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.

TRENDING: Horserace turns (almost) literal in London  —  (CNN) - The political horserace turned into an actual horserace Thursday in London.  Or at least a horse ballet.  —  Rafalca, the mare co-owned by Ann Romney, made her Olympics debut at Greenwich Park, competing in the individual …

White House analyst warned saving Solyndra could cost more than letting it fail  —  As the Obama administration moved last year to bail out Solyndra, the embattled flagship of the president's initiative to promote alternative energy, a White House budget analyst calculated that millions …

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.

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 …

Obama authorizes secret support for Syrian rebels  —  (Reuters) - President Barack Obama has signed a secret order authorizing U.S. support for rebels seeking to depose Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his government, sources familiar with the matter said.

Rick Warren: Chick-fil-A's owner told me they set a new world record in sales today  —  And the day's not over yet.  —  Somewhere, a Burger King ad man's toying with the idea of having “The King” declare himself “100% pro-life.” … Not a word about today's activities has been whispered …

The Top 50 Greatest Films of All Time  —  846 critics, programmers, academics and distributors have voted - and the 50-year reign of Kane is over.  Our critics' poll has a new number one.  —  Image courtesy Kobal Collection  —  Introduction  —  Ian Christie rings in the changes in our biggest-ever poll.

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.

WWII vet Sen. Inouye: Obama's birth-control mandate is no Pearl Harbor  —  The Senate's most senior member called out a Republican congressman for comparing the federal birth-control mandate to the events of Pearl Harbor and Sept. 11, 2001.  —  Sen. Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii) …

Armed ‘al-Qaeda’ trio arrested in southern Spain  —  Police in southern Spain have arrested three suspected al-Qaeda members in possession of explosives and poison, Spanish media say.  —  They say the suspects include a Chechen and a Turk, and were arrested in La Linea de la Concepcion and Valdepenas.

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.

LATEST STATEMENTS  —  New York, 2 August 2012 - Statement by the Secretary-General on the Joint Special Envoy for Syria  —  It is with deep regret that I have to announce the resignation of the UN-League of Arab States Joint Special Envoy for Syria, Mr. Kofi Annan.

Jill Stein, Green Party presidential nominee, arrested  —  The Green Party's presidential nominee was arrested Wednesday in Philadelphia and charged with trespassing during a protest against Fannie Mae.  —  Jill Stein, a Massachusetts resident and Harvard-educated doctor …

Egypt denies Morsi sent letter to Israeli President Shimon Peres  —  Egyptian president's spokesman says reports of Morsi letter to Peres, in which he wished stability and security for all of the region's nations, including Israel, did ‘not correspond to reality.’

Jobless Claims Increase  —  The number of U.S. workers filing applications for jobless benefits rose last week, continuing an uneven pattern that suggests job creation was likely modest in July.  —  Initial jobless claims, an indication of layoffs, increased by 8,000 to a seasonally adjusted 365,000 …

Hopeful News from Maryland  —  A new poll of Maryland voters, who will get to decide in November whether to overrule recently signed legislation establishing same-sex marriage in the state, shows that 54 percent favor the law, while 40 percent oppose it.  These findings, by Hart Research Associates …

Political Memo: Tea Party Influence Could Reshape Senate Republicans  —  WASHINGTON — The Tea Party is very much alive in the drive for Republican control of the Senate, portending a potential shake-up in the mind-set of the chamber.  The easy Republican primary victory in Texas on Tuesday of Ted Cruz …

Op-Ed Contributor: Mitt Romney's Search for Simple Answers  —  MITT ROMNEY'S latest controversial remark, about the role of culture in explaining why some countries are rich and powerful while others are poor and weak, has attracted much comment.  I was especially interested in his remark …