Exclusive: Obama to include Republicans in hard-hitting convention  —  Advisers to President Barack Obama are scripting a Democratic National Convention featuring several Republicans in a prime-time appeal to independents — and planning a blistering portrayal of Mitt Romney as a heartless aristocrat who …

Homeland Security Secretary Napolitano favored women pals for jobs: lawsuit  —  A veteran US law-enforcement official has filed a blockbuster discrimination lawsuit against Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, charging she pushed him aside to make way for a less-qualified woman who's …

In Real Estate Deal, Romney Made His Loss a Couple's Gain  —  MISSOURI CITY, Tex. — Look closely and it is there, sandwiched between Goldman Sachs Hedge Fund Partners II and D3 Family Bulldog Fund: the mortgage on Timothy and Betty Stamps's modest home on Gentle Bend Drive here.

It's Jon Huntsman Sr, right Harry?  —  Harry Reid's source.  Probably.  —  Harry Reid has a Republican source who has told him that Mitt Romney didn't pay taxes in 10 years.  Who could he possibly known that would have that information?  Former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman's dad sounds like the likely source.

Romney Campaign Contests Polling Numbers  —  “You've got to have something precipitate that sort of sea change, and we haven't,” said a top adviser.  Dumbfounded by three bad polls.  —  Image by Mario Tama / Getty Images  —  BOSTON — Mitt Romney's presidential campaign is at a loss …

The Killing  —  The Massachusetts multimillionaire who won his party's nomination largely on perceptions of “electability” had become the target of a ferocious blitz of negative advertising.  Partisans and media decried many of the attacks as misleading or false.

Zimmerman Prosecutors In Huge Screw-Up  —  Photo of dead Trayvon Martin, college docs mistakenly released  —  In an embarrassing screw-up, Florida prosecutors today accidentally distributed a post-mortem photo of Trayvon Martin as well as copies of George Zimmerman's college records …

Noonan: A Nation That Believes Nothing  —  Romney doesn't need to talk about America becoming like Europe—he needs to warn us about America becoming like California.  —  It's been a week marked by mistakes, some new and some continuing.  —  The pro-Obama Super PAC ad that essentially blames Mitt Romney …

Republican Party Chairman: Americans Who Want Romney To Release More Tax Returns Are The New Birthers  —  RNC Chairman Reince Priebus compared the overwhelming majority of Americans — including a growing number of Republicans — calling on Mitt Romney to release his tax returns to birthers …

The Case for Gun Control  —  After the ghastly act of terrorism against a Sikh temple in Wisconsin on Aug. 5, Americans are pondering how to stop gun violence.  We have decided that it is, in the words of New York Times columnist David Brooks, a problem of psychology, not sociology.

The Great VP Fake-Out  —  This week saw media scrutiny of Mitt Romney ratchet up as reporters were allowed to follow him outside his scheduled public events.  Everyone wants to know who will be his pick for running mate, and he's not saying much.  —  The people who are talking are consultants …

Attacker in Afghan Uniform Kills 3 U.S. Soldiers  —  KABUL, Afghanistan — An Afghan police officer shot and killed at least three American Special Forces soldiers on Friday after inviting them for a meal at a check post in southern Afghanistan, an Afghan official said, in what appeared …