With unemployment on the rise, members of the political left and right are seeking to advance their own takes on what to do about the economy. In Washington Monday, the AFL-CIO co-hosted a press conference to offer its view. Not far away, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce held its own jobs summit.

Polling shows that despite Washington's focus on getting a budget deal and keeping the country out of default, most Americans aren't connecting with the crisis. We asked people in Chicago, Ohio and the Bay Area what default means to them.

Robert Siegel talks with Declan McCullagh, chief political correspondent for CNET, about a federal case in which Ramona Fricosu, a Colorado woman, is refusing to disclose a laptop password to authorities — arguing it would violate her Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination. Fricosu is facing several charges related to a mortgage scam. The encrypted laptop was seized from her bedroom during a police raid. McCullagh tells us more about the case — and what legal implications it may have.

Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta has been on the job for all of 11 days and he's already frustrated with Iraq.

"I'd like things to move a lot faster here, frankly, in terms of the decision-making process. I'd like them to make a decision, you know: Do they want us to stay? Don't they want us to stay? ... But damn it, make a decision," he said during a visit to Baghdad on Monday following a brief trip to Afghanistan. It's Panetta's first trip to the warzones since assuming his new job last week.

At home improvement stores around the country, sales of compact fluorescent and LED light bulbs have risen steadily recently.

But at a Lowe's in suburban Denver, salesman Jim Thurber says that lately, sales of incandescent bulbs are also up.

"I've had people come in and stockpile these things because they're afraid they're going to lose them," he says.

Supporters of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad stormed the United States Embassy in Damascus, today. The attacks came a week after U.S. Ambassador Robert Ford visited the city of Hama, where thousands of anti-government demonstrators have taken to the streets, and a day after Ford issued a statement condemning the Syrian government for what he said were attacks on peaceful demonstrators.

If you're wondering whether Texas Gov. Rick Perry will or won't get into the race for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination, here are a few more bits of evidence indicating that he just might:

From The Two-Way:

"Our disagreements are not personal and never have been," House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) just said of the ongoing discussions he's been having with Democratic President Obama about deficit reduction.

"Our disagreements are not personal and never have been," House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) just said of the ongoing discussions he's been having with Democratic President Obama about deficit reduction.

The Kentucky Transportation Center and the Army Corps of Engineers are joining forces to make sure Kentucky's waterways are being used to their full potential. While the collaboration isn't unique, it does represent a new approach to tackling old problems. Long before highways, Kentucky's rivers served as vital means of transportation. Today, Joe Crabtree, director of the Kentucky Transportation Center, says, when it comes to shipping freight, water still has its advantages.