WHITE HOUSE

A summary of all-things Washington for Monday, August 22, 2011.

President Barack Obama, perhaps seeking a break from harsh reality after a tough summer battling the economy and Republicans in Congress, has picked a summer reading list that is long on fiction.

Explosions and gunfire rang out in Tripoli after dawn as opponents of Muammar Gaddafi rose up in the capital, declaring a final push to topple the Libyan leader after a six-month war reached the city's outskirts.

A vacationing President Barack Obama accused Congress on Saturday of holding back the economic recovery by blocking common sense measures he said would create jobs and help growth.

Almost half of the workers in Verizon's wireline business went on strike on August 7 after talks for a new labor pact failed when their contract expired.

Republican presidential candidate and Texas governor Rick Perry has shown a flair for putting his foot in his mouth -- or someone else's mouth. He suggested Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke is treasonous. He once suggested the BP oil spill might have been an act of God instead of corporate errors. Here's 10 things Perry might say if elected President.

Here's 10 potential isms from would-be President Rick Perry (in jest, of course).

I weigh too much because I eat too much, he once told reporters. And I eat some bad things too.

Advocates of tighter border control disapprove of new ruling.

U.S. authorities will review the cases of 300,000 illegal immigrants slated for deportation to make sure they are not focusing on deporting people who are low priorities for deportation, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said Thursday.

White House hopeful Rick Perry has at least some supporters in the Democratic stronghold of Chicago -- President Barack Obama's re-election team.

Images from Israel Thursday, after gunmen, suspected to be from the Gaza Strip, entered the country from Egypt and attack civilians.

President Obama and family are headed to Blue Heron Farm on Martha's Vineyard for a 10-day vacation.

Assad has used tanks and ground troops to seize control of parts of Syria where anti-regime activity has been concentrated.

President Barack Obama's three-day bus tour along the back roads of the Midwest was billed as a chance to listen and what he heard was that people are deeply worried.

However, he is impressed by the latest entrant, Texas governor Rick Perry.

Joe Biden has much on his agenda when during his visit to China this week.

The White House on Wednesday said President Barack Obama would unveil fresh ideas to jump-start the economy and cut deficits, but details offered so far appeared to be a compilation of old proposals.

Robert Gibbs, a former spokesman for President Barack Obama, on Wednesday sought to clarify the role in public policy the Tea Party faction of the Republican Party is playing: counter-productive, to put it diplomatically.

The White House denounced Republican presidential candidate Rick Perry on Tuesday for his threatening remarks toward the head of the U.S. Federal Reserve that represented some of the most inflammatory rhetoric of the 2012 election campaign.