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August 22, 2012 | | IN THE BUFF Heavens! The next meeting with Grandma might be rather awkward. Tom Sykes on the fully naked and deeply embarrassing photos of Prince Harry in Vegas. TERROR Rebels in Syria say the military is employing fear tactics in Damascus with intense shelling that has left at least 12 people dead Wednesday morning. Activists claim the government has adopted a “hit and run” approach to attacks, wherein troops move in quickly, kill as many rebels as they can in a short period of time, and then retreat. Similar attacks have been reported in several areas surrounding the capital in recent weeks, with the opposition reportedly finding 40 dead bodies in one Damascus suburb this week alone, and 60 others in a landfill last week, many believed to be civilians. Analysts said President Assad’s fear tactics of invading but not seizing areas stem from the Arabic saying “rule is based on awe.” LIE, LIE AGAIN The candidate this week added Medicare to his litany of falsehoods—on Bain Capital, his taxes, welfare, and debt, among many others. It’s now clear Romney will say anything. So why trust anything he says? IMPROVEMENT The National Association of Realtors said that existing home sales rose 2.3 percent in July to an annual rate of 4.47 million units, which was close to analysts’ expectations of 4.52 million units. The median price for a home sale was $187,300 in July, up 9.4 percent from the same time last year. NAR officials said that low interest rates and improvements in the labor market have been fueling the rebound. The NAR’s chief economist said, “Combined, these factors are helping to unleash pent-up demand.” OUTBREAK Those pesky, West Nile-infected mosquitoes are doing a lot of damage in Texas, where the death toll from the disease has climbed to 26. There have been 18 deaths reported in Dallas County alone—by far the most in one region in the country. 1,100 cases of the disease in the U.S. this year were confirmed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention through mid-August, making it the largest ever West Nile outbreak in U.S. Last week, the outbreak in Dallas prompted the first aerial spraying of insecticide in the city in nearly 40 years. Now Houston is to begin aerial spraying as well, as the city’s health officials reported their second and third West Nile deaths this year. | | 
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