Ability

President Barack Obama doesn't suffer from amnesia, but apparently he hopes the public does. In his latest in a series of interviews on "60 Minutes" this week, the president took positions that are the polar opposite of what he was saying as recently as last spring. One wishes all of those "fact-checkers" who point out supposed mistakes by the Republican candidates were as committed to noting even worse flaws in the president's promises. In his interview with Steve Kroft, the president said he always believed that reversing the culture in Washington "was gonna take more than one term.

The Ravens' 24-10 rout of the Cleveland Browns Sunday earned the team a few accolades from a pair of analysts on NBC's “Football Night in America” program. Former Indianapolis Colts coach Tony Dungy was effusive in his praise of the offense's strategy of giving the ball to running back Ray Rice, who rushed for a career-best 204 yards and one touchdown. “You think of the Baltimore Ravens and all their defensive stars, we think of [defensive tackle Haloti] Ngata and [inside linebacker]

Frank Taliaferro, a founder and former chairman of the RTKL architects recalled as the "soul" of that firm, died of lung cancer Saturday at his Santa Monica, Calif., home. The former resident of Harwood in Anne Arundel County was 89. Remembered as a mentor to numerous designers at RTKL, Mr. Taliaferro led architects who refined old retail strip centers and finessed them into shopping malls, including Harundale in Glen Burnie and Paramus Park in New Jersey, known for its early food court.

For over a year, I've been bullish about Newt Gingrich's presidential candidacy. Friends and fellow pundits mocked my insistence that the former House speaker be taken seriously, that he had a real chance of winning the GOP nomination. Mr. Gingrich's personal story - his multiple marriages, the Tiffany's spending - is too problematic, they said. The former speaker is flinty, not particularly organized or well-funded, and he long ago passed his political sell-by date: a 1990s curio seeking not so much the White House as attention and relevance.

During the NBC broadcast of the Ravens' 34-17 victory over the New York Jets, analyst Cris Collinsworth pointed out on more than one occasion how running back Ray Rice impacted the opposing defense when he lined up as a receiver. When Rice flared out as a wideout, the Jets shifted their coverage and occasionally assigned cornerback Antonio Cromartie to shadow the tailback. When safety Eric Smith got the assignment, Rice ran a quick slant, caught the pass from quarterback Joe Flacco, slipped out of Smith's diving grasp, and didn't stop until he had completed a 52-yard gain in the first quarter.

Lee Evans gives the Ravens what they've been missing through the Joe Flacco years - a speed receiver who can get behind the defense and catch the ball. They call him a vertical threat. But by any other name, Evans is the missing piece to a short-sighted and heretofore imbalanced offense. In Anquan Boldin, the Ravens have one of the NFL's premier - and most powerful - intermediate receivers. In Ray Rice, they have a durable, play-making running back who can twist linebackers into soft pretzels.

Domonique Foxworth worked with the Ravens' starting defense for the first time in a couple of weeks, a sign that his surgically repaired knee is improving. Foxworth, who started every game in 2009, missed last season when he tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee on the eve of training camp. "I feel good now. I can finish practice, I think I can finish a game," Foxworth said. "We'll see. I'm definitely not as good as I was. [The knee] doesn't feel as good as it did. … It's about getting my explosion back.

Dr. Howard Louis "Jim" Levy, who maintained a family dental practice in Deale for two decades, died Aug. 4 of spinocerebellar ataxia, a rare neurological degenerative disorder, at Gilchrist Hospice Care. The Pinehurst resident was 60. The son of a pharmacist and an artist, he was born and raised in Annapolis, where he graduated from Annapolis High School in 1969. Dr. Levy never used his given name but rather the name "Jim" that was bestowed by an older brother at his birth.

Five way-cool dudes, fedoras lowered to their eyebrows, shuffle in sync onto the dance floor as the theme from "Mission: Impossible" blares. After several impressive leaps and splits, they step dance and clap with military precision, then file into a straight line. Marching in place, they form the letters B-A-S-A-C with their arms and finish their dance with a thunderous cheer. "Diagnosis: Dance Abilities!" the quintet yells in unison. These guys, all participants in The League for People with Disabilities Career Services program, have often heard much different assessments of their abilities.