News Headline

nytimes.com — The Federal Reserve will meet on Tuesday faced with a pivotal decision about whether to abandon its presumption that the economy is gradually picking up steam and begin to consider new steps to keep the recovery from sputtering out.

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thenation.com — The government’s $182 billion bailout of insurance giant AIG should be seen as the Rosetta Stone for understanding the financial crisis and its costly aftermath. The story of American International Group explains the larger catastrophe not because this was the biggest corporate bailout in history but because AIG’s collapse and subsequent rescue involved nearly all the critical elements, including delusion and deception. These financial dealings are monstrously complicated, but this account focuses on something mere mortals can understand—moral confusion in high places, and the failure of governing institutions to fulfill their obligations to the public.

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reuters.com — Key Democratic lawmakers hope to exploit the rare August return of the House of Representatives to intensify pressure on the White House to nominate Elizabeth Warren as head of the new consumer financial protection agency.

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thehill.com — President Obama will have the opportunity over the next year to dramatically remake the leadership at the nation’s financial regulators. The president’s appointments on bank regulation, insurance rules and consumer financial protection will have broad power to carry out the 2,300-page financial overhaul enacted by Obama last month.

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mcclatchydc.com — In an effort to deter potential budget cuts by Congress and streamline a burgeoning Defense Department, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates Monday proposed to cut spending on contracting, to close a command stationed in Norfolk, Va., and to reduce the number of flag officers and civilian leaders.

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usatoday.com — Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced plans Monday to slash the Pentagon's reliance on contractors and eliminate a major command in order to save money to fight the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and to modernize the military.

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thehill.com — House Democrats are planning more than 100 events around this week’s anniversary of Social Security to attack Republicans who want to reform the popular entitlement.

Democrats and interest groups on the left have scheduled “birthday parties” and other events to highlight Saturday’s 75th anniversary of the program signed into law by President Franklin Roosevelt.

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stateline.org — Lawmakers in Colorado, Minnesota and South Dakota voted earlier this year to limit cost-of-living increases they previously had promised to thousands of current and future retirees, who courts historically have protected from benefit reductions. Not surprisingly, retirees in each state have filed lawsuits asking judges to restore their annual benefit increases to what they were previously.

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huffingtonpost.com — Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels (R-Ind.) joined a chorus of Republicans on Sunday when he argued that the Medicaid and teacher funding set to pass in Congress this week is excessive and does not stimulate the economy.

"It amounts at this point in time to asking the citizens of responsible states like ours to subsidize those places who have been more reckless," he told "Fox News Sunday". "It's probably not going to help the economy."

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bloomberg.com — U.S. House members are returning to Washington from summer recess to act on a $26 billion plan to aid cash-strapped state governments amid concerns the economy is stalling as November’s congressional elections approach.

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