Polls See Sharp Divide in 3 Swing States  —  For all of the Democratic attacks painting Mitt Romney as an out-of-touch elitist who will help the rich at the expense of the middle class, he is maintaining the traditional — and sizable — Republican advantage among a politically vital constituency …

Bill Clinton slams Romney ‘misleading’ welfare ad  —  Bill Clinton, after steering clear of the flap over Mitt Romney using him in an ad in which he accused President Obama of trying to “gut” the 1996 welfare reform act, responds tonight with a statement rapping the Republican:

Romney confuses ‘Sikh’ with ‘sheik’  —  WEST DES MOINES, Iowa — Mitt Romney mistakenly confused the words “Sikh” and “sheik” at a fundraiser here Tuesday night when he offered his condolences to the victims of last weekend's shooting at a Sikh temple in Wisconsin.

Gibbs won't condemn ad linking Romney to woman's death  —  Senior Obama campaign adviser Robert Gibbs on Wednesday refused to condemn a controversial super-PAC ad featuring a steelworker who said he could not pay for his wife's cancer treatments after his company was bought by Bain Capital …

The best Newsweek cover yet  —  Tina Brown's shock-and-awe approach to Newsweek covers is so familiar now it hardly warrants mention.  But the strategy is predicated upon ginning up false controversy and feigned outrage to call attention to the struggling print edition …

Romney's Popularity Stays Low, Obama's is Better, but with Challenges  —  Mitt Romney is laboring under the lowest personal popularity ratings for a presumptive presidential nominee in midsummer election-year polls back to 1984.  But Barack Obama has his own challenges in the latest ABC News …

Republicans in Missouri pick Todd Akin to face Sen. Claire McCaskill in November  —  Republicans on Tuesday pinned their hopes of winning back a Senate seat in Missouri — and perhaps control of the chamber — on Todd Akin, picking the conservative congressman to take on endangered Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill in November.

Texas executes man despite concerns over IQ  —  Marvin Wilson, the two-time armed robber who fatally beat and shot a Beaumont police informer he thought responsible for his arrest on a drug charge, was executed Tuesday at the state's Huntsville death house.  —  Wilson's case …

‘Les Riches’ in France Vow to Leave if 75% Tax Rate Is Passed  —  PARIS — The call to Vincent Grandil's Paris law firm began like many others that have rolled in recently.  On the line was the well-paid chief executive of one of France's most profitable companies, and he was feeling nervous.

CNN: Wife of steelworker in new Obama Super PAC ad still had job and health insurance after he lost his  —  I wonder if Bill Burton and crew knew about this and greenlit the smear anyway or if they didn't care enough to even find out.  Why would they?  The point of calling Romney a murderer …

Exclusive: Regulators irate at NY action against Standard Chartered  —  (Reuters) - The Treasury Department and Federal Reserve were blindsided and angered by New York's banking regulator's decision to launch an explosive attack on Standard Chartered Plc over $250 billion …

Jewish gal shows up IOC with a gold salute to Munich 11  —  It wasn't a gloved-fist salute from the medal stand, but Jewish-American gymnast Aly Raisman made quite a statement yesterday by winning a gold medal and invoking the memory of the Israeli athletes killed 40 years ago in Munich.

The Power to Destroy  —  “The power to tax is the power to destroy,” wrote John Marshall, memorably, for a unanimous Court in McCulloch v. Maryland, 193 years ago.  True enough.  And Congress has the power to tax.  —  The federal taxing power, the very first power set forth in Congress's arsenal …

The sports of yesteryear  —  The list of discontinued Olympic events throws up some archaic delights  —  WENLOCK, one of the cyclopean mascots of the London Olympics, takes his name from a town in Shropshire that is the inspiration for the modern games.  It was after visiting Much Wenlock …

Team gold for Britain's only openly gay Olympian Carl Hester  —  The only openly gay Olympian in Team GB has helped his equestrian team secure gold at the London Olympics.  —  Carl Hester rode Uthopia in the dressage's Grand Prix Special at Greenwich Park.

Jesse Jackson Jr. gets visit from parents at Mayo Clinic … WASHINGTON — The Rev. Jesse Jackson said Tuesday that he and his wife visited their son Jesse Jr. this week at the Mayo Clinic, where they offered “positive reinforcement” and did not discuss politics.