Triple threat

Published 12:01 am Saturday, July 30, 2011

At 83 years of age and fresh from an eight-year stint in the joint for corruption, former Louisiana Gov. Edwin Edwards has married a 32-year-old woman he befriended while in prison.

And thus Edwards, who did time on bribery and extortion convictions, now stands accused of a third offense: cradle-robbing.

Getting down to the wire: House Speaker John Boehner on Friday pushed through Congress legislation to raise the debt ceiling and slash spending. The measure was immediately blocked by the Democrat-controlled Senate, which now will work on a compromise bill in the run-up to the Tuesday deadline.

Uncertainty over whether a bill can be sent to President Barack Obama before the federal government defaults prompted an urgent phone call from China that began, “This call may be monitored for quality-control purposes.”

Tanking: With second-quarter economic growth falling far short of forecasts, a second recession looks close at hand, and deep cuts in federal spending would help make it a reality, economic analysts say.

The preoccupation with deficits is expected to continue until President Romney or Bachmann or Perry or Pawlenty is sworn into office.

— Mark Carlson, Herald staff