U.S. Edition
(CNN) – The latest ad from President Barack Obama's re-election campaign pulls exclusively from secretly recorded comments Mitt Romney made calling Americans reliant on government assistance "victims."
Obama's campaign says the 30-second commercial will air in New Hampshire, Virginia, Ohio, Iowa, Nevada and Colorado. It features Romney's comments, which were made at a fund-raiser in May but not revealed until last week, over pictures of working-class Americans. FULL POST
New York (CNNMoney) - The U.S. economy grew even slower than initially reported in the second quarter, as both consumers and businesses spent less than originally thought, and the drought in the Midwest limited agricultural production.
Gross domestic product, the broadest measure of the nation's economic health, grew at an annual rate of 1.3% from April to June, the Commerce Department said Thursday, slower than the 1.7% rate the government last reported in August.
(CNN) - Voters in Iowa have their first chance to cast ballots in the presidential election Thursday, marking the first battleground state to begin in-person early voting.
Idaho, South Dakota, New Jersey, Vermont and Maine all began in-person early voting earlier this month. FULL POST
New York (CNNMoney) - The number of first-time claims for unemployment benefits fell last week, hitting its lowest level since July.
About 359,000 people filed jobless claims in the week ended Sept. 22, down 26,000 from the previous week, the Labor Department said Thursday. The number of people filing for first-time claims were unchanged in the prior week.
(CNN) - For the second day in a row, President Barack Obama and Mitt Romney campaign in the same state, at the same time. On Thursday it's the battleground state of Virginia, and the dueling events are at 11:50 p.m. ET. Later, both candidates head to Washington, D.C.
Meanwhile, Paul Ryan spends Thursday fund-raising, first in Tennessee and ending the day in Boston.
See the full schedule after the jump. FULL POST
Colorado Springs, Colorado (CNN) – Rep. Paul Ryan appealed to veterans and active military in Colorado at two events on Tuesday in which he assailed President Barack Obama for weakening military with defense cuts and mishandling Arab Spring uprisings.
In the aftermath of the deadly attacks on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, killing four including the U.S. ambassador to Libya, the Republican vice presidential nominee escalated his criticism of the Democratic incumbent president’s handling of the incident, saying it was an example of “how the Obama foreign policy is blowing up in our faces.” FULL POST
(CNN) - The Obama campaign is releasing a new television ad on Thursday, just days before the first presidential debate, featuring President Barack Obama as he lays out his political agenda for the public.
The Obama campaign said it will run the two-minute spot titled “Table” in the battleground states of New Hampshire, Virginia, Florida, Ohio, Iowa, Nevada, and Colorado, and comes out on the heels of new ads put out by Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney outlining the game plan for his presidency if he wins.
FULL POST
(CNN) – The super PAC backing President Barack Obama's re-election bid said Thursday it was teaming up with a major labor union to air a minute-long radio spot attacking Mitt Romney for his comments describing Americans reliant on government assistance as "victims."
The radio ad from Priorities USA and the American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees People (AFSCME People) marks the second time the super PAC has hit Romney for the comments, which were made at a fundraiser in May and secretly recorded. The tapes of the fundraiser were revealed last week.
The CNN Washington Bureau’s morning speed read of the top stories making news from around the country and the world. Click on the headlines for more.
WASHINGTON/POLITICAL
CNN: Gingrich hits Romney in frank assessment Mitt Romney's former rival Newt Gingrich issued a harsh assessment of the GOP nominee's campaign strategy Wednesday, saying Romney's presidential bid was struggling in key battlegrounds against President Barack Obama because of a messaging failure.
CNN: Obama, Romney clash on China, taxes in Ohio battleground President Barack Obama and Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney went head-to-head on China, taxes, and jobs on Wednesday as the two campaigned throughout Ohio. Both sought to illustrate what the next four years would be like under their leadership as new polls indicated Obama exceeding 50% support among likely voters in Ohio, Florida and Pennsylvania. Those are all swing states that combined will account for nearly a quarter of the electoral votes needed to win the White House.
(CNN) – Mitt Romney's campaign on Thursday released its third ad in a week targeting President Barack Obama's coal industry record, saying the Democrat was hurting job creation and issuing false attacks.
"President Obama is attacking Mitt Romney because Mitt Romney supports coal miners," an announcer says in the spot.