N.S.A. Sifting Broader Set of Data Crossing U.S. Border  —  WASHINGTON — The National Security Agency is searching the contents of vast amounts of Americans' e-mail and text communications into and out of the country, hunting for people who mention information about foreigners under surveillance, according to intelligence officials.

Putin will not ‘cave’ to Obama pressure: Snowden's father  —  (Reuters) - The father of Edward Snowden, the fugitive former U.S. spy agency contractor, predicted on Wednesday that Russian President Vladimir Putin will stand up to pressure from Washington as the two nations spar over Moscow's decision to grant his son asylum.

Why Ted Cruz Thinks the Media Gets Conservatism Wrong  —  Texas Senator Ted Cruz talks to TIME about Barack Obama, foreign policy and his spats with fellow Republicans  —  By Alex Altman @aaltman82Aug.  08, 2013  —  U.S. Senator Ted Cruz, right, talks with Republican Party …

Great Orator Gaffes Again  —  One comment makes him akin to Akin.  —  “The odds of people dying in a terrorist attack obviously are still a lot lower than in a car accident, unfortunately,” President Obama told NBC's Jay Leno last night.  —  Wait, “unfortunately”?

Exclusive: IRS manual detailed DEA's use of hidden intel evidence  —  (Reuters) - Details of a U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration program that feeds tips to federal agents and then instructs them to alter the investigative trail were published in a manual used by agents of the Internal Revenue Service for two years.

How the White House is weaseling Congress out of ObamaCare.  —  The White House on Wednesday released the legal details behind its ObamaCare bailout for Members of Congress and their staffs, and if anything this rescue is worse than last week's leaks suggested: Illegal dispensations for the ruling class …

Hundreds protest Obama outside Phoenix high school  —  FONT:  —  Hundreds of protesters wielded signs, chanted slogans and argued with each other Tuesday outside Desert Vista High School in Phoenix, while President Barack Obama spoke about housing and the economy inside.

The decline of newspapers has been good for everybody else  —  Same building as 13 years ago, but definitely a different place.  (Bill O'Leary/The Washington Post)  —  I started working at The Washington Post on June 5, 2000.  It was in the same building we work in now, but it was very much a different place.

Greek unemployment hit new record in May of 27.6 percent  —  (Reuters) - Greece's jobless rate hit a new record high of 27.6 percent in May, official national data showed on Thursday as the country staggers under austerity linked to its international bailout.

How Secrecy Has Already Corroded Our Democracy in Concrete Ways  —  The renewal of the Patriot Act is a case study in how opaque policy and law destroy a people's ability to self-govern.  —  This summer, Rep. James Sensenbrenner, an author and longtime champion of the Patriot Act …

Scandal politics sweep Capitol Hill  —  A top Boehner aide reminded Capitol Hill staff in a meeting that they must keep their message tightly focused on economic recovery, despite the spate of TV-friendly investigations.  Senior GOP aides acknowledge they are keeping a close eye on Issa's oversight panel …

Man gets 17 years for torching $400 million nuke sub  —  The end of the USS Miami  —  (CNN) — Casey James Fury simply didn't want to be at work, and in the process cost the Navy nearly a half-billion dollars and one attack submarine.  —  Fury admitted to setting fire to the USS Miami …

U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin: Southern senator called President Obama ‘exotic’ in closed-door meeting  —  U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin provided some behind-the-scenes insight into the partisan animosity that continues to follow Barack Obama in his second term as president.  —  Harkin, a Democrat …

The Fort Hood attack was terrorism.  The Army should call it that.  —  Shawn Manning is a retired U.S. Army staff sergeant and mental health counselor who lives in Lacey, Wash.  —  In November 2009, my Army Reserve Medical Detachment reported to Fort Hood, Tex., in preparation for deployment to Afghanistan.

A User's Guide to Obama's Inside-Out Economics  —  The president may be out of ideas, but he is never out of words.  He has been sharing voluminous amounts of them with audiences over the last two weeks on his latest speaking tour, or pivot, on the economy.  —  And for good reason.

Fast-Food Fight  —  The fast-food workers who have been walking off their jobs illustrate a central fact of contemporary work life in America: As lower-wage occupations have proliferated in the past several years, Americans are increasingly unable to make a living at their jobs.

Why I changed my mind on weed  —  (CNN) — Over the last year, I have been working on a new documentary called “Weed.”  The title “Weed” may sound cavalier, but the content is not.  —  I traveled around the world to interview medical leaders, experts, growers and patients.

Suspected US drone kills 6 militants in Yemen  —  You are here  —  Home » Yemen » Suspected US drone kills 6 militants in Yemen  —  SANAA, Yemen (AP) — A suspected U.S. drone strike in Yemen killed six alleged al-Qaida militants Thursday in one of the group's former strongholds …

Republican Ken Buck files paperwork to run for U.S. Senate in 2014, four years after loss  —  Ken Buck, the current Weld County District Attorney, will run for U.S. Senate next year in an effort to unseat Democratic Sen. Mark Udall.  —  Buck, a Tea Party Republican, filed paperwork …

Texas Tea Partiers Gunning For Gohmert to Primary Cornyn  —  Louie Gohmert for Senate?  That's what a number of Texas tea-party activists are hoping for.  They're not happy with Senator John Cornyn, and Katrina Pierson, who serves on the Texas Tea Party Caucus Advisory Board …

Everlasting Realities of the Bohemian Lifestyle  —  As writers in New York lament the “de-classing of intellectuals,” a reminder that creative types have never had it easy.  —  The Chelsea Hotel in 1978 (AP/G. Paul Burnett)  —  NEW YORK — Is it still possible to be a bohemian in today's New York City …

Immigration ‘Plan B’ Focuses on White House  —  Immigration-reform activists aren't supposed to talk publicly about a “Plan B.”  They can't, or won't, answer questions from the media about what they will do if no bill passes this year to legalize the undocumented population.

Darrell Issa's gavel up for grabs as jockeying begins  —  Call them the Darrell Issa wannabes.  —  About a half-dozen lawmakers are jockeying for the gavel of the powerful House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, trying to prove to their colleagues that they have the chops to probe …