Senator: Obama Administration Secretly Suspended Military Aid to Egypt  —  The White House has quietly placed military aid to Egypt on hold, despite not saying publicly whether the Egyptian military takeover was a coup, Josh Rogin reports exclusively.  —  The U.S. government has decided privately …

LePage is heard to say Obama ‘hates white people’  —  Two Republican lawmakers confirm that the governor made the remark at a fundraiser last week.  —  Gov. Paul LePage last week told a group of Republicans that President Barack Obama “hates white people,” according to two state lawmakers who heard the remark directly.

Obama administration asks Supreme Court to allow warrantless cellphone searches  —  If the police arrest you, do they need a warrant to rifle through your cellphone?  Courts have been split on the question.  Last week the Obama administration asked the Supreme Court to resolve the issue …

Ted Cruz: Okay, I'll Renounce My Canadian Citizenship!  —  This is getting to be more fun than I thought it would be.  Ted Cruz is a natural born American citizen blah blah blah.  But because he was born in Canada he's actually a Canadian citizen too.  He's a dual citizen.

The Clinton dramas: Here we go again  —  Tabloid headlines.  Personal dramas.  Organizational disarray.  Score-settling between rival factions documented in news accounts like a soap opera.  —  Does this have a familiar ring?  —  No one - or mostly no one - truly believes the swirl …

A Q&A With Jill Abramson  —  The Times' top editor on mean bosses, liberal biases, and the demise of the Washington Post  —  For generations, the publishers of the great American newspapers were accidents of birth—sons and daughters (and assorted other relatives) who inherited their positions atop the masthead.

Kerry Reinstates Benghazi Officials Clinton Punished  —  Secretary of State John Kerry has determined that the four State Department officials placed on administrative leave by Hillary Clinton after the terrorist attack on the U.S. mission in Benghazi do not deserve any formal disciplinary action …

Alexander gets GOP primary challenger  —  Tennessee state Rep. Joe Carr (R) announced Tuesday that he will challenge Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) in the Republican primary.  —  On local radio, Carr said he was running because Alexander was “the most liberal” member of the state's GOP delegation.

Why the White House is uneasy with picking Janet Yellen as Fed chair  —  Obama advisers have reservations about having the current Fed vice chairwoman succeed Ben Bernanke.  (Federal Reserve/Flickr)  —  Many of the economic advisers whom President Obama consults with favor Larry Summers to be the next chair of the Federal Reserve.

Forced Exposure ~pj  —  The owner of Lavabit tells us that he's stopped using email and if we knew what he knew, we'd stop too.  —  There is no way to do Groklaw without email.  Therein lies the conundrum.  —  What to do?  —  What to do?  I've spent the last couple of weeks trying to figure it out.

David Miranda, schedule 7 and the danger that all reporters now face  —  As the events in a Heathrow transit lounge - and the Guardian offices - have shown, the threat to journalism is real and growing  —  In a private viewing cinema in Soho last week I caught myself letting fly …

Meet Sunny: The Obamas' New Puppy  —  Today the Obamas welcomed the newest member of their family - a little girl (puppy) named Sunny!  —  Sunny, the new Obama family dog, on the South Lawn of the White House, Aug. 19, 2013.  (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)  —  Pin

Issa tops The Hill's 50 Wealthiest  —  The chief inquisitor of President Obama's White House is now Congress's richest man.  —  House Oversight Committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) saw his fortune rise to at least $355 million in 2012, enough to take the crown on The Hill's 50 Wealthiest list.

Veteran GOP strategist endorses, advises McAuliffe  —  RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Longtime Republican political strategist Boyd Marcus is endorsing Democrat Terry McAuliffe for governor and will advise his campaign.  —  Marcus was an architect of Republican former Gov. Jim Gilmore's 1997 successful campaign.

TESLA MODEL S ACHIEVES BEST SAFETY RATING OF ANY CAR EVER TESTED  —  SETS NEW NHTSA VEHICLE SAFETY SCORE RECORD  —  Palo Alto, CA — Independent testing by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has awarded the Tesla Model S a 5-star safety rating, not just overall, but in every subcategory without exception.

51ST STATE QUESTION WILL BE ON WELD, PHILLIPS BALLOTS THIS FALL  —  Add Phillips and Weld to the list of northeastern Colorado counties getting serious about secession.  —  The commissioners of both counties voted Monday to place a question on the fall ballot asking voters if they wish to divorce Colorado and create a 51st state.

Lee Daniels to Piers Morgan: Americans Are ‘Angry’ That Obama's President, Showing ‘True Colors’  —  Oprah Winfrey has been facing sharp criticism for her comments on race in recent weeks, but tonight on CNN, the director of her new film The Butler sat down with Piers Morgan and was faced …

Cruz Calls 'Why Don't We Impeach' Obama ‘Good Question’  —  Conroe, Texas - Asked about the possibility of impeaching President Obama, Ted Cruz did not rule it out.  —  In a question and answer session following a speech he gave at a Montgomery County GOP dinner last night …

North Carolina Takes Perilous Lurch to the Right  —  North Carolina is channeling Alabama and South Carolina when it comes to the best economic, social and political model for a U.S. Southern state.  —  For more than half a century, North Carolina has been progressive on education and public investments …

Elmore Leonard, Who Refined the Crime Thriller, Dies at 87  —  Elmore Leonard, the prolific crime novelist whose louche characters, deadpan dialogue and immaculate prose style in novels like “Get Shorty,” “Freaky Deaky,” “Glitz” and “La Brava” secured his status as a modern master of American genre writing …