Radford business owner declines request from Joe Biden's entourage to stop in store  —  The owner of Crumb and Get It says he doesn't agree with the Obama administration's policies.  —  Vice President Joe Biden visits Danville, Floyd, Wytheville  —  Republicans seize on Biden's ‘put you back in chains’ comment

Cops: LGBT volunteer shoots conservative group's guard  —  (AP) WASHINGTON - A man suspected of shooting and wounding a security guard in the lobby of a Christian lobbying group had been volunteering at a community center for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people.

Gov. Jan Brewer defies W.H. on immigration  —  Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer signed an executive order on Wednesday to deny benefits to young illegal immigrants who qualify under the White House's new deferred action policy.  —  The Republican governor issued the order in response …

Look Who the Press Is Blaming for the Ugly Campaign  —  Media Bias: What a surprise.  Mitt Romney finally throws a counterpunch to a series of outrageous Obama campaign lies, and the press accuses Romney of going negative.  The media's pro-Obama bias is a wonder to behold.

Ecuador Grants Asylum to Assange, Defying Britain  —  CARACAS, Venezuela — Ecuador said on Thursday that it had decided to grant political asylum to Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks.  Mr. Assange has been holed up for two months in the Ecuadorean embassy in London …

Red & Black student staffers walk out  —  The student editorial staff of the University of Georgia's The Red & Black newspaper walked out Wednesday evening after a non-student was named editorial director with final say on all editorial content.  —  The Red & Black's student editor-in-chief …

Give 'em hell, Mitt!  —  On Medicare, the Romney campaign is borrowing the strategic logic of a long-ago military legend.  —  Taking command of the French 9th army in 1914 as it retreated before the Germans, Marshal Ferdinand Foch uttered his immortals words: “Hard pressed on my right.

No Criminal Case Is Likely in Loss at MF Global  —  A criminal investigation into the collapse of the brokerage firm MF Global and the disappearance of about $1 billion in customer money is now heading into its final stage without charges expected against any top executives.

Swing state poll: After picking Ryan, Romney now leads in Ohio, Virginia — and Florida  —  Via Guy Benson, no self-respecting eeyore would leave a headline as rosy as the above unchecked, so here's me checking it right off the bat.  According to Gallup's tracker, Romney's gotten almost no bounce from the Ryan pick — yet.

Pennsylvania voter ID law gets approval from state judge  —  A Pennsylvania judge Wednesday allowed a Republican-backed law requiring voters to show IDs to go into effect starting this Election Day, a setback for Democrats and civil rights groups who contend that such laws could deny many Americans the right to vote.

Megadeth Singer Dave Mustaine — Barack Obama ‘Staged’ Aurora Shooting Massacre  —  Obama ‘Staged’ Aurora  —  Shooting Massacre  —  Dave Mustaine — the lead singer of Megadeth — believes Barack Obama “staged” the massacre in Aurora, CO in a sick, twisted plot to pass a gun ban.

Iowa deli co-owner caters for Obama visit, but his T-shirt tells another story  —  DAVENPORT, Iowa — Ross Murty likes business, but he doesn't like President Obama.  —  And so the co-owner of the Village Corner Deli here agreed to cater Obama's visit Wednesday — but not before donning …

The next frontier in the case against Paul Ryan  —  Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan have had some success in obscuring the health care debate by pointing out that Ryan's proposal does not change Medicare for people currently over 55 years old.  This has allowed Republicans to blunt Dem attacks …