Team Obama breaks precedent to try to spoil Romney's convention  —  Bucking protocol, President Obama and the Democrats are planning a full-scale assault on Republicans next week during their convention.  —  Bucking protocol, President Obama and the Democrats are planning a full-scale assault …

Polls Say Medicare Is Key Issue in 3 Swing States  —  The Romney-Ryan proposal to reshape Medicare by giving future beneficiaries fixed amounts of money to buy health coverage is deeply unpopular in Florida, Ohio and Wisconsin, according to new polls that found that more likely voters …

Missouri Senate: McCaskill (D) 48%, Akin (R) 38%  —  What a difference one TV interview can make.  Embattled Democratic incumbent Claire McCaskill has now jumped to a 10-point lead over her Republican challenger, Congressman Todd Akin, in Missouri's U.S. Senate race.

Michelle Obama: ‘Get to the Polls on November the 2’  —  Michelle Obama, speaking yesterday at a campaign event in Florida: … The presidential election this year is November 6.

Obama: Team Romney coming on strong, playing dirty, time to ‘put them away’  —  President Obama joined a group of former NBA stars at a fundraiser at New York's Lincoln Center Wednesday night.  With Michael Jordan, Patrick Ewing, Walt Frazier, Bill Bradley and other basketball legends sitting nearby …

The Lost Decade of the Middle Class  —  Fewer, Poorer, Gloomier  —  CHAPTER 1: OVERVIEW  —  As the 2012 presidential candidates prepare their closing arguments to America's middle class, they are courting a group that has endured a lost decade for economic well-being.

AP Exclusive: Energy loan watchdog an Obama donor  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — A veteran Wall Street executive who performed an independent review that exonerated the Obama administration's program of loans to energy companies contributed $52,500 to re-elect President Barack Obama in the months since completing …

Sheriff candidate says he wouldn't reject deadly force to stop abortions  —  Candidate says he believes elective, late-term abortions aren't lawful  —  Candidate's abortion comments draw criticism  —  A Republican candidate for Hillsborough County Sheriff said Wednesday …

MITT ROMNEY SETS GOAL OF NORTH AMERICAN ENERGY INDEPENDENCE BY 2020  —  A crucial component of Mitt Romney's Plan for a Stronger Middle Class is a comprehensive energy strategy to achieve North American energy independence by 2020 and establish America as an energy superpower in the 21st century.

Fear of a Black President  —  As a candidate, Barack Obama said we needed to reckon with race and with America's original sin, slavery.  But as our first black president, he has avoided mention of race almost entirely.  In having to be “twice as good” and “half as black,” …

Cops: Lesbian Fakes Attack In Which She Carved Anti-Gay Slurs Into Skin  —  LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A former University of Nebraska women's basketball star faked an attack in which she allegedly carved anti-gay slurs into her skin because she felt it would spark change, police said Tuesday.

Dan Savage and Brian Brown Debate Gay Marriage Over the Dinner Table  —  THE ancient Greek symposium, which combined drinking with elevated discussion, was often held in a private house; at Parisian salons, conversation frequently took place in the bedroom.  Once upon a time …

Lubbock Co. Judge warns of potential danger if Obama is re-elected  —  Lubbock County Judge Tom Head and Commissioner Mark Heinrich went into great detail Monday night on FOX 34 News @ Nine about why it is necessary to raise the tax rate by 1.7 cents the next fiscal year.

Ties to Obama Aided in Access for Big Utility  —  WASHINGTON — Early in the Obama administration, a lobbyist for the Illinois-based energy producer Exelon Corporation proudly called it “the president's utility.”  And it was not just because it delivers power to Barack Obama's Hyde Park neighborhood in Chicago.

Minn. Democrat drops re-election bid over sex with teen boy  —  A Minnesota Democrat who had sex with a 17-year-old boy at an I-35 rest stop says he is dropping his re-election bid, just hours after he said he would stay in the race, according to news reports.

Jobless Claims In U.S. Climb For Second Week To One-Month High  —  The number of Americans filing applications for unemployment benefits climbed last week to a one-month high, showing little progress in the labor market.  —  Jobless claims rose by 4,000 for a second week to reach 372,000 …

First Thoughts: Unchanged  —  Our latest NBC News battleground map shows no change since June... 237 electoral votes in the Dem column, 191 in the GOP's, and 110 are in the toss-up category... Ranking the nine toss-up states... Breaking down a slew of new state polls... Romney to unveil energy plan in Hobbs …