Obama Trails Romney Again in Battle for Campaign Cash  —  In the battle for political cash, President Obama is finding himself in an unaccustomed place during the final months of the 2012 campaign: he is losing.  —  Mitt Romney and the Republican National Committee easily outraised …

TPMDC  —  One Chart That Shows What The Bush Tax Cut Battle Is All About  —  Considering all the Sturm und Drang over President Obama's plan to allow the Bush tax cuts to expire on income over $250,000 you'd think that Republicans and Democrats had hugely different ideas about where to set tax policy in 2013.

Scorned Cottage Grove mom sets self ablaze  —  Police say the Cottage Grove woman, described as “vodka mom” on TV, was despondent over the asphyxiation death of her infant son.  —  A 29-year-old Cottage Grove woman set herself afire and died just weeks after being ridiculed as “vodka mom” …

BRAD PITT'S MOM IN FEAR AFTER SLAMMING OBAMA  —  Quaking after being attacked for opposing same-sex marriage  —  Jane Pitt, mother of actor Brad Pitt, has been scared into silence by the hate-filled, vulgar and even violent reaction to her public assertion that Barack Obama is …

Repealing health law would mean more benefits for members of Congress  —  Repealing President Obama's healthcare law would let members of Congress keep their government-subsidized insurance coverage after they retire — a benefit they lost under the health law.

Report: 83 percent of doctors have considered quitting over Obamacare  —  Eighty-three percent of American physicians have considered leaving their practices over President Barack Obama's health care reform law, according to a survey released by the Doctor Patient Medical Association.

In Maryland, Higher Taxes Chase Out Rich: Study  —  A new report says wealthy Maryland residents may be moving out due to recent tax hikes - a finding that is sure to escalate the battle over taxing the American rich.  —  The study, by the anti-tax group Change Maryland …

President Obama, Mitt Romney deadlocked in race, poll finds  —  AP - A pair of tepid jobs reports, landmark Supreme Court decisions on health-care and immigration laws, and an unprecedented barrage of negative ads have shaped the opening months of the fall presidential campaign.

Mick Jagger's affair with David Bowie revealed in new book: They ‘were really sexually obsessed with each other’  —  Bowie's wife found them in bed, backup singer and Playboy model claimed to share their bed  —  David Bowie's “Ziggy Stardust” era had Jagger wondering if this was the future.

Rep. West denies equating Social Security to slavery  —  Rep. Allen West (R-Fla.) on Monday blasted reports that he equated the Social Security program to “21st-century slavery,” writing on his Facebook page that he is “committed to protecting social security retirement benefits for retirees and future retirees.”

70 Students to Retake Exams After Cheating Case  —  Seventy students were involved in a pattern of smartphone-enabled cheating last month at Stuyvesant High School, New York City officials said Monday, describing an episode that has blemished one of the country's most prestigious public schools.

Obama's record on outsourcing draws criticism from the left  —  Barack Obama promised voters four years ago that he would work to slow the outflow of American jobs to other countries, proposing to revamp a federal tax code that encourages companies to maintain overseas operations.

China'S Import Growth Misses Estimates For June  —  China's imports rose less than anticipated in June, pushing the trade surplus to a three-year high and adding pressure on the government to support demand as the global economy slows.  —  Inbound shipments increased 6.3 percent from a year earlier …

As Mine Protections Fail, Black Lung Cases Surge … Coal miners are tested for black lung at a clinic in West Virginia.  —  Part one of a two-part series.  —  It wasn't supposed to happen to coal miners in Mark McCowan's generation.  It wasn't supposed to strike so early and so hard.

White Trash Reception Hits the Hill  —  Yeah, you read that headline right.  The lobbying and policy shop Strategic Health Care is hosting a “White Trash Reception on the Hill” next week.  We get forwarded a lot of reception invites here at the Alley and we've never seen one quite like this before.