US election: Mitt Romney may have breached ethics laws through company linked to Paul Ryan's brother  —  Mitt Romney may have breached state ethics laws as Governor of Massachusetts by holding a stake in a company that did lucrative work for his administration and was linked to the family of Paul Ryan …

GOP convention's focus: Romney the professional  —  BOSTON — Mitt Romney's advisers are orchestrating a four-day Republican National Convention that is not so much designed to make Americans fall in love with the nominee, but rather to fall in like with the idea of him as the nation's leader …

Anti-Obama Navy SEAL leader: I'm a Birther  —  President Barack Obama is a socialist, was raised by communists, and wasn't born in the United States, according to the former Navy SEAL who founded the group Special Operations Speaks (SOS), which aims to portray Obama as anti-military in this election season.

A Measure of Change: Obama Lags on Filling Seats in the Judiciary  —  WASHINGTON — President Obama is set to end his term with dozens fewer lower-court appointments than both Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush achieved in their first four years, and probably with less …

The Charts That Doom Obama  —  News out this afternoon is that Obama is looking into opening the Strategic Petroleum Reserve as a means to relieve pressure at the gas pump.  Someone at the White House woke up and realized that the welcome springtime fall in gasoline prices has reversed course …

Ryan releases tax returns for last two years  —  By Craig Gilbert of the Journal Sentinel  —  Paul Ryan and his wife Janna paid an effective tax rate of 15.9% in 2010 and 20% in 2011, according to tax returns provided by the Romney-Ryan campaign to the Journal Sentinel Friday.

August Unemployment Not Looking Good  —  New Gallup unemployment data suggest an increase in the government's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for August when it is reported on Friday, Sept. 7.  During recent months, Gallup's measurements have been more optimistic than those of the BLS.

Mitt Romney's tax returns: the ‘voter fraud’ theory |  MS Bellows Jr  —  There has been much speculation about why Romney refuses to disclose earlier tax returns.  Could it be as simple as an address?  —  Friday's exchange of letters between the election campaigns of Barack Obama and Mitt Romney …

Ohio Elections Chief Suspends Democrats From County Board  —  After a Wednesday order that his office says bans weekend early voting hours, the Ohio Secretary of State, a Republican, responds to rebellion from one county's Democratic members.  A confrontation as the election approaches.

Protester spits on Romney supporter in Wisconsin  —  POLITICAL SPAT: Romney protester spits on supporte...: AUG. 17, 2012: During a Mitt Romney rally near Appleton, Wis., a protester, Mary Hoglund, 83, confronts Wisconsin state Sen. Alberta Darling.  A supporter challenges her and Hoglund spits in her face.

Pussy Riot release new single Putin Lights Up the Fires - video  —  Exclusive: Pussy Riot, the feminist Russian punk band from which three members were found guilty of hooliganism driven by religious hatred and sentenced to two years in jail, have released a new single called Putin Lights Up the Fires.

Rep. Hartzler: Dems politicizing drought-relief measures  —  Rep. Vicky Hartzler (R-Mo.) slammed Senate Democrats Saturday, saying their failure to pass drought-relief or stop tax hikes set to take effect next year had harmed small businesses and farmers.  —  In the GOP weekly address …

Pa. drops plans for 2 online initiatives to boost voting  —  HARRISBURG - On the same day a judge cleared the way for the state's new voter identification law to take effect, the Corbett administration abandoned plans to allow voters to apply online for absentee ballots for the November election and to register online to vote.

Oakland: Six arrested as protest at Obama campaign headquarters ends peacefully  —  OAKLAND — A protest at the Barack Obama campaign headquarters in downtown Oakland ended peacefully late Thursday, with a handful of arrests but no reports of violence.  —  At least 60 protesters rallied …

TPM2012  —  Paul Ryan Slams Obama For Not Saving Auto Plant That Closed Under Bush  —  Paul Ryan slammed President Obama on Thursday for failing to rescue an auto factory in his Wisconsin district — one that closed in 2008, under President George W. Bush.