OBAMA: ROMNEY WANTS VP PETRAEUS  —  President Obama whispered to a top fundraiser this week that he believes GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney wants to name Gen. David Petraeus to the VP slot!  —  “The president wasn't joking,” the insider explains to the DRUDGE REPORT.

Santorum, Bush, Paul to speak at GOP convention  —  (CNN) - Rick Santorum, who emerged as Mitt Romney's fiercest competitor for the Republican presidential nomination, will speak at the Republican National Convention, a senior GOP official tells CNN.  —  The former Pennsylvania senator …

OBAMA'S COLLEGE CLASSMATE: ‘THE OBAMA SCANDAL IS AT COLUMBIA’  —  I am President Obama's classmate at Columbia University, Class of '83.  I am also one of the most accurate Las Vegas oddsmakers and prognosticators.  Accurate enough that I was awarded my own star on the Las Vegas Walk of Stars.

Woman mentioned in Priorities ad died in '06  —  The pro-Obama super PAC Priorities USA Action lobbed a heavy-duty attack at Mitt Romney this morning, airing an ad that links the closure of a GST Steel plant in Kansas City to the loss of a family's health insurance — and the death of a woman some time later.

Koch brothers slam ‘guy who makes obscene gestures with a monkey’  —  (CNN) - Actor Zach Galifianakis may be known for his less-than family-friendly sense of humor, but billionaires David and Charles Koch demonstrated Tuesday they don't find him so funny.  —  The comedian is co-starring …

Obama: 'I'm not the president of black America'  —  President Obama addresses the criticism that he hasn't done enough for the black community in an interview with Black Enterprise magazine:

Emails: Geithner, Treasury drove cutoff of non-union Delphi workers' pensions  —  Emails obtained by The Daily Caller show that the U.S. Treasury Department, led by Timothy Geithner, was the driving force behind terminating the pensions of 20,000 salaried retirees at the Delphi auto parts manufacturing company.

Four Pinocchios for Harry Reid's claim about Mitt Romney's taxes  —  “The word's out that he [Romney] hasn't paid any taxes for 10 years.”  —  Reid has generated a lot of controversy with his claim that presumptive GOP nominee did not pay any taxes for 10 years.

When 1,099 felons vote in race won by 312 ballots  —  Popular in Politics  —  In the eyes of the Obama administration, most Democratic lawmakers, and left-leaning editorial pages across the country, voter fraud is a problem that doesn't exist.  Allegations of fraud, they say …

FIRST LOOK: Daniel Day-Lewis embodies ‘Lincoln’ in Steven Spielberg's historical drama  —  Penny for your thoughts?  —  Long-range paparazzi (and the occasional sneaky fellow diner) grabbed snapshots of Daniel Day-Lewis as he was shooting Steven Spielberg's Lincoln last fall.

Left, duped by Onion parody, condemns Michele Bachmann for reaction to shooting … More than a few shocked readers of The Onion today called Rep. Michele Bachmann's callous reaction to the shootings in Oak Creek, Wis., “unbelievable.”  Bachmann's relief that “not a single American died in this event” …

Campaign announces ‘Obama Classic’ with Michael Jordan, Patrick Ewing  —  The latest Obama campaign contest offers supporters an opportunity to attend an event with basketball stars Carmelo Anthony, Patrick Ewing, and Michael Jordan, the campaign announced Tuesday.

In Police Pat-Downs, Many Women See Sexual Overtones  —  Shari Archibald's black handbag sat at her feet on the sidewalk in front of her Bronx home on a recent summer night.  The two male officers crouched over her leather bag and rooted around inside, elbow-deep.

A Surprise in a Hot Dog Cart  —  IT'S common in New York to see teams of college-age students handing out samples of goods like fruit juice and dog food.  Even seen-everything New Yorkers may do a double-take this week, however, when they encounter street teams with hot dog carts stocked with vibrators.

Republicans Blasted Obama Administration For Warning About Right-Wing Domestic Terrorism  —  The gunman in the shooting at a Sikh temple over the weekend has been labeled a potential domestic terrorist — defined as one who incites politically-motivated violence against his or her own country.

Papa John's: Health law hurts prices  —  Pizza chain Papa John's told shareholders that President Obama's health care law will cost consumers more on their pizza.  —  On a conference call last week, CEO and founder John Schnatter (a Mitt Romney supporter and fundraiser) …

Accused Tucson shooter mentally fit, pleads guilty  —  Tragedy In Tucson  —  (CBS/AP) TUCSON, Ariz. - Jared Lee Loughner pleaded guilty Tuesday to going on a shooting rampage at a political gathering, killing six people and wounding his intended target, then-Congresswoman Gabriele Giffords, and 12 others.

Sikh temple gunman Wade Michael Page was a “gentle and kind and loving” child, stepmom says  —  (CBS News) OAK CREEK, Wis. - Investigators are looking into possible white supremacist links to the gunman who killed six people and wounded three at a Sikh temple outside Milwaukee before being killed in a shootout with police.

A New Climate-Change Consensus  —  It's time for conservatives to compete with liberals to devise the best, most cost-effective climate solutions.  —  One scorching summer doesn't confirm that climate change is real any more than a white Christmas proves it's a hoax.

Gibson Guitar Corporation admits to importing endangered wood  —  Gibson Guitar Corporation acknowledged Monday that its importations of exotic wood, including ebony, violated environmental laws.  Federal prosecutors will drop criminal charges against Gibson Guitar Corporation …

Tyrone's 21st Century Skimmington Ride  —  This blog first appeared at the Independent.  I've reprinted it here as it follows on nicely from a discussion in the comments on my last piece.  —  When a man was beaten or abused by his wife in 17th and 18th Century England, his community would call upon a traditional intervention.