Romney backs audit for Fed, vows  to not raise taxes on middle class

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney and Rep. Paul Ryan, his running mate, joined forces here Monday on the campus of St. Anselm College, chastising President Obama for running a negative campaign and pushing back against the Democrat's claim that they will raise taxes on middle-class families to help cover the cost of tax cuts for the wealthy.

'Social welfare' funders sidestep rules of super PACs

The political groups that injected millions of dollars into political races over the past two years may already be giving way to the rise of a new class of politically oriented nonprofits, organizations that have most of the same powers as super PACs, and one major advantage: They don't have to meet the same strict requirements for disclosing where their money comes from.

Obama team sued for failure of Bush loan

Nearly a year after members of Congress called for an investigation into the collapse of a Colorado wireless company that went bankrupt after receiving a multimillion-dollar loan package from the George W. Bush administration, a trustee is suing the Obama administration over accusations that officials hastened the wireless firm's collapse.

In the color of money,  red staters more charitable than blues

Am I my brother's keeper? Conservatives and churchgoers are far more likely to say "yes," research shows.

GOP tries  to oust  candidate  after rape  remarks

Top Republicans on Monday backed away from their Senate candidate in Missouri and party leaders threatened to revoke financial support if he doesn't withdraw from the race after his comments about rape and abortion, but Rep. W. Todd Akin insisted he is in to stay.

Paul backers vow trouble  over Oklahoma delegates

The attorney for Rep. Ron Paul's Oklahoma delegates to the Republican National Convention on Monday threatened the withholding of votes for presumptive Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney, Oklahoma's GOP chairman says.

The Nationals beat the Braves 5-4 in 13 innings to extend NL East lead

The ball sat on the infield grass, to the left of first base, and did not move. To the right, the Washington Nationals celebrated their 76th victory of the season. To the left, the Atlanta Braves walked quietly off the field.

Ala. court  delivers  split  decision  on immigration law

A federal appeals court ruled Monday that part of Alabama's toughest-in-the-nation immigration law, which ordered public schools to check the citizenship status of new students, was unconstitutional, but it allowed police to ask suspicious people for citizenship documents.

Hezbollah tied to seized cash

Federal authorities Monday seized $150 million in connection with a civil money laundering and forfeiture complaint charging that a massive, international scheme in which entities linked to Hezbollah, including the now-defunct Lebanese Canadian Bank, used the U.S. financial system to launder narcotics trafficking and other criminal proceeds through West Africa and back into Lebanon.

RNC lacks 'party' people,  strip-club king predicts

Joe Redner, who almost single-handedly made Tampa's adult entertainment world famous, owns what is arguably the most notorious of Tampa's all-nude clubs — located less than six miles from where the Republicans will gather to nominate former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney as their presidential candidate.

Allen denounces  Akin's comments  on pregnancy, rape

George Allen on Monday was among the first Republican U.S. Senate candidates to publicly condemn Missouri Rep. and Senate candidate W. Todd Akin's remarks on pregnancy and rape as he tries to join a sizable list of political comebacks that first began with an ill-timed bout of foot-in-mouth disease.

State Dept. hits Assange's 'wild assertions'

The State Department on Monday accused WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange of making "wild assertions" about the United States in an attempt to divert attention from Sweden's investigation into whether he should be charged with rape.

Obama to Akin: 'Rape is rape'

President Obama condemned Rep. W. Todd Akin, a Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate from Missouri, for asserting that "legitimate rape" victims rarely get pregnant, and he used the incident to blast GOP rival Mitt Romney's and running mate Rep. Paul Ryan's views on abortion.

Intense fighting rages in Syria's Aleppo and Daraa

Syrian government forces on Monday heavily shelled the cities of Aleppo and Daraa and a suburb of Damascus on the second day of a major Muslim holiday, killing up to 30 people, rights groups and activists said.

Chinese politician's wife spared execution in murder

The wife of a disgraced Chinese politician received a suspended death sentence Monday for the murder of a British businessman, as authorities move to tidy up a huge political scandal ahead of a once-in-a-decade leadership transition this fall.

Inside the Beltway: Baby credentials

Uh-oh: Mothers are vexed with the Democratic Party for its plan to "credential" infants at the Democratic National Convention next month in Charlotte, N.C., not to mention the lack of child care at the event.

Commentary

NORD: Democratic commissioners marching to a different drummer

When the president issues an executive order, Cabinet-level departments get in line with administration policy. Though independent regulatory commissions (technically not part of the administration) are not required to follow executive orders, they usually try.

SMITH: Nellie Gray, inspirational right-to-life warrior

In the passing of Nellie Gray, the founder and president of the March for Life, the nation has lost a great human rights champion who dedicated the latter half of her 88 years to defending the most basic human right: the right to life.

GREGORY: Gun control and the security illusion

The recent mass shootings at a Sikh temple in Wisconsin and a movie theater in Colorado have revived the controversy over "gun control" policy.

EDITORIAL: Big Brother's enablers

If there's a trait common to politicians, it's their instinct to avoid making tough choices. Members of Congress prefer to delegate policy decisions to federal agencies or the judiciary so someone else can take the blame when constituents are upset.

EDITORIAL: The return of the death panels

Health care was supposed to be President Obama's issue in 2012. The 2009 Obamacare law was hailed as his signature legislative achievement, but it's never been popular. Its most onerous provisions were timed to kick in after the election specifically to avoid damaging the re-election effort.