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the private equity firm founded by presidential candidate Mitt Romney, is under investigation for questionable tax practices, according to the New York Times. Since July, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman has been issuing subpoenas to private equity firms including Bain, which he believes intentionally changed management fees into capital gains as a way of hanging onto millions of dollars that would have otherwise been taxed at a higher rate.

Bain alone is estimated to have saved “more than $200 million in federal income taxes and more than $20 million in Medicare taxes.” It is unclear whether the tax strategy was used while Romney was at the helm of the company, but the Times reports that Romney is still making money on funds that are using the method in question.
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This is awfully familiar turf for Lindsay Lohan.

The star, who was victimized by the notorious Bling Ring in 2009 and accused of swiping jewelry from an L.A. store two years later, was reportedly interviewed by cops Monday after an alleged burglary occurred at a Los Angeles home where she was staying.

According to published reports, the actress and her assistant had a sleepover this past weekend at a Hollywood Hills house following a small party.

LiLo’s new BFF? Lady Gaga!

But the next morning, the home’s owner allegedly discovered that jewelry had been stolen and called police. LiLo was reportedly questioned and is not considered a suspect.

A spokesman for the Hollywood Community Police tells E! News that the incident happened on Saturday night but was unable

How can you tell if a guy likes you or is interested? You noticed him when you were standing and talking with a friend. You think he noticed you, but maybe it was your imagination or just wishful thinking. He looked at you at about the same time you saw him. Your eyes met for just a few seconds, and then you looked away. When you looked back up, he was talking with some other people. Was he watching you as you mingled? Or were you making that up? How can you tell if a guy likes you? Why are guys so hard to read?

Here are five signs that he is interested in you too. If any of the following happens, he is probably trying to get close enough to ask you out:

1. He tells someone

Is he interested? He likes you if he tells a mutual friend that he wants to know more about you, or he asks other people who you are and where you’re from. He is trying to act like he’s “just asking” but his questions indicate more than a casual interest. And when he tells someone that he finds you attractive, he probably knows that it will get back to you. He’s hoping it does.

2. The look

He gives you a look that betrays his calm exterior. Even though he is across the room, “that look” he has says it all. It is sweeping, from your head to your toes, and then his eyes linger on yours. You think you notice the beginning of a tentative smile.

3. The conversation

Does he like you? When he manages to get close enough to you, to ask you questions, he is interested. He appears to be listening and responds to what you say. He’s moving in to the ultimate question, which is: “Are you seeing anyone.” He would only ask this question if he wanted to date you, and he hopes the answer is “No.” Never ever wear a ring in public. When a guy is across the room, he cannot tell which finger it is on and he may assume incorrectly that you are taken. If he doesn’t ask you the question of whether or not you are attached, he may ask someone whom you both know.

He likes you a lot if he shows up out of nowhere. He can only do that if he has been asking people about your schedule, or he has been paying attention to where you are going and at what time. His face may turn red when he sees you. A sudden, “Oh, hi,” is his way of saying, “I don’t want to seem obvious, but I am interested in you.” If you feel the same way, do not act shy. Stop and talk to him.

5. EVERYONE likes you

Is he interested? When you are well liked and a happy person, why wouldn’t he like you? Of course he does. If you don’t have a great life, however, now is your time to start working on one. Take a look at your career possibilities, body image, future, plans, and resources. You may be naturally talented at something, but it won’t matter unless you work on your strengths. Misused or unused talents fade away. School and training do not.

These are the five signs that he is interested and he is on the verge of asking you out. Make it easy for him and be friendly. This is where relationships begin.

Obama is campaigning today in Ohio, where he is giving a speech right now hitting Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan on education. He‘s highlighting Romney’s suggestion that students worried about tuition costs should “shop around” or borrow money from their parents, and slamming the Ryan budget’s cuts to education funding, Head Start, and Pell grants.

This highlights something that has gotten a bit lost: While there’s a ton of discussion about the political implications of the Ryan budget’s Medicare reforms, Dems also view its education cuts as a major target.

Dems see the Ryan plan’s impact on education as absolutely central to their efforts to portray the GOP ticket’s priorities as dangerously out of whack for everyone but the wealthy. It’s also key to Dem hopes of winning over key swing constituencies, such as independents, Latinos and non-college “waitress moms,” and central to firming up support among the “Rising American Electorate,” the Dem coalition of minorities, young voters and unmarried women.

A good window into the thinking of Dem strategists can be found in a July poll on the Ryan budget done in July by the Dem firm Greenberg Quinlan Rosner, whose findings are widely respected by top Dems.
 

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Nick Stobe thought it was going to be like the TV show “Scared Straight,” with tough drill instructors in his face, yelling.

“My mom was going to send me anyway,” Stobe said, punctuating his sentences with “Sir.”

Stobe was among a group of 54 10- to 13-year-olds who graduated Friday from the junior academy, where he and the others were immersed for a week in military-style physical fitness, drill and classroom lessons.

“It was kind of nerve-racking,” he said. “I’ve never been exposed to that kind of discipline. I never had to do push-ups for punishment.”

Stobe thrived in the unfamiliar environment — he was singled out as the best overall junior cadet in his class for excelling in every aspect of the training.

Other’s were given high marks, too.

David Havlin, 12, also of North Haledon, was the only member of his class to earn a score of 100 on the academy’s written exam.

And Layla Aurfali, 13, of Haledon earned top marks during the “Red Man” exercise – a self-defense test that pits the junior cadet against academy staff. The test gets its name from the red pads worn during the fight.

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Several thousand Muslims from Bergen and Passaic counties, around the state, and places as far away as North Carolina packed a local park Sunday morning to pray and celebrate Eid al-Fitr, the end of the holy month of Ramadan.

 

There were so many worshipers that three different outdoor prayer services were held to accommodate the crowds that flocked to Main Memorial Park inClifton for the Eid al-Fitr holiday. Clifton police estimated there were 5,000 to 6,000 people at the park, while the event organizer, the Paterson-based Islamic Center of Passaic County, put the number as high as 10,000.

 

These Muslims in North Jersey joined with members of Islam around the world in celebrating the breaking of their monthlong Ramadan fast, an exercise meant to teach obedience and resisting temptation.

Waleed Gabr, who lives with his wife and daughter inGarfield, said he has been coming to the Clifton Eid prayer service with his family for the last 20 years, since he was a child.

“It’s a tradition,” said Gabr, who is development coordinator for the Totowa office of Islamic Relief USA, a charity.

Originally from Middletown, Gabr said that he had about 25 family members who had come to Clifton for the Eid prayer service Sunday, and the celebration from noon to 9 p.m. afterward at Clifton High School Stadium, scheduled to be capped by fireworks. His relatives not only traveled north from Middletown, but came from Raleigh, N.C., as well.

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Draft language for the 2012 Republican Party platform includes support for a constitutional ban on abortion without specifying exclusions in the cases of rape or incest, according to CNN.

The news comes amid ongoing controversy surrounding Rep. Todd Akin’s (R-Mo.) suggestion that victims of “legitimate rape” rarely get pregnant. The GOP Senate candidate running against Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) has faced calls to abandon his campaign from both parties despite attempting to walk back his remarks.

Details on the party’s position also come with the Republican National Convention just one week away.

“Faithful to the ‘self-evident’ truths enshrined in the Declaration of Independence, we assert the sanctity of human life and affirm that the unborn child has a fundamental individual right to life which cannot be infringed,” the GOP platform states, according to CNN. “We support a human life amendment to the Constitution and endorse legislation to make clear that the Fourteenth Amendment’s protections apply to unborn children.”

After Akin’s comments landed in the headlines on Sunday, Mitt Romney’s campaignmoved swiftly to distance itself from the congressman’s remarks. HuffPost’s Laura Bassett and Sam Stein reported at the time:
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PATERSON REGULAR REPUBLICAN ORGANIZATION ANNOUCES LEADERSHIP POSITIONS AND ITS VISION FOR THE PARTY

This evening the Paterson Regular Republican Committee held their reorganization meeting.  The new slate of officers, CO CHAIRS and CO VICE CHAIRS, were elected by acclimation? Juan Ramon, Bill Connelly, and Carlos Pagan will serve as Co-Chairs, while Carlos Alejo, Juan Kivelier, and Dalihah Rodriguez will serve as Co-Vice Chairs.

Co-Chair Carlos Pagan called on the leadership of the Passaic County Regular Republican Organization to pay attention to the County’s largest municipality between leadership election and not only when they are looking for votes.

“We as elected members of Paterson’s Republican County Committee have a responsibility to build the party and promote our shared ideas with our community.  The political state of our city, is what it is because of our opponents actions as well as our inaction,” Pagan said. “Democrats have made inroads in traditional Republican strongholds, and we shouldn’t write off any of our county’s voters as a lost cause to the Republican Party.”

He then implored Governor Christie to hold the county Republican leadership to task. “This is where your leadership is needed.  We must hold whoever is elected chair accountable.”  Pagan emphasized the need for unity asserting, “Petty personal bickering among our local leaders must not continue to plague our party and limit our ability to reach out and motivate current and new Republican voters in Passaic County.”