Republican Senate Nominee: Victims Of ‘Legitimate Rape’ Don't Get Pregnant  —  This post has been updated.  —  Rep. Todd Akin, the Republican nominee for Senate in Missouri who is running against Sen. Claire McCaskill, justified his opposition to abortion rights even in case of rape …

Exclusive: GOP scolded after drinking, nudity in Israel  —  The FBI probed a late-night swim in the Sea of Galilee that involved drinking, numerous GOP freshmen lawmakers, top leadership staff - and one nude member of Congress, according to more than a dozen sources, including eyewitnesses.

Niall Ferguson: Hit the Road, Barack  —  The president has broken his promises, and Romney-Ryan's path to prosperity is our only hope.  —  I was a good loser four years ago.  “In the grand scheme of history,” I wrote the day after Barack Obama's election as president, “four decades is not an especially long time.

POLITICO e-book: Obama campaign roiled by conflict  —  President Barack Obama's campaign team, celebrated four years ago for its exceptional cohesion and eyes-on-the-prize strategic focus, has been shadowed this time by a succession of political disagreements and personal rivalries that haunted the effort at the outset.

An Unserious Man  —  Mitt Romney's choice of Paul Ryan as his running mate led to a wave of pundit accolades.  Now, declared writer after writer, we're going to have a real debate about the nation's fiscal future.  This was predictable: never mind the Tea Party, Mr. Ryan's true constituency …

Swing-State Voters Say They Are No Better Off Than in 2008  —  Divided as to whether they would be better off in four years under Obama or Romney  —  PRINCETON, NJ — A majority of voters in key 2012 election swing states say they are not better off than they were four years ago; 40% say they are better off.

Romney Campaign Works Feverishly to Project Relaxed Image  —  TAMPA, Fla. — They hail from the Broadway stage, the control rooms of NBC and the design studios that created sleek sets for Oprah Winfrey and Jon Stewart.  —  Their craft is slick packaging and eye candy that audiences consume by the millions.

Former union boss at Occupy event: Our goal is to ‘overthrow the capitalist system and build communism’ [VIDEO]  —  Former Amalgamated Transit Union local 689 president Mike Golash, now an “Occupy” movement organizer, was caught on tape Sunday revealing his political goals …

Donald Trump gets ‘surprise’ convention role  —  The Donald is gearing up for Tampa.  —  When the Republican National Convention kicks off next Monday, Donald Trump will have a “surprise” role on its first day, people familiar with the matter said Sunday evening.

Manhattan businessman's will ordered gay son to marry woman who gave birth to his child  —  Where there's a will, there's a gay.  —  A dear old dad left behind a final, unthinkable request for his gay son: get married — to a woman.  —  The edict surfaced in the will of Manhattan businessman …