POLITICS
OBAMA’S LAST CAMPAIGN: Barack Obama reminisces about taking a wrong turn and getting lost. Fumbling to fold up a map. Dashing to Kinko's to copy campaign fliers. The president's re-election campaign is increasingly sounding like a nostalgia tour. His speeches stroll through elections past, serving up fond memories of his days running as a political unknown, identifying early political inspirations and reminding voters that, win or lose, this will be his last campaign after 13 appearances on the ballot since 1996.
ROMNEY”S OLYMPICS FLUB: LONDON — Mitt Romney struggles to stem political fallout at home after unintentionally insulting Britain over the London Games, even as his overseas trip limits his ablity to capitalize on more troubling U.S. economic news. Back home, Barack Obama seeks to take advantage of the Republican's missteps abroad by praising America's strongest ally for its Olympics preparations and sending aid to Israel — one day before Romney is to visit.
WORLD
SYRIA MASSACRES FEARED: International concern mounts over a possible massacre as Syrian troops bombard the besieged city of Aleppo and strafe it with aircraft in the latest onslaught after a week of violence in the country's largest city. The battle for the commercial hub — a key pillar of regime support — is one of the most important of the 17-month-old uprising, and the outgunned rebels are facing massed government reinforcements preparing to retake the city
FIRST SYRIAN KILLE DTRUNG TO ESCAPE COUNTRY: The family was making a desperate run across the border when Syrian troops opened fire. Bullets whizzed around them. The 6-year-old boy, holding his mother's hand, broke away and ran ahead. He was nearly at the border when he fell dead — the first Syrian killed by Syrian guards while trying to escape into Jordan. The tragic death raises fears that surrounding countries will be dragged into the conflict as Syria's civil war intensifies.
GERMANY’S CASH CULTURE: Head to the checkout at an Ikea in Stockholm to pay for your new leather sofa and with the swipe of a Visa card it's yours. Don't try that in Berlin — that'll be $2,000 up front please. It's that financial culture — a deep-seated aversion to debt and an emphasis on responsibility — that makes Chancellor Angela Merkel's hardline approach to solving the European financial crisis so popular in Germany. The attitude shows up in all walks of life, from the daily trip to the grocer to putting a roof over your head.
ATLANTA CONSIDERS GRIDLOCK TAX: For decades, Atlanta has been the economic engine of the South, a city on the move. But if you've ever tried to drive in the metropolitan area, it doesn't feel that way. Atlanta has some of the worst traffic in America. To try to ease the gridlock, the mayor and business leaders are proposing a one-cent sales tax increase to pay for billions of dollars in transportation projects. The voters will decide on Tuesday. Civic leaders say Atlanta's economic future hangs in the balance.
GAY MARRIAGE & CORPORATIONS: Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos wades into a corporate culture war over gay marriage, donating $2.5 million to back a law legalizing same-sex unions in Washington state. Amazon is the latest high-profile company to enter the gay marriage debate: Fast-food chain Chick fil-A and General Mills have publicly opposed gay marriage. Other national brands like Nabisco and Target have stuck with gay-themed advertising, brushing off fears that the support could hurt their bottom line.
NYC MAYOR: CHICK-FIL-A FLAP NOT GOVT'S BUSINESS : New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg said Friday that despite his own support of same-sex marriage, he disagrees with some of his fellow mayors who have said that the fast-food chain Chick-fil-A is not welcome in their cities because of its opposition to gay marriage. Bloomberg said on his weekly radio show on WOR that it is inappropriate for a government entity "to look at somebody's political views and decide whether or not they can live in the city, or operate a business in the city, or work for somebody in the city." Chick-fil-A president Dan Cathy angered gay-rights advocates, including the mayors, when he said the company was "guilty as charged" for backing "the biblical definition of a family." He later added, "I think we are inviting God's judgment on our nation when we shake our fist at him and say, 'We know better than you as to what constitutes a marriage.'"
PAINTED LAWNS: When this summer's drought turned her prized lawn brown, Terri LoPrimo fought back. The Staten Island, N.Y., resident hired a local entrepreneur to spruce up their yard by spraying it with a deep-green organic dye. With two-thirds of the nation covered by a drought that stretches from coast to coast, residents and businesses in normally well-watered areas are catching on to the lawn-painting practice employed for years in the West and Southwest.
DEFENDANT DIES BY CYANIDE: Autopsy find the Arizona defendant who collapsed and died in court after guilty arson verdict took cyanide.
HEALTH
TRIPLE WIN IN AIDS FIGHT: Call it a triple win for fighting the AIDS epidemic: Treating people with HIV early keeps them healthy, cuts their chances of infecting others, and now research shows it's also a good financial investment. The International AIDS Conference closed with the message that getting treatment to more of the world's 34 million people with HIV is key to curbing the epidemic, short of a vaccine and cure that still are years away.
PEOPLE
DANCING-WITH-THE-STARS: Bristol Palin, Kirstie Alley and Pamela Anderson among past 'Dancing' contestants returning for 'All-Stars' season.
