Mark Memmott

The Justice Department has charged an American citizen with acting as an agent for Pakistan, NPR's Carrie Johnson reports. Syed Ghulam Nabi Fai of Fairfax, Va., is specifically accused of lobbying members of Congress in a bid to influence U.S. policy in the dispute with India over Kashmir, without properly registering his activities.

Fai, 62, allegedly accepted more than $4 million over the past two decades from straw donors working on behalf of Pakistani intelligence services. He was arrested this morning, the Justice Department says.

At the White House moments ago, President Obama threw his support behind the efforts of a bi-partisan group of senators known as the "Gang of Six" who are crafting their own budget-reduction plan that includes spending cuts and revenue increases.

It is "broadly consistent with the approach that I've urged," Obama said.

With more than a dozen heat-related deaths this week across the Midwest, it's sobering to think that the worst is "yet to come," but that's just what the Chicago Tribune is warning:

As talks continue in Washington about how to cut the budget, reduce expected federal deficits and start shrinking the federal debt, our friends at American Public Media's Marketplace have put together Budget Hero — an interactive game "that encourages players to think through the complexities and challenges of the federal budget."

For those who want to follow as News Corp. chief Rupert Murdoch takes questions from members of the British Parliament about the "hacking scandal" that has engulfed some of his company's newspapers in the U.K.:

Britain's Channel 4 News is webcasting the morning's hearings here, and has made the feed available to other news sites.