pressure cookers, backpacks and quinoa, oh my!  —  It was a confluence of magnificent proportions that led six agents from the joint terrorism task force to knock on my door Wednesday morning.  Little did we know our seemingly innocent, if curious to a fault, Googling of certain things …

Exclusive: Dozens of CIA operatives on the ground during Benghazi attack  —  CNN has uncovered exclusive new information about what is allegedly happening at the CIA, in the wake of the deadly  —  Benghazi terror attack.  —  Four Americans, including Ambassador Christopher Stevens …

Poll: Kentucky Voters Want McConnell Out  —  New poll numbers released Thursday suggested that Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) is entering his reelection campaign next year facing two perilous obstacles: an electorate that wants him out of office and a viable Democratic challenger.

Capitol Hill's Obamacare crisis solved  —  Lawmakers and staff can breathe easy - their health care tab is not going to soar next year.  —  The Office of Personnel Management, under heavy pressure from Capitol Hill, will issue regulations saying that the government can continue …

Free Press editor Drew Johnson has been terminated after placing a headline on an editorial outside of normal editing procedures.  —  Johnson's headline, “Take your jobs plan and shove it, Mr. President: Your policies have harmed Chattanooga enough,” appeared on the Free Press page Tuesday …

Hacker Forces Colin Powell To Deny Affair  —  Ex-Secretary of State told foreign diplomat to delete her e-mails  —  As a notorious hacker seeks to distribute “very personal” e-mails sent to Colin Powell by a female Romanian diplomat, the retired general is denying that he engaged …

Statement on Snowden's Successful Russian Asylum Bid  —  Today, Thursday 1st August at 15:50 MSK, Edward Snowden was granted temporary asylum in Russia.  He left Sheremetyevo airport in Moscow with WikiLeaks staffer and legal advisor Sarah Harrison who has accompanied him during his 39 …

Armed agents raid animal shelter for baby deer  —  WISN 12 News investigates an operation raising questions about the use of government resources and the state policy that meant a death sentence for a fawn.  —  “It was like a SWAT team,” shelter employee Ray Schulze said.

Chris Christie finds a reason to visit Las Vegas in the dead of summer  —  New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie plans to visit Las Vegas today for a private fundraiser hosted by Sheldon and Miriam Adelson at the Palazzo.  —  The event is technically for Christie's gubernatorial re-election campaign this year …

The “anti-God” party  —  You can't be a Christian and a Democrat at the same time, Virginia's GOP candidate for Lieutenant Governor says  —  In a local radio interview this morning, Virginia Republican lieutenant governor nominee E.W. Jackson said the Democratic Party is “anti-God” and that Christians should leave it.

Why Americans All Believe They Are ‘Middle Class’  —  A taxonomy of how we talk about class and wealth in the United States today  —  Last week, President Obama went on the road promoting an economic agenda for the middle class.  As expected, John Boehner and other Republicans fired …

The Presidency's Political Price  —  Is politics a zero-sum game?  —  Imagine, for a moment, if Sen. John McCain (R) had somehow won the presidency in 2008.  How might the country be different?  —  We would not have the Affordable Care Act.  Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan would not be on the Supreme Court.

Exclusive: NSA pays £100m in secret funding for GCHQ  —  • Secret payments revealed in leaks by Edward Snowden  —  • GCHQ expected to ‘pull its weight’ for Americans  —  • Weaker regulation of British spies ‘a selling point’ for NSA

WHY DEFUNDING OBAMACARE MATTERS, WIN OR LOSE  —  As conservative Senators Mike Lee (R-UT), Ted Cruz (R-TX), and others attempt to build support for a plan to defund Obamacare in this fall's forthcoming budget battles, they have faced criticism from fellow conservatives on two grounds: first …

House GOP drafting new food stamp bill with $40B in cuts  —  House Republicans are drafting legislation that would cut $40 billion from the federal food stamp program over 10 years.  —  That's nearly double the $20.5 billion in cuts that were included in the farm bill legislation that failed on the House floor in June.

Russian Sports Minister Says Anti-LGBT Law Will Be Enforced During Olympics  —  “The opinion of the Russian government is now perfectly clear: if you're gay and you come to Russia for the Olympics, you will be in harm's way,” an advocate says.  The sports minister's comments contradict …

Former Trader Is Found Liable in Fraud Case  —  A former Goldman Sachs trader at the center of a toxic mortgage deal lost a closely watched legal battle on Thursday, giving Wall Street's top regulator its first significant courtroom victory in a case stemming from the financial crisis.

Informal ‘White Student Union’ started at Georgia State  —  Fall semester won't start for several weeks, but Georgia State University has already received a handful of complaints about a new student club — the White Student Union.  —  Freshman Patrick Sharp said he started the club …