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Friday, July 27, 2012

The Early Word: Partisan McCain

By EMMARIE HUETTEMAN

In Today's Times:

  • The independent maverick and the far-right leaning phases of Senator John McCain's career seem to have given way to a new version: the enthusiastic partisan warrior. Jennifer Steinhauer takes a look at Mr. McCain's efforts to get active again, preaching his party's agenda to reporters and voters, after his disappointing presidential defeat in 2008.
  • Mitt Romney added damage control to his London itinerary after suggesting that the city might not be ready for the Olympics and questioning whether residents would turn out for the Games, Ashley Parker reports. But he was unable to head off a rebuke from Prime Minister David Cameron or to avoid making headlines in the British press.
  • Mr. Romney found support among financiers at high-cost fund-raising events in London Thursday, earning their enthusiasm with his connections to the industry and promises of tax cuts - though his visit with the financial community amid a rate-rigging scandal has risky timing, Ashley Parker and Landon Thomas Jr. report.
  • Rejecting more than a decade of rulings, a federal court recently found that major pharmaceutical companies cannot pay to keep lower-priced generic drugs off the market, a decision that could set up a confrontation before the Supreme Court resulting in changes in drug and health care costs, Ed Wyatt reports.

Washington Happenings:

  • President Obama will sign the United States-Israel Enhanced Security Cooperation Act on Friday before he and Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. are scheduled to meet with Ryan C. Crocker, who is stepping down this summer as ambassador to Afghanistan, and then Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton. Later, Mr. Obama will attend campaign events in Washington and McLean, Va.
  • The Commerce Department announces the second quarter gross domestic product.