FBI probing shooting of guard at Family Research Council HQ  —  A security guard at the Family Research Council headquarters in Washington, D.C., was shot in the arm by a gunman who sources said expressed disagreement with the conservative group's policy positions.

Boehner holds call to calm House GOP  —  Jolted by concerns over the wave of Medicare-themed Democratic attacks sparked by Paul Ryan's vice presidential nomination, House Speaker John Boehner held a Tuesday evening conference call aimed at soothing jittery Republican members, POLITICO has learned.

When Cruelty Is Cute  —  I'd been wondering how long it would take Republicans to realize that Paul Ryan is their guy.  —  He's the cutest package that cruelty ever came in.  He has a winning air of sad cheerfulness.  He's affable, clean-cut and really cut, with the Irish altar-boy widow's peak …

Biden: 'Folks, Where's it Written We Cannot Lead the World in the 20th Century in Making Automobiles?'  —  In a speech today in Virginia, Vice President Joe Biden seemed to forget we're in the 21st century:  —  'Folks, where's it written we cannot lead the world in the 20th century in making automobiles?," said Biden.

Judge won't halt Pa. voter identification law  —  HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — A Pennsylvania judge on Wednesday refused to stop a tough new voter identification law from going into effect, which Democrats say will suppress votes among President Barack Obama's supporters.

Special ops group attacks Obama over bin Laden bragging, leaks  —  (Reuters) - A group of former U.S. intelligence and Special Forces operatives is set to launch a media campaign, including TV ads, that scolds President Barack Obama for taking credit for the killing of Osama bin Laden and argues …

Ann Romney talks family, finances in exclusive interview: 'There's nothing we're hiding'  —  LLANGYNWD, Wales - About two hundred miles away from the Greenwich, England, arena where her purebred horse Rafalca competed in the London Olympics, Ann Romney stroked the nose of Magic, a Welsh pony.

I wish my mother had aborted me |  Lynn Beisner  —  This is no 'I wish I'd never been born' howl of angst.  I love my mother, and having an abortion would have given her a better life  —  If there is one thing that anti-choice activists do that makes me see red, it is when they parade …

Fiery protester outside General Mills dies days later on family errand  —  A Twin Cities man who staged a fiery protest outside General Mills headquarters in Golden Valley last week died several days later while running an errand, his family's minister said Wednesday.

In Harvard essay, young Michelle Obama argued for race-based faculty hiring  —  During her third and final year at Harvard Law School, first lady Michelle Obama — then named Michelle Robinson — penned an article for the newsletter of Harvard's Black Law Students Association (BLSA) …

Unlikely/Unregistered Voter Poll with USA TODAY  —  Political opinion polls usually confine themselves to seeking out registered, likely voters.  But what about the millions of adult U.S. citizens who are eligible to vote and choose not to?  —  The Suffolk University Political Research Center …