Today's Top News from The Washington Times

		Friday, August 12, 2011 Must Read Stories Today
Bachmann, Pawlenty trade barbs in Iowa debate The notion of "Minnesota nice" took a hit in the presidential debate here Thursday night, as former Gov. Tim Pawlenty and Rep. Michele Bachmann, both of Minnesota, took aggressive public swipes at each other, blasting one another's records and questioning whether they were ready to run the country. Second Spaceplane flight failure raises questions on future Pentagon scientists pledged to press on with work on a $308 million futuristic unmanned spaceplane despite the failure Thursday of a second test flight when they lost contact with the vehicle during maneuvers. Texas governor Perry to enter presidential race Texas Gov. Rick Perry will announce Saturday that he is running for the Republican presidential nomination in a move expected to fundamentally reshape the race and divert attention from other contenders, many of whom will be competing this weekend in the Iowa Straw Poll. High-level panda diplomacy secretly sought stay for cub Not long before the National Zoo announced that Washington's most beloved resident - the panda Tai Shan - was heading to China in December 2009, a secret plan took hold halfway around the world for the National Zoo to be able to hold on to the bear just awhile longer. Zig-zagging market closes up again A ray of hope for the economy emerged Thursday and helped to snap the stock market out of its deep morass, spawning a 423-point rally in the Dow Jones Industrial Average. Maryland teachers union balks at pension cost change Maryland's teachers union is resisting state lawmakers' efforts to trim an anticipated $1.1 billion budget gap by sharing teacher pension costs with counties. Obama defense: Congress at fault The White House on Thursday defended President Obama's fundraising jaunt to Manhattan, where he headlined a pair of exclusive events for high-dollar donors after a visit to an advanced battery plant in Michigan. Cornyn demands answers on gun probe Another senior Republican has questions about the Fast and Furious undercover weapons investigation on the U.S.-Mexico border, demanding that Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. immediately brief his office regarding the "scope and details of any past or present ATF gun-walking programs" in Texas. Tit for tat: Moscow lists U.S. officials to be barred Moscow is preparing a list of U.S. officials it will ban from Russia in retaliation for a White House policy to keep Russian human rights abusers out of the U.S. Airlines fight EU rules on air quality Airlines from around the world that fly into and out of the European Union are fighting to overturn a new rule that would cost them billions of dollars for their carbon-dioxide emissions, not just over European skies, but during the whole trip. Supercommittee: Super or surly? The 12-member supercommittee tasked with straightening out the country's fiscal mess is long on lawmakers who have already whiffed in recent months on chances to strike deals and short on those who have shown a readiness to make the compromises that all sides say will be needed. Lenders' fears could raise interest on student loans As if rising tuition costs weren't enough, many college students could soon face higher interest rates on their student loans, another potential aftershock of last week's U.S. credit downgrade by Standard & Poor's. Romney takes on hecklers in Iowa Mitt Romney faced down chants of "Wall Street greed!" Thursday as he stood, leg astride a hay bale, and brushed aside hecklers questioning how he planned to beef up Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid without cutting benefits. Pentagon names troops killed in Afghan copter downing The American troops killed in the deadliest single mission of the Afghan war came from two dozen states and all corners of the nation, mostly young men in their 20s and 30s. Bahrain sticks with the dollar Bahrain will continue to peg its currency to the U.S. dollar despite the economic uncertainty created by the recent downgrade of U.S. debt, the kingdom's finance minister told The Washington Times. Israel to OK 4,300 new homes in east Jerusalem Israel's interior minister gave final authorization to build 1,600 apartments in disputed east Jerusalem and will approve 2,700 more within days, officials said Thursday, detailing a plan that could complicate diplomatic efforts to dissuade Palestinians from declaring statehood at the United Nations. Commentary MILLER: No time for recess August recess is the sacrosanct break in the congressional schedule that allows members to spend time with their constituents and take a vacation - whether deserved or not. With the downgrade in the U.S. credit rating and the stock market in turmoil, some rank-and-file members think it makes sense to break with tradition and bring Congress back. FARAGO: Was CIA behind Operation Fast and Furious? Why did the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) let criminals buy firearms, smuggle them across the Mexican border and deliver them into the hands of vicious drug cartels? The ATF claims it launched its now-disgraced Operation Fast and Furious in 2009 to catch the "big fish." Fast and Furious was designed to stem the "Iron River" flowing from American gun stores into the cartels' arsenals. The bureau says it allowed gun smuggling so it could track the firearms and arrest the cartel members downstream. Not true. KUHNER: Don't go on vacation - just GO America's economy is in free-fall. Growth is anemic. The stock market is collapsing. Real unemployment - combining the high jobless rate with rampant underemployment - is higher than 16 percent. Manufacturing is dead. Deficits, debt and government spending are at record levels. Our credit rating has been downgraded for the first time in history. The trade deficit has exploded to the highest in years.A possible Great Depression haunts the land. Primarily one man is to blame: President Obama. SENSENBRENNER: European tax on American travel While Republicans have been fighting new taxes in Washington, Americans may face a new tax from an unlikely source - the European Union (EU). Beginning Jan. 1, 2012, the EU will extend its cap-and-trade system (aka cap-and-tax) to all airlines entering or leaving its airports. Americans flying to and from Europe will begin paying higher fares to cover the EU's new tax. 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