ROMNEY NARROWS VP CHOICES; CONDI EMERGES AS FRONTRUNNER  —  Late Thursday evening, Mitt Romney's presidential campaign launched a new fundraising drive, ‘Meet The VP’ — just as Romney himself has narrowed the field of candidates to a handful, sources reveal.

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” …

Young U.S. Voters' Turnout Intentions Lagging  —  Black turnout intentions look similar to 2008 on relative basis  —  PRINCETON, NJ — Fifty-eight percent of U.S. registered voters aged 18 to 29 say they will “definitely vote” this fall, well below the current national average of 78% …

Obama weakens welfare reform (again): Here are some quick initial reactions to the administration's apparent surprising (and possibly illegal) attempt to grant waivers of the work requirements written, after great effort, into the 1996 welfare reform law.  I'm posting Thursday night; the story should break for real tomorrow (Friday).

U.S. Concerned as Syria Moves Chemical Stockpile  —  WASHINGTON—Syria has begun moving parts of its vast arsenal of chemical weapons out of storage facilities, U.S. officials said, in a development that has alarmed many in Washington.  —  The country's undeclared stockpiles of sarin nerve agent …

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 …

The Plan  —  The Obama campaign's chief strategist on how the president will win.  —  David Axelrod is the senior strategist for President Obama's reelection bid, and his mustachioed mug is probably the most familiar face of the campaign.  After helping Obama win in 2008, Axelrod was a senior adviser in the White House.

Post-Stanford poll finds more Americans believe climate change is happening  —  Most Americans say they believe temperatures around the world are going up and that weather patterns have become more unstable in the past few years, according to a new poll from The Washington Post and Stanford University.

13 reasons why this is the worst Congress ever  —  This week, the House of Representatives voted to repeal the Affordable Care Act.  On its own, such a vote would be unremarkable.  Republicans control the House, they oppose President Obama's health reform law, and so they voted to get rid of it.

Bill Clinton ‘perplexed’ Romney not releasing more tax returns  —  Former President Bill Clinton said Friday he is “perplexed” by Mitt Romney's decision to release just one year of his personal tax returns.  —  “It's typical, I think, we all release 10 or 11 years,” he told NBC's “Today” show.

Why Obama May Be Stronger Than His Approval Ratings  —  There is a small but reasonably persistent gap between President Obama's net approval ratings and his head-to-head polls against Mitt Romney.  Whereas Mr. Obama's approval ratings have been almost exactly breaking even for most of the past few months …

Long Island cop's mistress suing Nassau County over affair  —  She had an affair with a cop — and now she wants taxpayers to foot the bill.  —  The mistress of a married Nassau County cop — who enjoyed more than 100 nights with him while he was on duty — is threatening to sue the county …

Rep. Jesse Jackson's political future in question  —  YURI GRIPAS/REUTERS - Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr. (D-Ill.) walks up the steps of the U.S. Capitol in this photo from Dec. 2, 2011.  Jackson has not been seen in public since June 8.  —  Hours before Barack Obama accepted the Democratic nomination …