BOOM!  Romney tells crowd we'll give Obama a chance to change Washington from the outside in November!  —  Fantastic Romney response to Obama's claim that he can't change Washington from the inside, that it can only be changed from the outside.  Romney tells the crowd that Obama has already thrown …

Scott Brown, Harry Reid clash after Republican raises possibility of missing tonight's debate  —  WASHINGTON — Senator Scott Brown raised the possibility he might miss tonight's lead-off debate with Elizabeth Warren because of the Senate voting schedule, before Democratic leaders challenged …

O eyes ‘blind sheik’ release  —  The Obama administration is weighing the release of blind Sheik Omar Abdel-Rahman — the spiritual adviser to the 1993 World Trade Center bombers — in a stunning goodwill gesture toward Egypt that has touched off a political firestorm, officials said yesterday.

Pawlenty to take over as Financial Services Roundtable CEO  —  Former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty will take over one of K Street's most prestigious jobs as CEO of the Financial Services Roundtable.  —  The group announced Thursday morning that the former GOP candidate for president …

Republicans at risk of losing the House?  —  Conditions through August showed a 2% lead on the generic Congressional ballot for Democrats.  As of September 20th, in the wake of the Democratic convention, the lead has widened to 4.0 +/- 2.0%.  Although it has yet to be appreciated by pundits …

Metcalfe says ‘lazy’ people don't deserve to vote  —  State Rep. Daryl Metcalfe is nothing if not blunt.  The Butler County Republican positions himself at the center of almost every controversial issue in the Capitol, be it immigration, gun control or voter ID.

Dave Matthews makes (and talks) history  —  (CNN) — Dave Matthews supported Barack Obama in the presidential race of 2008, and he's supporting him again in 2012 — but not without reservations.  —  The multi-platinum Grammy winner laments, “I wish there was a third party, but right now …

Rethinking Robert Rubin  —  Bill Clinton has a favorite Robert Rubin story.  It's 1999, and the Cabinet has gathered to discuss the business of the American people.  Except no one can focus because the impeachment crisis is raging, and even the most veteran Washington power players are, for lack of a better term, freaking out.

Guess who's trashing Obama campaign signs in Austin, Texas?  —  Texas may be a red state but the capital of Austin is Obama country.  It's thus not unusual to see myriad Obama campaign signs in nice neighborhoods — displayed on one manicured front lawn after another.

SHOCKING AUDIO: Paris Hilton Blasts Gays Who Have Sex With Strangers: ‘Most Of Them Probably Have AIDS’  —  Paris Hilton has been caught on tape making homophobic and derogatory statements about gay men who have random sex with strangers even stating “most of them probably have AIDS.”

Whoa: Devastating CBS News Benghazi Report Slams Obama Administration  —  There were so many critical elements of this CBS News report on Libya, I wasn't sure which one to highlight in a juicy headline.  Just watch:  —  Let's count the revelations embedded within this minute-and-a-half long clip:

Democratic Enthusiasm Swells in the Swing States, Nationally  —  Overall, 59% of swing-state voters now highly enthusiastic, up from 46% in June  —  PRINCETON, NJ — Voters in the 12 states USA Today and Gallup consider the key swing states that could decide the 2012 presidential election …

Elderly woman who botched religious fresco demands royalties  —  The elderly Spanish woman who ruined a religious fresco with her botched restoration is now demanding royalties from her work after it became an unlikely tourist attraction.  —  Ecce Homo by 19th-century painter Elías …

What working class whites really think about dependency and redistribution  —  It's been widely observed that Mitt Romney's attacks on Obama over Medicare, welfare, dependency and “redistribution” are about driving up Romney's share of working class white support.

Romney Supporters Clash With Protesters In Florida  —  “Get a job.”  “I'm proud to be one percent.”  —  SARASOTA, Fla. — Supporters and opponents of Mitt Romney faced off outside of the Republican nominee's rally here in an at-times-violent confrontation.

Secret Ryan Transcript: Social Security and Medicare are the Target  —  This isn't from a secret video, it's from the untranscribed portion of Ryan's 2005 speech at the Atlas Society's “Celebration of Ayn Rand.”  It fits well with the Romney video because it makes clear that middle class entitlements …

This Too Shall Pass, but What Follows Is Crucial  —  Romney has had a bad week, but he can recover—if he tells voters more clearly what he would do as president.  —  It's over.  Gov. Mitt Romney's statements last week about the storming of the U.S. Embassy in Cairo, followed by the release …

Poll shows Jewish support for Obama in Florida down 7 percentage points from 2008  —  President still leads over Romney 69 percent to 25 percent; Jewish Democratic Council head says comparing polls ‘like apples and oranges’  —  Support for President Barack Obama among Jews in the state …

Kingswear's Dart Princess ferry thief ‘Jack Sparrow’ jailed  —  A woman who shouted “I'm Jack Sparrow” at police as she stole a ferry was lucky she was not injured, the owners of the vessel said.  —  Alison Whelan referred to the movie pirate character as she took the Dart Princess on the River Dart in Devon.

Fueled by women voters, Obama widens lead in Michigan  —  President Barack Obama has opened up a double-digit lead over GOP challenger Mitt Romney in Michigan fueled by a wave of women moving toward the Democratic president following the national party conventions.

Apple Maps App Takes Reality Distortion to a Whole New Level  —  Apple may some day deliver a mobile mapping application that bests Google's, but the new Maps app in iOS 6 — the latest iteration of its mobile operating system — isn't it.  Not yet, anyway.

Republican Lynches Empty Chair in Racist Presidential Effigy in Northwest Austin  —  Update, 10:00 a.m. Thursday: the homeowner has added an American flag to his display.  Click here for more.  —  Today, Burnt Orange Report received the photo at right, taken in front of a home in Northwest Austin.

Obama leads by 7 in Wisconsin  —  PPP's newest Wisconsin poll finds Barack Obama opening back up a wide lead in the state.  He has 52% to 45% for Mitt Romney.  This is the largest lead we've found for Obama in the state since February.  Our previous two polls had shown just a single point separating the two candidates.

Chick-fil-A no longer will fund traditional-marriage groups  —  Chick-fil-A stopped funding traditional-marriage groups in an effort to open a new Chicago restaurant, but the company initially kept quiet about the decision, prompting gay rights groups to speculate that the company feared a backlash from conservative customers.

Fiona Apple — ARRESTED for Hash in Texas  —  ARRESTED  —  for Hash in Texas  —  EXCLUSIVE  —  All she needs is a good defense ...  Fiona Apple was arrested at a border stop in Texas yesterday ... after authorities claim they found hashish on the “Criminal” singer's tour bus ... TMZ has learned.

Seven of nation's 10 most affluent counties are in Washington region  —  Ron Edmonds/AP - The Washington D.C. area, including suburbs in Maryland and Virginia, are benefiting from a healthy job market in 2012, much of it linked to the federal government.  Demand for homes is consistently strong …

In New Policy, The Times Forbids After-the-Fact ‘Quote Approval’  —  The New York Times is drawing “a clear line” against the practice of news sources being allowed to approve quotations in stories after the fact.  —  The practice, known as quote approval, “puts so much control over the content …

Tax Credit in Doubt, Wind Power Industry Is Withering  —  FAIRLESS HILLS, Pa. — Last month, Gamesa, a major maker of wind turbines, completed the first significant order of its latest innovation: a camper-size box that can capture the energy of slow winds, potentially opening up new parts of the country to wind power.