NewsCorp scandal's biggest victims yet: After Rupert Murdoch resigned control of his British newspapers this weekend, the phone hacking scandal engulfing his company is poised to take down its two biggest targets yet -- Prime Minister David Cameron's ex-media chief and Murdoch’s former U.K. newspaper boss. Andy Coulson, a former NewsCorp editor whom Cameron apparently hired in order to win favor with Murdoch, and Rebekah Brooks, who oversaw Murdoch’s British print empire, will each be charged with conspiring to intercept communications. The alleged offenses occurred between 2000 and 2006 when both served as editor of the News of the World, the now-shuttered newspaper at the center of the hacking scandal.
Don’t even talk about gun control: Mitt Romney told CNBC’s "The Kudlow Report" last night that we shouldn’t even be talking about gun control in the wake of last week’s tragic shooting. “I'm a firm believer in the Second Amendment and I also believe that this is -- with emotions so high right now, this is really not a time to be talking about the politics associated with what happened in Aurora,” he said. Romney used to favor tighter gun regulations.
President Obama is happy to oblige and ignore gun control as well.
Romney's international trip of mystery: The GOP presidential candidate takes off tonight on an international tour. He's heading to London for the Olympic games, then on to Poland and Israel. Analysts note that Romney is only visiting places where he will be warmly received, and skipping key places like Germany and Afghanistan. The Obama campaign has charged that the trip is little more than “one long photo-op.” Romney will also hold fundraisers for American ex-pats and meet with foreign leaders. Then-Sen. Obama took a similar trip in 2008. These kinds of trips are generally aimed at helping candidates "look presidential."
Voter ID backers admit they don't need it: The Department of Justice launched an official investigation into Pennsylvania’s new Voter ID law, arguing that it may disenfranchise voters. Incredibly, the state has already admitted that it has no evidence of in-person voter fraud, the kind of crime voter ID laws are meant to prevent. In a legal document, the state said there “have been no investigations or prosecutions of in-person voter fraud in Pennsylvania; and the parties do not have direct personal knowledge of any such investigations or prosecutions in other states.”
The elusive undecided voter: Ever wonder who could possibly be undecided in a presidential election? Well, there are fewer of them this year than in previous years. Just 6 percent of Americans in a new Washington Post/ABC News poll say there is a good chance they will change their mind about their pick in the presidential race, showing how polarized the country has become. Another 13 percent say that it’s possible but unlikely that they will change their minds. Those are the lowest numbers in the last three election cycles.
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