Ann Romney: ‘This Man Will Lift Up America!’  —  The Romney campaign released these excerpts of Ann Romney's speech, which she'll deliver tonight at the Republican convention in Tampa:  —  “Tonight I want to talk to you from my heart about our hearts.  —  “I want to talk not about what divides us …

RNC Attendee Allegedly Threw Nuts At Black CNN Camerawoman, Said ‘This Is How We Feed Animals’  —  An attendee at the Republican National Convention in Tampa on Tuesday allegedly threw nuts at a black camerawoman working for CNN and said “This is how we feed animals” before being removed from the convention …

Over Loud Boos, Romney Supporters Pass New Rules  —  Delegates from Minnesota yell for a “no” vote at a point of order at the Republican National Convention in Tampa.  —  TAMPA, Fla. — Mitt Romney's supporters passed new rules governing future primaries over the loud boos of Ron Paul supporters …

Romney Camp Bets On Welfare Attack  —  Their most powerful weapon, a top aide says.  “We're not going to let our campaign be dictated by fact checkers,” says Newhouse.  —  Source: youtube.com  —  Mitt Romney's aides explained with unusual political bluntness today why they are spending heavily …

Republican National Convention: The one graph you need to see before watching  —  On the Republican convention stage tonight, you're going to see a really large clock.  But the clock isn't for keeping time.  The idea isn't to stop speakers from going over their allotted time, or the convention from running late.

Judicial Watch Obtains Stack of ‘Overlooked’ CIA Records Detailing Meetings with bin Laden Filmmakers  —  Obama Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategic Communications:  —  Obama White House ‘trying to have visibility into the UBL (Usama bin Laden) projects.’

Breaking News: Federal District Court Denies Preclearance of Texas Redistricting Plans [Now updated with analysis]  —  You can read the opinion here (there was a partial dissent by Judge Griffith, who wrote most of the majority opinion as well).  From the introduction:

Coal miners lost pay when Mitt Romney visited their mine to promote coal jobs  —  WASHINGTON, D.C. — When GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney visited an Ohio coal mine this month to promote jobs in the coal industry, workers who appeared with him at the rally lost pay because their mine was shut down.

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Who Is Thursday's Mystery Convention Speaker?  —  TAMPA, Fla. - Republican convention planners appear to have a surprise planned for those tuning in Thursday night.  —  Buried deep in the convention schedule released Monday is a vague reference to a mystery speaker scheduled for the event's final evening.

Grand Island Preschooler Asked to Change the Sign for His Name in School  —  Hunter Spanjer says his name with a certain special hand gesture, but at just three and a half years old, he may have to change it.  —  “He's deaf, and his name sign, they say, is a violation of their weapons policy,” explained Hunter's father, Brian Spanjer.

RNC Primetime Speaker Gave Extensive PowerPoint On How To Build Your Business With Government Money  —  Small business woman Sher Valenzuela, who is running for Lt. Governor in Delaware, is giving a primetime speech tonight at the “We Build It” themed day of the Republican convention.

Flake wins GOP Senate nod in Arizona  —  Rep. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) has won the Republican nomination for Senate in Arizona, besting wealthy businessman Wil Cardon, who invested heavily in the race.  —  The Associated Press has called the race, which confirms an outcome long predicted by polls and political observers alike.

James O'Keefe not allowed to fly to Tampa  —  Conservative filmmaker and activist James O'Keefe won't be in Tampa, but the show he was supposed to headline will go on.  —  O'Keefe will still speak via Skype on “the role of the citizen journalist” and take audience questions …

DNC PROCEEDS WITH 2-HOUR ISLAMIC ‘JUMAH’ PRAYERS (AND YOU WON'T BELIEVE WHO'S INVITED)  —  The host committee for the Democratic National Convention is raising a number of eyebrows after choosing to proceed with featuring Islamic “Jumah” prayers for two hours on the Friday of its convention …

Methane Making An Appearance In Pa. Water Supplies … Mike and Nancy Leighton's problems began on May 19, just as Mike was settling in to watch the Preakness Stakes.  A neighbor in Leroy Township, Pa., called Mike and told him to check the water well located just outside his front door.

Paul Ryan's Intellectual Muse  —  by Richard A. Epstein (Peter and Kirsten Bedford Senior Fellow and member of the Property Rights, Freedom, and Prosperity Task Force)  —  The wisdom of Hayek is exactly what this country needs right now.  —  My last column for Defining Ideas …

Obama lead declining in Iowa  —  PPP's newest Iowa poll finds Barack Obama's lead in the state declining all the way to two points.  He's at 47% to 45% for Mitt Romney.  In July we found Obama ahead 48-43 and in May it was 51-41.  —  Iowa makes yet another swing state where voters don't really care for either Obama or Romney.