American newspaper editor Phil Bronstein comments on the latest developments in Britain's tabloid phone hacking scandal. FULL POST

Fmr. Pakistani Ambassador to the U.S. Maleeha Lodhi says cutting aid is likely to worsen the two nation's relationship. FULL POST

Sen. John McCain accused President Obama of using scare tactics by saying that he cannot guarantee older Americans will continue to receive their Social Security checks if there is no deal to raise the debt ceiling.

“The president has now gone from the blame game to the scare game,” McCain said Tuesday in an interview on CNN’s “In The Arena.” “It's really, really unfortunate and it's demagoguery.”   FULL POST

Washington (CNN) - Partisan warfare over the looming debt ceiling crisis escalated Tuesday as GOP leaders once again refused to consider any tax hikes and President Barack Obama warned that, absent a deal, he can't guarantee older Americans will continue receiving Social Security checks next month.

"There may simply not be the money in the coffers to do it," Obama said, according to excerpts of a CBS News interview scheduled to air Tuesday night.

CLICK HERE for the full story and watch extensive coverage "In The Arena" tonight at 8 p.m. ET on CNN, including an interview with Sen. John McCain.

Fmr. Rep. Jane Harman discusses the impact of cuts in U.S. aid to Pakistan and relations between the two nations.

CLICK HERE for more on this story.

ONLY ON THE BLOG: Answering today’s five OFF-SET questions is Rodell Mollineau, who worked for Sen. Harry Reid (D.Nev) as staff director for the Senate Democratic Communications Center.

In April, 2011, became president of American Bridge 21^st Century, a “super PAC” created as a counterweight to Republican groups that influence elections.

American Bridge “aims to record every handshake, every utterance by Republican candidates in 2011 and 2012.” So reported The New York Times last week. How many people does it take to record everything that these candidates do and say?

Voters have to know what each candidate stands for before they decide who to support on election day. If a Republican candidate pledges take Medicare away from America’s seniors to pay for tax breaks for oil companies, voters deserve to see it with their own eyes.

In late 2012, when Republicans attempt to gain the support of moderates, voters need to hear the extreme proposals they advocated during the primary campaign. By capturing candidates’ public statements on video, American Bridge can show voters what is really at stake when they pull that lever in the voting booth.

In order to capture as much footage as possible, American Bridge already has a dozen trackers (and counting) throughout the early presidential primary states and states with competitive Senate and House races. FULL POST

A $600 BILLION GAP – Top Democrats and Republicans are scheduled to meet again Tuesday after the two sides could not reach a breakthrough during a White House meeting to address the nation's mounting federal deficits and debt, a congressional aide said.

Ahead of the session set for 3:45 p.m. Tuesday, congressional participants were asked to bring ideas for closing the roughly $600 billion gap between negotiated spending cuts and further savings that Republicans say are necessary for a debt ceiling deal, Democratic sources said.

NOW, ITALY? – The euro was hammered again Tuesday, while peripheral bond spreads widened and stocks tumbled, as investors' fears about the euro-zone debt crisis spreading to Italy deepened and a meeting of European Union finance ministers failed to come up with a definite rescue plan.  Italian bank shares suffered heavy losses, The Wall Street Journal reports, dragging down the local bourse and financial sectors elsewhere. FULL POST