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 …

Hill gets Obamacare fix  —  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 a ruling that says the government can continue to make a contribution …

Putin's ‘zero-sum’ misstep  —  President Barack Obama can't come close to living up to the fantasies of a showdown stirred by Vladimir Putin's international flip-off.  —  But for all the calls Thursday to reassess the Russia relationship in the wake of Russia's granting temporary asylum to Edward Snowden …

The Soft Underbelly of Obama­care  —  For opponents of Obamacare, it almost seems like the law offers too many targets to choose from.  Its effects on premiums and costs look to be highly unpopular, its perverse incentives are already harming employment, its state exchanges will hand …

Coming to an Old Friend's Aid, With an Eye on the Clinton Image  —  Moments before Huma Abedin stood amid a phalanx of television cameras last week and announced to a national audience that she was standing by her embattled husband, Anthony D. Weiner, she made a quick phone call to a trusted colleague.

Ninth woman accuses San Diego mayor Filner of sexual harassment  —  A ninth woman has emerged to accuse San Diego Mayor Bob Filner (D) of sexual harassment.  —  Emily Gilbert, who was hired to sing at a fundraiser days after Filner took office in December, told Fox5 that Filner grabbed her inappropriately at the event.

Here's How Republicans Can Take Over the Senate  —  There are many opportunities for GOP pickups in states where Democrats are weak.  —  One difference between professional athletes and fans, and between coaches and cheerleaders, is that while all of them see opportunities for their teams …

GOP Telegraphs Mass Filibuster Of Obama's Top Judges  —  Senate Republicans are standing firm by their threat to block every one of President Obama's nominees to the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, insisting on eliminating all three vacant seats on the country's second most powerful court.

Gay couple to sue church over gay marriage opt-out  —  Wealthy gay dad, Barrie Drewitt-Barlow, says he and his civil partner Tony will go to court to force churches to host gay weddings.  —  He told the Essex Chronicle that he will take legal action because “I am still not getting what I want”.

'I'm a Pastafarian': Man who claims his religion forces him to wear a sieve on his head given permission to wear one on his official identity card picture  —  A man who wears a sieve on his head for religious reasons has been allowed to wear his bizarre headgear on his official identity card.

Payrolls Rise Less Than Forecast, U.S. Jobless Rate Falls  —  Payrolls Rise 162,000; Jobless Rate Falls to 7.4%  —  Employers added fewer workers than anticipated in July and the U.S. jobless rate dropped to 7.4 percent, indicating uneven progress in the labor market.

Employer Tipped Off Police To Pressure Cooker And Backpack Searches, Not Google  —  In what might be Medium's first widespread Twitter moment, music writer Michele Catalano used the platform to blog details of an unexpected visit to her home yesterday, from six men she identifies as members of the “joint terrorism task force.”

How fractured is the GOP?  —  Acombination of early presidential maneuvering and internal policy debate is feeding yet another iteration of that media perennial: the great Republican crackup.  This time it's tea party insurgents vs. get-along establishment fogies fighting principally over two things …

Sex, Money and Gravitas  —  Can a woman effectively run the Federal Reserve?  That shouldn't even be a question.  And Janet Yellen, the vice chairwoman of the Fed's Board of Governors, isn't just up to the job; by any objective standard, she's the best-qualified person in America to take over when Ben Bernanke steps down as chairman.

Boehner's burden: ObamaCare  —  For Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), Obamacare is the predicament that won't go away.  —  The Speaker is leading a House Republican conference that wants to dismantle President Obama's signature, contentious achievement by any means necessary but can't quite agree on the best way to kill it.

John Kerry says Egypt army is ‘restoring democracy’  —  US Secretary of State John Kerry has said Egypt's military was “restoring democracy” when it ousted elected President Mohammed Morsi last month.  —  Mr Kerry said the removal was at the request of “millions and millions of people”.

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 …