Mitt Romney stayed at Bain 3 years longer than he stated  —  Firm's 2002 filings identify him as CEO, though he said he left in 1999  —  Nine SEC filings submitted by four different business entities after February 1999 describe Romney as Bain boss.  —  Government documents filed …

Obama reflects on his biggest mistake as president  —  (CBS News) President Obama's biggest mistake during his first term, he told CBS News in an exclusive interview, has been putting policy over storytelling.  —  Mr. Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama sat down Thursday with “CBS This Morning” …

Poll: Cruz up on Dewhurst in Texas  —  The Republican pollster that signaled Dick Lugar's demise and Deb Fischer's late surge is now flagging an upset in the making in the Texas Senate race.  —  Tea party favorite Ted Cruz is leading Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst 47 percent to 38 percent in the GOP runoff …

Obama's Absence The Talk Of NAACP Convention  —  “I don't think there's anyone around the president who's really, truly from the black community,” complains Chambliss.  —  A video of President Barack Obama is shown before Vice President Joe Biden addressed the NAACP annual convention, Thursday, July 12, 2012, in Houston.

How the Mormons Make Money  —  (Updated with magazine version.  Removes an earlier reference to a Twitter account that is not Thomas S. Monson's official account.)  —  Late last March the Mormon Church completed an ambitious project: a megamall.  Built for roughly $2 billion …

Team USA To Be Decked Out in Uniforms Made in China  —  They are the pride of America — Team U.S.A. — and for the opening ceremonies of the Summer Olympics in London, they'll be proudly wearing red, white and blue, from beret to blazer.  —  The classic American style — shown in an image above …

D.C. officer investigated after comments about Michelle Obama alleged  —  A D.C. police officer who worked as a motorcycle escort for White House officials and other dignitaries was moved to administrative duty Wednesday after he allegedly was overheard making threatening comments toward Michelle Obama …

Obama Holds Lead, Romney Trails on Most Issues  —  Record Negatives for Supreme Court Driven by GOP Discontent  —  OVERVIEW  —  Despite the stagnant economy and broad dissatisfaction with national conditions, Barack Obama holds a significant lead over Mitt Romney.

The world desperately wants to loan us money  —  The Financial Times reports that there was record demand for 10-year Treasurys this week.  “The $21 [billion] sale of 10-year paper sold at a yield of 1.459 per cent, the lowest ever in an auction.”  William O'Donnell, a strategist at RBS Securities …

How Congressional Republicans and Democrats Pay Women  —  What does $10,000 mean to you?  Well, if you made something around the median in the U.S. last year, it could mean more than a fifth of your household income.  —  But what's $10,000 to you if you're a female Republican congressional staffer?

At Brock Fundraiser, Maine Gov. Paul LePage Doubles Down on “Gestapo” Comment (AUDIO)  —  Updated below: Maine Democratic Party chair questions LePage's fitness for office; Vermont Dem chair says Brock should condemn remarks.  Update #2: Comment from Anti-Defamation League and union representing IRS workers.

Michael Tomasky on Mitt Romney the Race Baiter at the NAACP  —  With his incendiary speech to the NAACP, Mitt crossed an ugly line.  No longer simply spineless and disingenuous, he's now become a race-mongering pyromaniac.  Plus Mansfield Frazier on Romney's diversity problem.

Sanctions at the Genius Bar  —  IMAGINE if your ethnicity determined which products you were able to buy.  Or if sales clerks required you to divulge your ancestry before swiping your credit card.  —  Some of us don't have to imagine.  —  Last month, Sahar Sabet, a 19-year-old Iranian-American woman …

An Age-Old Ruse  —  That's the way Mitt Romney, back in 1994, described putting one's assets in a so-called blind trust.  But it's 2012, and the ruse looks pretty serviceable.  —  Never mind that Mitt Romney has an estimated net worth as high as $250 million, or that some of it has been invested …

Sodomy “For the Sake of Islam” … Not only did the original “underwear bomber” Abdullah Hassan al-Asiri hide explosives in his rectum to assassinate Saudi Prince Muhammad bin Nayef—they met in 2009 after the 22-year-old holy warrior “feigned repentance for his jihadi views” …

Mitt Romney ‘deliberately got booed by the NAACP to appeal to white racists’  —  The Romney campaign has been accused of deliberately getting the Republican presidential candidate booed by black people during his NAACP speech to attract votes ‘in certain racist precincts’, by MSNBC host Lawrence O'Donnell.