Mitt Romney raises $18.25 million  —  Republican presidential candidate and former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney talks with reporters outside Allentown Metal Works in Allentown, Pa., last week.  (AP Photo/Rich Schultz)Former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney raised $18.25 million …

Invoke the 14th — and end the debt standoff  —  On its current course, the United States is four weeks away from defaulting on its debt for the first time in its history.  If that happens, businesses will fail.  Financial institutions will fail.  Home values will decline.  Mortgage rates will skyrocket.

Newt Gingrich raises $2M, reveals significant debt  —  Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich will report raising approximately $2 million in the second fundraising quarter of the year and ending the month of June with $225,000 in the bank, POLITICO has learned.

Obama plays small ball on policy  —  President Barack Obama swept into office as the anti-Bill Clinton, even saying at one point that he wasn't sent to Washington to “do school uniforms” — political shorthand for the former president's downsized ambitions against a Republican Congress.

WHY CLIMATE CHANGE HAS BECOME THE “DEAD PARROT SKETCH” OF AMERICAN POLITICS  —  For years now the climate campaign and the politicized science community has been complaining that it has a “communications problem,” which can be solved if only they shout louder, or get the human car alarm former …

Fast pace in House leads to lawmaker mistakes, confusion on votes  —  The rapid-fire succession of floor votes in the House this year has triggered lawmaker confusion and mistakes.  —  With dozens of votes stacked in a lengthy series on recent bills, a number of House lawmakers have cast the wrong votes.

Casey Anthony not guilty of murder  —  Casey Anthony could be a free woman Thursday after being found not guilty of murder, manslaughter and aggravated child abuse  —  Casey Anthony, center, is overcome with emotion along with her defense team following her acquittal of murder charges …

Supreme Court to decide on Mexican's execution  —  The U.S. Supreme Court has until Thursday to intervene before Texas is scheduled to put to death a convicted murderer and rapist from Mexico whose execution could place the U.S. in violation of a 38-year international treaty.

U.S. to Prosecute a Somali Suspect in Civilian Court  —  WASHINGTON — The Obama administration announced Tuesday that it would prosecute in civilian court a Somali accused of ties to two Islamist militant groups.  The decision to fly the man to New York for trial, after interrogating …

'That's racist' as a punch line  —  A phrase once considered one of the most serious accusations possible has become a gag line.  —  A scene from “30 Rock.”  Hannibal Buress, a comedian and writer for NBC's television program says “That's racist” works in comedy because it pushes buttons.  (NBC)

Families of 7/7 victims ‘were targets of phone hacking’  —  New revelation deepens crisis at News of the World after it emerges that officers will review child murder cases  —  The phone-hacking crisis enveloping the News of the World intensified on Tuesday night after it emerged …

For Film Graduates, an Altered Job Picture  —  LOS ANGELES — One after another, touring groups of prospective students and their parents stopped late last month to pose for pictures around a bronze Douglas Fairbanks, who wields his sword in a courtyard fountain here at the University of Southern California's School of Cinematic Arts.

Advice for a Young Blogger: How to get a million or less hits on your blog over some unspecified period of time, maybe  —  Received: … Oh.  I'm sorry.  Wrong email. … C, here are my top 10 rules on the delicate topic of blogging.  —  10. Always link to stories on blogs around …

Treasury announces $10 billion in TARP profit from banks  —  The federal government has reaped a $10 billion profit on bank loans made under the controversial Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP).  —  The Treasury Department announced Tuesday that the government had pulled in another $1.7 billion in proceeds stemming from TARP loans.

DNC boss, president at odds on Cuba policy  —  Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (Fla.), tapped by President Obama to head the Democratic National Committee, is a hard-liner on Cuba, which means the chairwoman of the organization intent on reelecting the president disagrees with Obama …

Daily Beast Plays The David Duke Card  —  Democrats must be in trouble if The Daily Beast is running a headline White Supremacist Stampede, with this opening line: … Ah yes, the David Duke card gets played.  —  Duke is an anti-Semitic kook who is far more likely in recent years …

Brawl Erupts During Impeachment Talks in Afghan Parliament  —  KABUL, Afghanistan — Members of the Afghan Parliament came to blows Tuesday as a majority for the first time began to discuss impeaching President Hamid Karzai, signaling the near-total breakdown of relations between the Parliament …

Strauss-Kahn Lawyers and Prosecution Set Meeting to Discuss Dismissal or Plea Deal  —  Manhattan prosecutors are scheduled to meet on Wednesday with the lawyers for Dominique Strauss-Kahn to discuss whether the sexual assault case against him can be resolved through a dismissal or a plea agreement …

On the Perils of Diarywriting; Lessons Learned; and The Opportunities of New Media  —  I sometimes feel like I am living in several different time zones simultaneously, all in the same country, often at the same desk.  —  There is the here and now, always the most pressing, often the most challenging …

Police, firefighters shot with fireworks at Taft Homes ‘riot’  —  PEORIA — A large-scale illegal fireworks display in a housing complex adjacent to the state's largest Fourth of July celebration turned into what police termed a near-riot Monday as tens of thousands of revelers tried to filter out of Downtown.

Big Business Leaves Deficit to Politicians  —  If you want to understand why cutting the deficit is so hard, you can't do much better than to look at the Business Roundtable.  —  The roundtable is one of the more moderate big-business lobbying groups.  Its president is John Engler …