Romney Prepares to Pick Ryan  —  Elm Grove, Wisc.  & Washington, D.C.  —  THE WEEKLY STANDARD has learned that the Romney campaign has begun to prepare a vigorous effort in support of Paul Ryan if he is selected as Mitt Romney's vice presidential pick—something now likely to happen soon.

Jon Huntsman Sr., longtime Romney backer, calls on him to release tax returns  —  The internet is alive with speculation that the secret source Harry Reid claims to have on Mitt Romney's tax returns is Utah industrialist Jon Huntsman Sr. He is the founder of Hunstman Corporation and the father …

Romney wants his taxes, business record off table  —  Mitt Romney made an unusual suggestion in his interview with Chuck Todd yesterday, which First Read previewed thusly: … Talking about candidates' personal finances is hardly novel, nor is it irrelevant — how candidates make their money …

Time, CNN Star Fareed Zakaria Suspended for Admitted Plagiarism  —  [UPDATED below page break: TIME magazine, CNN have suspended Zakaria.]  When CNN host and Time editor-at-large Fareed Zakaria wrote a new piece called “The Case for Gun Control,” it ended with a bang: “So when people throw …

Criticized ‘Super PAC’ Ad Has Yet to Be Broadcast as a Paid Commercial  —  It is one of the most provocative ads of the presidential campaign so far.  A former employee of a steel company that Bain Capital bought out tells how he and his cancer-stricken wife lost their health insurance after he was laid off.

Smith becomes first gay general officer to serve openly  —  WASHINGTON — Army reserve officer Tammy Smith calls her recent promotion to brigadier general exciting and humbling, saying it gives her a chance to be a leader in advancing Army values and excellence.

White House Approached Schwarzenegger in 2011  —  Former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is getting back into the movie business with a lineup of six film projects-but at one point, things might have gone a very different way.  —  Mr. Schwarzenegger was approached by White House officials …

Federal Judge Strikes Down Utah's Hairbraiding Licensing Scheme  —  Finds Cosmetology Regulations to Be a Violation of Hairbraider's Constitutional Rights  —  (703) 682-9320  —  Salt Lake City, Utah—In a major victory for economic liberty, a federal court ruled late yesterday …

Romney's Strategy Isn't Working  —  The line from Romney headquarters last month was “every day we're not talking about the economy is a day we lose.”  This line, which came from the highest reaches of the campaign, was proffered to explain the unwillingness to provide substantive details on a host of policies besides the economy.

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 …

Ohio Limits Early Voting Hours In Democratic Counties, Expands In Republican Counties  —  Ohio has introduced a new tactic in their broader attempts to make it even harder for Democratic voters to get to the polls this year.  Early voting stations in Ohio's heavily Democratic counties …

Chronicling Mitt's Mendacity, Vol.  XXIX  —  Joe Klein reflected briefly on Mitt Romney this week, noting, “I can't remember a candidate so brazenly allergic to facts.  What a travesty.”  Kevin Drum offered some related thoughts. … The same afternoon, in an apparent attempt to push …

Obama Praises Clinton Aide Targeted By Bachmann: ‘Huma Is An American Patriot’  —  Michele Bachmann and four other Members of Congress have targeted Huma Abedin, a top aide to Hillary Clinton, suggesting in a letter to the State Department that she is connected to the Muslim Brotherhood.

Biden: McConnell decided to withhold all cooperation even before we took office  —  I've got my copy of Michael Grunwald's new book on the making of stimulus, The New New Deal, and there are a lot of juicy nuggets in it.  In particular, it may shed new light on the degree to which Republicans …

Will Erskine Bowles be our next Treasury Secretary?  —  One of Washington's favorite guessing games — behind Mitt Romney's veepstakes, but way ahead of who will run the Commerce Department — is who will replace Timothy Franz Geithner as Treasury Secretary.