Laura Washington of the Chicago Sun-Times and Scott Simon of NPR reveal their 50th birthday wishes (and advice) for President Obama.

Debt commission co-chair Alan Simpson slams the "disappointing" debt deal, saying Washington is a "dysfunctional place."

Related: Panetta picks up where predecessor left off on Pentagon budget cuts

Economist Ben Stein says we may very well be headed towards a double-dip recession, but "things are not that terrible."

Related: Stocks: Worst day since 2008 financial crisis

Wall Street trader Ted Weisberg says Thursday's market plunge was rooted in last week's gross domestic product numbers.

Related: Stocks: Worst day since 2008 financial crisis

It's been a heck of a ride, but tonight's edition "In The Arena" will be the last. Anderson Cooper will step into this slot starting Monday, August 8. We wish him the best!!

Tonight, we'll be all over the bloodbath on Wall Street, including insights from CNN’s Ali Velshi economist Ben Stein (he was on our show last Friday, watch a clip of that above) and Ted Weisberg, a veteran Wall Street trader.

CNN’s Gloria Borger will give us the dirt on a possible resolution to the stalemate that partially shutdown the Federal Aviation Administration.

Alan Simpson, the co-chair of the debt ccommission, will be back to weigh in on the debt ceiling compromise and the new congressional super committee.

And President Obama turns 50! We'll talk with Chicago columnist Laura S. Washington and Scott Simon, host of NPR's "Weekend Edition with Scott Simon."

We hope you'll join us tonight for this final edition of "In The Arena" at 8 p.m. ET on CNN.

'Total fear' rocks stocks - U.S. stocks plunged, with the Dow losing more than 500 points in the final minutes of trading today, as investors remain on edge about the global economy. All three indexes have now erased their gains for the year and are in 'correction' territory – defined as a 10% from their cyclical highs.

Meantime, GM is reporting big profits, and analysts are impressed by a year-and-a-half of increasing profitability. The company's big strength has been overseas. FULL POST

CNN's Fareed Zakaria predicts the celebrated Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction will deadlock. FULL POST

Furloughed worker Neil Bolen says Congress threw him "under the bus" by going on vacation without fully funding the FAA.

Related: Congress hits beach, aviation workers hit unemployment lines FULL POST

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood demands Congress come back to Washington to end a partial shutdown of the FAA.

Related: Congress hits beach, aviation workers hit unemployment lines FULL POST

ONLY ON THE BLOG: Answering today’s OFF-SET questions is Tricia Erickson, author of the new book,"Can Mitt Romney Serve Two Masters? The Mormon Church Versus The Office Of The Presidency of the United States of America."

She runs a communications company, Crisis Management, Incorporated and Angel Pictures & Publicity, a political and entertainment publicity and consulting company that promotes conservative causes and personalities.

Erickson is scheduled to be a guest "In The Arena" tonight (Aug. 3, 2011) at 8 p.m. ET on CNN (this is an encore presentation of an interview with Erickson originally published July 7, 2011).

(EDITOR'S NOTE: Due to the provocative–and in some cases, inflammatory– nature of Erickson's answers, we asked for a response from Mormon historian Richard Bushman, the Howard W. Hunter Visiting Professor of Mormon Studies at Claremont Graduate University in California. His remarks follow the answers below, along with reactions from Corey P. Saylor, National Legislative Director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations and Ahmed M. Rehab, Executive Director, CAIR-Chicago.)

You ask, “Can Mitt Romney serve two masters?” He was governor of Massachusetts from 2003 – 2007 and his belief in Mormonism seems to have only served him well. Why would this be different if he were elected president?

Let me say that my book is divided in to two parts. Part I covers the spiritual aspect. Part II covers the political. Both parts are important when considering voting for this possible front runner.

To answer the above question, I would not say that Mr. Romney’s beliefs served him well during his governorship except in the case that Mormons are taught to shine a light on Mormonism in a way that would draw converts to the church, and if Mr. Romney’s office helped to promote Mormonism, this was a win/win. FULL POST