GOP pros fret over Paul Ryan  —  You've heard them on television and read them on POLITICO — cheerful, defiant statements from Republican political professionals about Mitt Romney's bold masterstroke in tapping Paul Ryan as his running mate, and turning the 2012 presidential race into a serious …

Romney camp blasts Biden for ‘chains’ remark, calls it a ‘new low’  —  Mitt Romney's campaign issued a scathing statement Tuesday, blasting the Obama campaign for hitting a “new low” after Vice President Biden's suggestion to voters that the Republican ticket's economic policies would “put y'all back in chains.”

Obama hits Romney on Seamus  —  OSKALOOSA, Iowa — President Obama strayed from his prepared remarks here Tuesday to get in a jab at Mitt Romney's famous dog-on-top-of-car moment.  —  Noting that the Republican candidate has criticized wind energy, saying a windmill can't be put on top of a car to power it, Obama had a zinger.

Rep. Dennis Cardoza announces resignation  —  Citing sensitive family needs, Rep. Dennis Cardoza, D-Merced, has tendered his immediate resignation from the House of Representatives.  The surprisingly timed departure takes effect at midnight Wednesday.  —  A veteran San Joaquin Valley politician …

More questions raised about Fareed Zakaria's work  —  Columnist and TV host Fareed Zakaria, who acknowledged plagiarizing parts of a magazine article last week, appears to have also published without attribution a passage from a 2005 book.  —  Zakaria's 2008 book, “The Post-American World …

My Sister Paid Progressive Insurance to Defend Her Killer In Court  —  I've been sending out some impertinent tweets about Progressive Insurance lately, but I haven't explained how they pissed me off.  So I will do that here as succinctly as possible.  There's a general understanding that says …

Tea Party House Candidate Calls For Troops Along Arizona Border To ‘Start Shooting’  —  Samuel Wurzlbacher — known to most as Joe the Plumber — made an appearance at a fundraiser for a Republican Arizona State Senator candidate over the weekend, and told the audience that the way to solve …

Congress Approval Ties All-Time Low at 10%  —  Americans' approval of Congress has been below 20% since June 2011  —  PRINCETON, NJ — Ten percent of Americans in August approve of the job Congress is doing, tying last February's reading as the lowest in Gallup's 38-year history of this measure.

Julian Assange will be granted asylum, says official  —  Ecuador's president Rafael Correa has agreed to give the WikiLeaks founder asylum, according to an official in Quito  —  Ecuador's president Rafael Correa has agreed to give Julian Assange asylum, officials within Ecuador's government have said.

Burned cat in Mpls. park puts Secret Service on alert  —  The cat was staked with an American flag next to an Obama/Biden lawn sign in Minneapolis' Longfellow Park.  —  A threat to President Obama in the form of a burned cat staked to a tree stump drew officers from several city …

Fox's Entire Internship Program Now Under Legal Attack (Exclusive)  —  Lawyers want to expand the scope of a lawsuit originally brought by interns who had worked on “Black Swan.”  —  A class-action lawsuit that takes issue with internships at Fox Entertainment is becoming a lot bigger.

Euro Zone Economy Declines, Putting Pressure on Leaders  —  FRANKFURT — The economy in the euro zone officially shifted from stagnation to decline in the second quarter of 2012, portending a recession later in the year that will put even more pressure on beleaguered political leaders struggling to keep the common currency intact.