came as no surprise on Tuesday when the Federal Reserve said that the economy was in a more precarious state than it had previously believed.  It was refreshing that the Fed stopped blaming “transitory” factors like supply-chain disruptions from Japan and acknowledged …