College Costs Will Keep Rising Under Obama Plan  —  Colleges' exploitation of young Americans through rapidly rising and increasingly exorbitant fees is a national scandal that can no longer be ignored.  In his college tour this week, President Barack Obama is speaking at length about what he intends …

Obama tells CNN key decisions nearing on Syria, Egypt  —  (CNN) — The time is nearing for a potentially definitive U.S. response to alleged Syrian government atrocities and an increasingly violent military crackdown in Egypt, President Barack Obama said in an exclusive interview broadcast Friday on CNN's “New Day.”

UPS to End Health Coverage for Some Spouses  —  United Parcel Service Inc. is ending health-insurance benefits for U.S. nonunion employees' spouses who can get coverage elsewhere.  It blames the change on the new health-care law.  —  UPS estimates that 15,000 of the 33,000 spouses it covers …

Obama phones Georgia school employee in hostage ordeal  —  President Obama phoned a Georgia elementary school bookkeeper who talked a 20-year-old armed with an AK-47 assault rifle into surrendering, according to the White House.  —  Antoinette Tuff, who has worked for the DeKalb County school district …

Tom Coburn: Obama “Getting Perilously Close” To The Standard For Impeachment  —  “If it continues, I think we're going to have another constitutional crisis in our country in terms of the presidency.”  —  View Video ›  —  Oklahoma Republican Sen. Tom Coburn said Wednesday …

No, Chris Lane is not Trayvon Martin!  —  The white conservative media thinks it's found its “Trayvon Martin in reverse, only worse.”  Are you kidding me?  —  The white conservative media believes it has its own Trayvon Martin in the case of Chris Lane, an Australian baseball player …

U.S. sues Texas over voter ID (FURTHER UPDATED)  —  FURTHER UPDATE 4:35 p.m. The text of the motion to intervene in the San Antonio redistricting case is here.  The legal complaint of the United States as intervenor is here.  —  UPDATE 4:05 p.m. The text of the new lawsuit against the Texas voter ID law is here.

Rasmussen Reports Announces a Change in Management  —  For Immediate Release  —  Asbury Park, NJ, August 22, 2013 — The Rasmussen Reports, LLC Board of Directors today confirmed that founder Scott Rasmussen left the company last month.  In part, the move reflects disagreements over company business strategies.

Sources: Koch Industries not buying LA Times, Chicago Tribune  —  Koch Industries will not be buying the Tribune Company's eight newspapers, which include the Chicago Tribune and the LA Times, The Daily Caller has learned.  —  Sources with knowledge of the business proceedings told …

He Is Not Bradley Manning.  She Is Chelsea Manning.  Deal With It.  —  Bradley Manning, the Army private sentenced Wednesday to 35 years in prison for leaking government files to WikiLeaks, announced Thursday in a statement to NBC's “Today” that he is, as of now, a she:

Boehner ups the ante for a budget showdown in September  —  Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) told House Republicans on Thursday that he wants to push through a temporary spending measure that incorporates automatic cuts, upping the ante for a September budget showdown.

Rand Paul gains strength in Republican debate over aid to Egypt  —  Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) is gaining momentum in the battle over foreign policy that has roiled the Senate Republican conference for the past year.  —  Paul, according to Senate aides, thinks he could have the votes to pass …

Theater owner won't show ‘Lee Daniels’ The Butler'  —  Boutwell has policy against showing Fonda movies  —  Last weekend's top movie for ticket sales isn't coming to Hardin County.  —  Lee Daniels' The Butler" brought in an estimated $25 million on its opening weekend with its portrayal of Cecil Gaines …

Dems watch as Christie rolls  —  New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie has made little secret that he wants a resounding win in his reelection this year as a show of strength for his all-but-assumed 2016 presidential candidacy.  —  And Democrats appear perfectly willing to comply.

Pricing Problem Suspends Nasdaq for Three Hours  —  The United States stock market showed again on Thursday that it remained vulnerable to technological breakdowns even as regulators and market operators work to keep up with trading that is increasingly electronic and driven by speed.

This Age of Bubbles  —  So, another BRIC hits the wall.  Actually, I've never much liked the whole “BRIC” — Brazil, Russia, India, and China — concept: Russia, which is basically a petro-economy, doesn't belong there at all, and there are large differences among the other three.