1. SUICIDE BOMBER BLAMED FOR BULGARIA BUS ATTACK
Officials say that a suicide bomber carrying a fake U.S. ID — a Michigan driver's license — is to blame for an attack on an Israeli tour bus in Bulgaria that killed seven — six Israeli tourists and the Bulgarian bus driver — and injured dozens more. Israel was quick to blame Iran and Hezbollah, the Lebanese militant group. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promised a "forceful response" the attack. No group has claimed responsibility for the bombing. Video footage of the bomber "shows him in the airport earlier wandering back and forth, following the group, looking nervous." Police are checking his fingerprints in international databases and analyzing his DNA. [New York Times]
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2. GEORGE ZIMMERMAN GIVES FIRST INTERVIEW
George Zimmerman gave his first television interview Wednesday. "I'm not a racist and I'm not a murderer," Zimmerman told Fox News' Sean Hannity. He said that he would apologize to Trayvon Martin's parents for fatally shooting their son and was sorry for what had happened, but he also said that he had no regrets for carrying a gun that fateful evening and that he felt like it "was all God's plan." [NBC News]
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3. ASSAILED TENNESSEE MOSQUE TO OPEN FOR RAMADAN
Muslims in Tennessee will be allowed to use a newly built Murfreesboro mosque in time for the start of the holy month of Ramadan after a federal judge ruled that the congregation be allowed to occupy the building. For two years, residents have disputed whether the mosque could open. In 2010, a group of residents filed a lawsuit claiming Islam was not a "real religion," and alleging that local Muslims were plotting to overthrow the U.S. Constitution for religious law. This past May, a county judge ruled to overturn the mosque's construction permits. Earlier this month, the judge ordered that the building not be occupied. Ramadan begins Thursday at sundown. [Associated Press]
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4. JUDGE: APPLE ADS MUST SAY SAMSUNG DIDN'T COPY
In the latest patent war twist, a British judge has ordered Apple to publish notices in British papers and on its U.K. website saying that Samsung did not copy patents from the iPad. Earlier this month, Judge Colin Birss ruled that Samsung's tablets did not infringe on Apple's patented designs because they are simply "not as cool" as the iPad. [Bloomberg]
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5. CAPITAL ONE TO PAY $210 MILLION TO CUSTOMERS
In the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's first big probe into the operations of a major financial institution, Capital One Bank has been fined $210 million for tricking customers into buying expensive and largely unnecessary services, like credit monitoring and other add-ons, when they signed up for credit cards. Customers were wrongly promised that such services would help raise their credit scores or protect them in the event of illness. Most of the penalty will go toward reimbursing deceived customers. [Washington Post]
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6. POLL: OBAMA, ROMNEY IN DEAD HEAT
According to a new CBS News/New York Times poll, Mitt Romney and President Obama are effectively in a dead heat for the presidency. The poll has 47 percent of voters nationwide supporting Romney and 46 percent supporting Obama. The survey has a three point margin of error. [CBS News]
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7. DOZENS DEAD IN TANZANIA FERRY ACCIDENT
Thirty-one people have been confirmed dead in a ferry accident off the coast of Tanzania. One hundred and thirty-six passengers have been rescued, and more than 100 remain missing, according to a government statement. A surviving passenger says that high winds caused the boat to flip over as it travelled from Dar es Salaam to Zanzibar on Wednesday. [Associated Press]
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8. MCCAIN COMES TO ABEDIN'S DEFENSE
Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) defended Huma Abedin, a top aide to Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton (and the wife of former congressman Anthony Weiner), on the Senate floor Wednesday. Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) has led a charge against Abedin, a Muslim American, alleging that her family, including her late father, has ties to the Muslim Brotherhood. McCain called Bachmann's assertions "sinister accusations," and said "these attacks on Huma have no logic, no basis, and no merit. And they need to stop now." [Los Angeles Times]
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9. DROUGHT PUSHES SOYBEAN PRICE TO RECORD HIGH
Soybeans hit a record high of $16.455 a bushel Thursday as the worst drought since 1956 ravages crops and sends food prices soaring. Wheat rose to $9 a bushel, close to a four-year high, while corn hit its highest point since 2008, coming within 1 percent of its all-time high. [Bloomberg]
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10. STANTON TO RETURN FOR FINDING NEMO 2
Director Andrew Stanton has signed on to direct the sequel to 2003's Finding Nemo. The acclaimed animation director co-directed the original film as well as Pixar's A Bug's Life, and WALL-E. His first major live-action film, 2012's John Carter, was, however, a huge flop. [Hollywood Reporter]
