Jon Huntsman Comes Out Swinging  —  ABC News' Jake Tapper reports:  —  In an interview to air on THIS WEEK Sunday, former Utah Governor and US Ambassador to China Jon Huntsman came out swinging against his rivals for the Republican presidential nomination.  —  Some excerpts:

Iran jails U.S. “hikers” as spies for 8 years  —  (Reuters) - Two Americans held in Iran for more than two years have been convicted as spies and sentenced to eight years' jail, Iranian TV reported on Saturday, a verdict that will further strain already very poor relations with Washington.

Explosions and gunfire rock besieged Tripoli  —  Residents say they could hear shooting from several locations and there were anti-Gaddafi protesters in the streets.  —  Explosions and gunfire rocked Tripoli on Saturday night, after days of battlefield defeats left Muammar Gaddafi's government …

Obama dangerously close to a ‘Killer Rabbit’ moment  —  President heads for Martha's Vineyard vacation as unemployment lines grow  —  Is President Barack Obama on the verge of being attacked by a bunny wabbit?  —  Absolutely.  —  All the signs suggest that Obama is in immediate danger of a rabbit attack.

Obama's Beach Reading  —  VINEYARD HAVEN, Mass. - It's here... President Obama's summer vacation reading list, and it's heavy on fiction. … Mr. Obama, who is vacationing on Martha's Vineyard, picked up a couple of books during an outing Friday with his daughters, Sasha and Malia.

3rd ‘Turban bomb’ attack rocks southern Helmand province  —  A blood-stained lungee (turban) lies on the ground after a suicide bomber detonated himself and killed the mayor of Kandahar City, July 27, 2011.  The bomber had tucked an explosive device inside his turban to carry out the attack.

Taxing Capital Gains at Ordinary Rates: Evidence Says Do It...So Does Buffet  —  Why not tax capital gains as ordinary income?  —  That's an old chestnut among those of us who believe that the differential between tax rates on different types of income causes more harm than good.

If You Read One ‘Serious’ Newspaper Article This Weekend ...  ... well, that's not bad for mid-August.  But please let it be this one, by Jackie Calmes in today's New York Times, about the economic and political consequences of the House GOP's anti-deficit push.

Lawyer for Strauss-Kahn's Accuser Expects Charges to Be Dropped  —  Manhattan prosecutors will meet with the woman who accused Dominique Strauss-Kahn of sexual assault on the eve of a court appearance in which they are expected to announce whether they will proceed with the case.

GM says bankruptcy excuses it from Impala repairs  —  * Suspension problem said to cause excessive tire wear  —  General Motors Co (GM.N) is seeking to dismiss a lawsuit over a suspension problem on more than 400,000 Chevrolet Impalas from the 2007 and 2008 model years …

Verizon Union Worker Hospitalized After Altercation in Riverhead  —  A Verizon union worker was hospitalized after a physical altercation with a non-union Verizon manager Thursday in Riverhead.  —  Dennis Dunn was taken to the hospital following a squabble with George Googe, an out-of-state Verizon manager.

Rove: Palin will run  —  Former Bush advisor Karl Rove says he believes former Alaska governor Sarah Palin will enter the Republican presidential race sometime around Labor Day.  Appearing on Fox News Saturday morning, Rove said Palin “has a schedule next week that looks like that of a candidate, not a celebrity.”

Obama in the Valley  —  In 1970, the Japanese roboticist Masahiro Mori coined the phrase “uncanny valley.”  In the field of robotics, and increasingly in computer animation, it refers to the theory that people feel good about robots — up to a point.  When they start to look almost real …