Jesse Benton on Mitch McConnell: “I'm sorta holding my nose for 2 years”  —  What does Mitch McConnell campaign manager Jesse Benton really think about working for the Mitch McConnell re-election campaign?  —  EconomicPolicyJournal.com has obtained a recording of a phone conversation between Dennis Fusaro …

N.S.A. Said to Search Content of Messages to and From U.S.  —  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.

Why Slate will no longer refer to Washington's NFL team as the Redskins. … - - Tweet - - … Click here to load comments.  — Flight Delays Don't Have to Ruin Your Trip.  Here's How to Game the System.  - Why Do People Love Correcting Other People's Grammar?

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.

Dear Lawrence O'Donnell, Don't Mansplain to Me About Russia  —  Tonight, I went on Lawrence O'Donnell's show, and Lawrence O'Donnell yelled at me.  Or, rather, he O'Reilly'd at me.  That O'Donnell interrupted and harangued and mansplained and was generally an angry grandpa at me is not what I take issue with, however.

Sydney Leathers: The Best, Only, and Last Interview With Her You Should Ever Read  —  Long story short: Sydney Leathers is a 23-year-old who happened to exchange some texts with a guy, except those texts were sexts, and the guy is now running for the mayor of New York City, one Anthony Weiner.

FOXNEWS SCHEDULE SHAKEUP: MEGYN IN AT 9 PM  —  FOXNEWS is set to make its first primetime schedule change in 10 years, the DRUDGE REPORT has learned.  —  Superstar newswoman Megyn Kelly has landed the 9 PM slot, top sources reveal.  —  The shock announcement is set for later this month.

Winfrey, Bradlee, Clinton to Receive Medal of Freedom  —  WASHINGTON—The White House announced that President Barack Obama will award the Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian award, to 16 recipients including television star and businesswoman Oprah Winfrey, legendary Washington …

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 …

Republicans May Be Changing Minds on Immigration Reform  —  Immigration reform supporters protest in front of the Cannon House Office Building, August 1, 2013, in Washington.  Photo Credit: Bill Clark/Roll Call/Getty Images  —  Members of Congress have been on recess for only a few days …

Why Seniors Are Turning Against The GOP  —  There's something going on with seniors: It is now strikingly clear that they have turned sharply against the GOP.  This is apparent in seniors' party affiliation and vote intention, in their views on the Republican Party and its leaders …

Pro-Hillary Clinton Efforts Whir to Life with Iowa Campaigning  —  Friday morning, as Washington slumbers through recess and public attention even in Iowa is far from presidential politics, a group of Democratic activists and office-holders will gather in Des Moines to discuss a topic …

Al Qaeda has ‘developed liquid explosives which blow up when dry prompting US evacuation of Yemen’  —  Al Qaeda terrorists could try to bring down planes using an undetectable explosive soaked into their clothes, officials fear.  —  The organisation's bomb-makers are reportedly developing …

Exclusive: Gen. Wesley Clark, 68, dating 30-year-old fashion entrepreneur Shauna Mei  —  Retired 68-year-old US Army general and former NATO Supreme Allied Commander Wesley K. Clark has won yet another esteemed decoration — he is dating 30-year-old Shauna Mei, the founder of online retailer AHAlife.com.

One In 25 Americans Was Arrested In 2011  —  We've heard a lot of talk lately about mass incarceration, the stop-and-frisk policies in New York, reforming the drug laws, and mandatory minimum sentencing.  There's also been discussion about over-criminalization — that we have too many laws …

Friends who witnessed Tasering of Beach teen offer disturbing details  —  At just 17, Israel Hernández-Llach was already an award-winning artist, on the threshold of acclaim in Miami Beach art circles.  He was a sculptor, painter, writer and photographer whose craft was inspired …

Many Americans have no friends of another race: poll  —  (Reuters) - About 40 percent of white Americans and about 25 percent of non-white Americans are surrounded exclusively by friends of their own race, according to an ongoing Reuters/Ipsos poll.  —  The figures highlight how segregated …

ObamaCare ‘death panel’ faces growing opposition from Dems  —  ObamaCare's cost-cutting board — memorably called a “death panel” by Sarah Palin — is facing growing opposition from Democrats who say it will harm people on Medicare.  —  Former Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean drew attention …

Picking A Losing Battle To Win the War  —  There's a fascinating column penned by Craig Shirley (one of the keepers of the Gipper's flame) and Newt Gingrich up at cnn.com that analogizes the recent state of the Republican Party to that which existed after Richard Nixon's resignation …

Companies & Industries  —  BP's Robert Dudley on the Gulf Oil Spill's Legal Aftermath  —  After the April 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill, BP (BP) said it wanted to clean up the mess, pay what it owed, and get on with business.  Three years later, you're at war with plaintiffs' lawyers.  What happened?

THE SNOWDEN EFFECT, CONT'D  —  OK, so last night, I was sitting down with a cool one, and watching the NBC Nightly News, and Lester Holt was chatting over the events of the day, specifically the president's decision not to meet with Vladimir Putin.  And, when the name of Edward Snowden came up, this is how Holt described him:

George Zimmerman's Biggest Defender: A Racist With a Criminal Past  —  Frank Taaffe, Zimmerman's unofficial media emissary, is a convicted criminal who recently appeared on The White Voice, a virulently racist podcast.  —  Frank Taaffe.  HLN  —  In April 2012, two days before George Zimmerman …

What Janet Yellen — And Everyone Else — Got Wrong  —  Don't worry, this isn't another entry in the Larry/Janet debate, where I've said my piece.  Instead, it's prompted by a nice but I think incomplete analysis by Matt O'Brien of the reasons Janet Yellen underestimated the damage …

Why Is U.S. Economic Mobility Worse in the South?  —  Americans pride themselves on their intergenerational mobility.  Our nation's exceptionalism is organized around the American dream: No matter where you come from and no matter who your parents are, you can rise to the top of the economic ladder …