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 …

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 …

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.

Ohio: Health premiums to soar  —  The fight over Obamacare premiums has a new home base: Ohio.  —  Customers in the key swing state can expect to pay 41 percent more on average for individual health insurance coverage next year because of Obamacare, according to projections released …

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 …

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 …

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.

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

GOP views of Paul, Christie reflect fight over civil liberties  —  The debate over the government's data collection program has revealed internal splits in both parties.  In the GOP, the fight has gotten personal: Kentucky senator Rand Paul has been a leading critic of the program …

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.

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 …

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 …

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.

MSNBC: Too Much Opinion and Not Enough News?  —  Focus on commentary and advocacy may be dampening viewership  —  Has MSNBC leaned too hard on “Lean Forward”?  —  The NBCUniversal outlet has used that slogan since 2010 to portray itself not as the buttoned-down news source …

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.