The Note's Must-Reads are a round-up of today's political headlines and stories from ABC News and the top U.S. newspapers. Posted Monday through Friday right here at www.abcnews.com

Compiled by ABC News Jayce Henderson, Amanda VanAllen, Carrie Halperin, and Will Cantine

PRESIDENT OBAMA: The Washington Times' Dave Boyer: " Obama backers won't pull 'disgusting' TV ad" Supporters of President Obama refused Thursday to pull a TV ad suggesting that Republican Mitt Romney caused a woman to die from cancer, a commercial that is raising questions about suspected coordination between the Obama campaign and an advocacy group founded by a former White House staffer. "You know, in the past when somebody pointed out that something was inaccurate, campaigns … pulled the ad; they were embarrassed," Mr. Romney said Thursday on Bill Bennett's "Morning in America" radio show. LINK

MITT ROMNEY: ABC News' Holly Bailey: " Romney Still Isn't Talking About His VP Pick" Mitt Romney is still offering no hints about who he'll pick as his running mate, but that hasn't stopped reporters from trying to get something, anything out of the presumptive Republican nominee about his potential vice president. LINK

The Hill's Mario Trujillo: " Poll: Voters prefer Rubio as VP" A new CNN/ORC poll released Thursday found Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) to be Republicans' preferred choice for Mitt Romney's vice presidential running mate, while other handicappers' favorites like Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) and former Minnesota Gov. TIm Pawlenty failed to crack double-digit support. LINK

The New York Times' Mike McIntire: " In Real Estate Deal, Romney Made His Loss a Couple's Gain " Look closely and it is there, sandwiched between Goldman Sachs Hedge Fund Partners II and D3 Family Bulldog Fund: the mortgage on Timothy and Betty Stamps's modest home on Gentle Bend Drive here. investments in Mitt Romney's personal financial disclosures, the interest from the $50,500 mortgage is loose change to Mr. Romney, whose net worth has been estimated at close to a quarter-billion dollars. LINK

The Washington Post's Michael Gerson: " Ignoring foreign policy won't make it go away" President Obama has avoided the traditional Democratic reputation for foreign policy weakness by emulating his predecessor in one narrow but important respect. Obama has not only continued George W. Bush's global war on terrorism - whatever it is currently called - but has also expanded its scope and lethality. LINK

The Wall Street Journal's Naftali Bendavid: " Romney VP Choice: Mild Or Spicy?" As Mitt Romney nears his selection of a running mate, Republicans and conservative opinion leaders are dividing into two camps: a "be careful" faction and a "be daring" caucus. LINK

The Boston Globe's Callum Borchers: " Nonpartisan groups defend neutrality in harsh climate" When the Tax Policy Center published a study critical of Mitt Romney's tax plan last week, the Romney campaign's first attack was not on the study's findings - it was on the center's nonpartisan credentials. Within hours of the study's publication, the campaign sought to discredit the "liberal Tax Policy Center," noting that one co-author was a former economic adviser to President Obama and that another had recently advocated a "temporary fiscal stimulus" in an interview with The Washington Post. LINK

Bloomberg's Julie Hirschfeld: " Romney Defending Tax Return Stance Says 'Not a Business'" Mitt Romney, defending his refusal to release more than two years of tax returns, said, unlike a company being evaluated by a potential investor, he shouldn't have to provide more details of his finances for public vetting. "I'm not a business," the presumed Republican presidential nominee said in an Aug. 7 interview with Bloomberg Businessweek when asked whether he would want to see five years of financial information for a firm in which he might invest. LINK

CAMPAIGN DONATIONS: Politico's Robin Bravender and Anna Palmer: " Unions hit Democratic convention where it hurts: In the wallet" The Democrats are hitting up unions - their go-to cash cows - for last-minute donations to help pay for next month's convention in Charlotte. The response from some big unions? Tough. LINK

DEMOCRATS: USA Today's Catalina Camia: " Democrats To Mirror Romney's Middle-Class Bus Tour" As Mitt Romney prepares a bus tour of key swing states, Democrats will hit the road ahead of him to attack his economic plans. LINK

OTHER: ABC News' Amy Bingham: " Papa John's John Schnatter Says 'Obamacare' Will Up Pizza Price" The CEO and founder of Papa John's pizza wants investors to know that when the president's health care law takes effect, the price of pizza is going up with it. LINK

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