Economy Creates 163,000 New Jobs but Rate Rises to 8.3%  —  The U.S. economy followed up a weak second quarter by creating more jobs than expected with 163,000 new positions added in July, but the unemployment rate rose to 8.3 percent.  —  Markets reacted positively to the announcement …

Romney: Chick-Fil-A, Huma Abedin ‘not ... part of my campaign’  —  POLITICO's Ginger Gibson reports from the Romney press avail in Vegas:

Porn star Jenna Jameson endorses Romney  —  “I'm very looking forward to a Republican being back in office,” Jameson said while sipping champagne in a VIP room at Gold Club in the city's South of Market neighborhood.  “When you're rich, you want a Republican in office.”

Romney rips Reid, says he's paid ‘a lot of taxes’  —  Mitt Romney said he has “paid taxes every year, and a lot of taxes” when asked about Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's (D-Nev.) recent accusations that he hadn't paid any.  —  “Categorically, I have paid taxes every year and a lot of taxes …

New SuperPAC, FightBigotry.com, Smears President Obama For ‘Racism Against White Folks’  —  FightBigotry.com, a new Super PAC registered with the Federal Election Commission this week, makes no bones about its aim.  It intends to run an attack ad that it says will hit President Barack Obama for …

Judge guts vote registration law  —  GALVESTON - A federal judge in Galveston on Thursday partially blocked new Texas registration laws that critics say amount to vote suppression because they prevent large voter registration drives.  —  U.S. District Judge Gregg Costa blocked the state …

The Bad History Behind 'You Didn't Build That'  —  The controversy surrounding President Barack Obama's admonishment that “if you've got a business — you didn't build that.  Somebody else made that happen” has defied the usual election-year pattern.  —  Normally a political faux pas lasts little more than a news cycle.

Dems Nominate Anti-Gay Conspiracy Theorist for Senate  —  Update, 2:55 p.m.: Via the Tennessean, the Tennessee Democratic party has condemned Clayton, saying in a statement that he is “associated with a known hate group” (a reference to Public Advocate of the United States) …

Peter King: White House leaked Syrian rebel aid news  —  Rep. Peter King alleged Friday that “all the evidence points towards the White House” as the source of recent reports that President Barack Obama signed a secret order to provide U.S. support to Syrian rebels — and that the information was leaked to “enhance” Obama's reputation.

Perry: Romney's VP pick won't make much difference  —  Aspen, Colorado (CNN) - The announcement of Mitt Romney's running mate won't do much to change the dynamics of the presidential race, Texas Gov. Rick Perry said Thursday.  —  Perry said the running mate pick will likely grab headlines …

Can Obama's “Chemical Warfare” Keep The White Vote Down?  —  John Ellis on the president's negative campaign.  Romney hasn't figured out an antidote.  —  Image by Brendan Hoffman / Getty Images  —  President Barack Obama's re-election campaign has spent more than $100 million on advertising over the last 3 months.

Obama's Magic Number: 316,000  —  A rhetorical milestone appears to be in reach.  —  With three months to Election Day, today's tepidly positive July jobs report has prompted Republican attacks on an increased unemployment rate and relief from the Administration that it could have been worse.

Why Washington Accepts Mass Unemployment  —  Good news!  The economy added 163,000 jobs last month, just a bit over the level required to keep up with population growth.  A return to a free fall now seems less likely.  On the other hand, there is the small footnote that the return to full employment is nowhere in sight.

City Declines to Defend Sued Officer  —  New York City has distanced itself from a high-ranking police official accused of firing pepper spray at Occupy Wall Street protesters, taking the unusual step of declining to defend him in a civil lawsuit over the incident.

Why Muslims Must Hate Jews  —  Recently, a Pakistani religious leader, Pirzada Muhammad Raza Saqib Mustafai, said: “When the Jews are wiped out ... the sun of peace [will] begin to rise on the entire world.”  The same preaching is routinely done not only by clerics, but by politicians — in Iran, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and elsewhere.