Reid doubles down on Romney tax charge … WASHINGTON - Sen. Harry Reid caused a stir this week when he told an interviewer that Mitt Romney hasn't released more of his tax returns because “he didn't pay taxes for 10 years.”  On Wednesday, Reid doubled down on the charge.

Ann Romney's horse fails to win dressage but avoids offending British  —  Rafalca, owned by Mrs Mitt Romney, was impeccably behaved and well received by Olympic equestrians in Greenwich  —  Short of mocking Shetland ponies over their lack of stature or laying into zebras for their failure …

Romney's Personal Image Remains Negative  —  Obama Leads Nationwide, But Closer Race in Swing States  —  OVERVIEW  —  By a 52% to 37% margin, more voters say they have an unfavorable than favorable view of Mitt Romney.  The poll, conducted prior to Romney's recent overseas trip …

Chick-fil-A manager goes rogue, sponsors New Hampshire gay pride fest  —  Many customers, gay and straight, have boycotted the restaurant chain because of its antigay stance, but the company reported ‘Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day’ brought record sales Wednesday.

White House On Solyndra Failure: “Ugh”  —  Emails between White House communications director Dan Pfeiffer and then-Deputy Senior Advisor Stephanie Cutter reveal concern, frustration as former poster-child for clean energy investment failed.  The House Energy and Commerce Committee peels back the curtain on Solyndra in a new report.

OBAMA CAMPAIGN SUES TO RESTRICT MILITARY VOTING  —  Obama, like many Democrats, like to say that, while they may disagree with the GOP on many issues related to national security, they absolutely share their admiration and dedication to members of our armed forces.

Nine takeaways on Romney's tax plan  —  1) The Tax Policy Center bent over backwards to make Romney's promises add up.  They assumed a Romney administration wouldn't cut a dollar of tax preferences for anyone making less than $200,000 until they had cut every dollar of tax preferences for everyone making over $200,000.

New York Yankees Facebook Page Announces Derek Jeter To Miss Rest Of Season Due To Sex Change [UPDATE: A Bunch Of Other Teams Hacked Too]  —  It's gone now, but it seems the Yankees' Facebook was hacked just now as it posted this breaking news about Derek Jeter's upcoming sexual reassignment surgery.

Aug. 1: Obama Extends Electoral College Advantage  —  Barack Obama's standing in the FiveThirtyEight forecast reached its strongest position to date on Tuesday as a result of favorable polls in a set of swing states.  The forecast model now gives Mr. Obama a 70.8 percent chance of winning …

CU Psychiatrist Called Threat-Team Members About Holmes  —  Sources Tell CALL7 Investigators Dr. Lynne Fenton Had Concerns About Holmes' Behavior Six Weeks Before Shootings  —  Arthur Kane and John Ferrugia , CALL7 Investigators  —  DENVER — The psychiatrist treating accused Aurora theater …

Goldman to Invest in City Jail Program, Profiting if Recidivism Falls Sharply  —  New York City, embracing an experimental mechanism for financing social services that has excited and worried government reformers around the world, will allow Goldman Sachs to invest nearly $10 million in a jail program …

My departing advice on how to save Syria  —  Aleppo is under siege and the prospect of the loss of thousands more civilian lives in Syria is very high.  The UN has condemned the further descent to civil war but the fighting goes on with no sign of relief for Syrians.  Jihadist elements have been drawn into the conflict.

Two planes taking off from National put on collision course with plane trying to land  —  Three commuter jets came within seconds of a midair collision at Reagan National Airport on Tuesday after confused air traffic controllers launched two outbound flights directly at another plane coming in to land …

Ahmadinejad: World forces must strive to annihilate Israel  —  In Ramadan speech to ambassadors from Islamic countries, Iranian president says “horrible Zionist current” has been managing world affairs for 400 years, adds that liberating Palestine would solve all world problems.

Vante of Tucson, AZ Regrets Actions of Former CFO  —  Employee Has Left the Company  —  TUCSON, AZ—(Marketwire - Aug 2, 2012) - The following is a statement from Vante:  —  Vante regrets the unfortunate events that transpired yesterday in Tucson between our former CFO/Treasurer Adam Smith …

TPMMuckraker  —  Conyers Speaks Spanish At ‘English-Only’ Hearing (VIDEO)  —  Rep. John Conyers (D-MI) delivered his opening statement in Spanish at a hearing on Thursday about an English-only bill proposed by House Republicans.  —  Republicans at the panel said Conyers' speech actually supported their point.

Missile Defense Staff Warned To Stop Surfing Porn Sites  —  The Pentagon's Missile Defense Agency warned its employees and contractors last week to stop using their government computers to surf the Internet for pornographic sites, according to the agency's executive director.