1. Iranian supreme leader blames U.S., Israel for scientist's death.
Iran's top cleric has blamed the CIA and Mossad, Israel's intelligence agency, for killing an Iranian nuclear scientist, Iran's state broadcaster said. Mostafa Ahmadi Roshan, who died Wednesday, was the third Iranian nuclear scientist in two years to be killed by what Iran described as a magnetic bomb attached to his car. A fourth survived a similar assassination attempt. Roshan's death shows that "the global arrogance spearheaded by the U.S. and Zionism has reached a deadlock in confrontation with the determined, devout and progressive nation of Islamic Iran," Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was quoted as saying by the state-run Press TV.
2. Obama seeks authority to streamline government.
President Barack Obama plans to ask Congress on Friday for more power to shrink the federal government, a move designed to claim the political middle ground in an election likely to be dominated by questions about Washington's role in the economy. Obama is set to speak at 11:20 a.m. about his proposal to make the federal government "leaner, smarter and more consumer-friendly," a White House official said. The president's plan would combine several agencies that focus on commerce and trade, including the Small Business Administration, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, the Export-Import Bank, the Overseas Private Investment Corp. and the Trade and Development Agency.
3. Romney: Income inequality is just 'envy'.
When asked if there are any fair questions about wealth distribution, Romney replied, "It's fine to talk about those things in quiet rooms and discussions about tax policy and the like." Romney has accused President Obama of promoting the "bitter politics of envy." The president is ramping up his talks about the nation's growing income divide and the shrinking of the middle class. He is focusing on the tax benefits afforded to millionaires and executives. Romney, who is one of those millionaires, is taking a different path. He says he's distancing himself from what he calls "a very envy-oriented, attack-oriented approach."