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 …

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: Premiums going up 41 percent  —  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 …

GOP's Long-Predicted Comeuppance Has Arrived  —  Republicans have dealt with some embarrassing moments on the House floor over the past year, but none so revealing or damning as today's snafu, when they yanked a bill to fund the Departments of Transportation and Housing and Urban Development.

Why Rand Paul and Chris Christie went to war  —  Well, that was a splendid little war.  —  Over the last week, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul took the GOP's intra-party bickering to a new level, openly savaging each other on issues of national security, privacy and government spending.

Teamsters Ordered to Stop Picketing Funeral Homes  —  A judge ordered one of Chicago's most politically powerful labor unions to suspend picketing against 16 funeral homes last week after receiving reports that striking Teamsters had, among other things, disturbed a child's funeral.

2016 presidential race: Cory Booker rules out run  —  No, there will not be a 2016 campaign for Cory Booker.  —  The Newark mayor and runaway frontrunner in the special election for the seat of late Sen. Frank Lautenberg's ruled out a presidential run or serving on the ticket of another candidate in the next national campaign.

Jobless Claims in U.S. Fall to Lowest Level in Five Years  —  U.S. Jobless Claims Fall to Lowest Level in 5 Years  —  Claims for jobless benefits unexpectedly dropped to the lowest level in more than five years, extending swings typical for the month of July.

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 …

A Rising Share of Young Adults Live in Their Parents' Home  —  A Record 21.6 Million In 2012  —  OVERVIEW  —  In 2012, 36% of the nation's young adults ages 18 to 31—the so-called Millennial generation—were living in their parents' home, according to a new Pew Research Center analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data.

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 …

Rick Santorum: Pope's “Gay” Comments Were Taken Out Of Context  —  “I've read the whole transcript,” says the former presidential candidate.  He says the church won't be changing its stance on homosexuality anytime soon.  —  Via: Eric Gay / AP  —  Pope Francis made headlines this week …