Sky News Cameraman Killed In Egypt  —  Sky News cameraman Mick Deane has been shot and killed in Egypt this morning.  —  Mick had worked for Sky for 15 years, based in Washington and then Jerusalem.  —  He was part of our team covering the violence in Cairo.  The rest of the team are unhurt.

North Carolinians Fear the End of a Middle Way  —  EDEN, N.C. — When Pat McCrory, a Republican former mayor of Charlotte, was elected governor last year, he pledged to “bring this state together,” and to focus on bread-and-butter issues amid an ailing economy.

Ron Johnson, other Republicans say government shutdown unlikely  —  By Bill Glauber of the Journal Sentinel  —  U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson rode opposition to President Barack Obama's signature health care law to victory in 2010.  —  But Johnson indicated Tuesday that shutting down the federal government …

With So Many Job Openings, Why So Little Hiring?  —  An odd puzzle is taking shape in the labor market: Over the past three years, the number of job openings has risen almost 50 percent, but actual hiring has gone up by less than 5 percent.  Companies are advertising a lot more jobs, in other words, but not filling them.

Pentagon to extend benefits to same-sex military couples — including 10 days of marriage leave  —  The U.S. Department of Defense is set to announce Wednesday that same-sex spouses of military service members will become eligible for a range of federal benefits as early as September, a senior official told NBC News.

Jesse Jackson Jr., wife Sandi, await sentencing  —  WASHINGTON — Former Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., who pleaded guilty to misspending about $750,000 in campaign funds, will learn today how much his crime will cost him.  —  A federal judge will sentence Jackson on a felony conspiracy count …

Unease at Clinton Foundation Over Finances and Ambitions  —  Soon after the 10th anniversary of the foundation bearing his name, Bill Clinton met with a small group of aides and two lawyers from Simpson Thacher & Bartlett.  Two weeks of interviews with Clinton Foundation executives …

Obama hits the links on Martha's Vineyard after Egypt briefing (Video)  —  President Obama on Wednesday headed out for a round of golf after being briefed on the violence in Egypt.  —  The president hit the links at Martha's Vineyard for the third time in four days after a morning security briefing …

Release Detail  —  August 14, 2013 - Spitzer Has 19-Pt Lead In New York City Comptroller Race, Quinnipiac University Poll Finds; Men, Women, Blacks Back Him Big  —  With no gender gap and a lead among black voters of more than 3-1, former Gov. Eliot Spitzer tops Manhattan Borough President …

McConnell says government shutdown won't stop Obamacare  — McConnell says government shutdown wouldn't stop Obamacare  —  CORBIN, Ky. (WYMT) -  —  A government shutdown would not prevent the Affordable Care Act from being funded, Kentucky's senior senator said Tuesday.

Fast food strikes to massively expand: “They're thinking much bigger”  —  Top union officials tell Salon the largest mobilization of fast food workers in U.S. history is about to get huge  —  Fast food strikers will escalate their campaign within the next week and a half, according to the key union backing their recent walkouts.

Bradley Manning Makes Statement During Sentencing Phase of His Trial (Live Updates)  —  11:25 AM EST The Judge issued a ruling that much of militant Islam expert Youssef Aboul-Enein's testimony on Al Qaeda was admissible evidence.  —  11:10 AM EST Cpt.  Michael Worsley, a clinical psychiatrist expert …

The Lies Aren't What Makes Obama's NSA Stance So Awful  —  President Obama's repeated comments that “there is no spying on Americans” and that “we don't have a domestic spying program,” as he told Jay Leno, were contradicted by two revelations at the end of last week.

SC state senator taking on Graham  —  State Sen. Lee Bright announced his candidacy Tuesday for the GOP nomination for the U.S. Senate, calling incumbent Republican U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham “a community organizer for the Muslim Brotherhood.”  —  “During the (congressional) recess …

No Conference  —  Chuck Schumer has spent the better part of a year saying how essential it is that immigration reform be dealt with in a comprehensive bill.  But he has had a sudden change of heart.  He now says he is fine with the incremental approach emerging in the House.

Quantifying Tax Credits for People Now Buying Insurance on Their Own  —  A number of states have recently released information on what premiums will be in the individual insurance market in 2014, when significant changes in that market take effect due to the Affordable Care Act (ACA).

Hillary Clinton power in 2016  —  Three years out and you'd think the deed was done: Madame President Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton.  —  She's everywhere these days because: (a) It's August; (b) reporters are bored with President Obama; (c) reporters are bored with Joe Biden; (d) Clintons are never boring.

Obama-mask clown gets lifetime Missouri fair ban.  Just, or too harsh?  —  An Obama-mask clown at the Missouri State Fair was banned for life, after photos and video asking a crowd if they wanted to see Obama ‘run down by a bull’ went viral.  The crowd cheered.  Fair officials dubbed the stunt ‘unconscionable.’

The Real Price of Congress's Gridlock  —  BERKELEY, Calif. — CONGRESS began its summer recess last week and won't reconvene until after Labor Day.  You'd be forgiven for not noticing a difference.  With just 15 bills signed into law so far this year, the 113th Congress is on pace to be the most unproductive since at least the 1940s.

Businesses claim Obamacare has forced them to cut employee hours  —  Employers around the country, from fast-food franchises to colleges, have told NBC News that they will be cutting workers' hours below 30 a week because they can't afford to offer the health insurance mandated by the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare.

Obama, Snowden and Putin  —  You only get one chance to make a second impression.  It seems to me that Edward Snowden should use his and that Russian President Vladimir Putin has blown his.  —  Considering the breadth of reforms that President Obama is now proposing to prevent privacy abuses …