Syria will let inspectors go to site of suspected chemical weapons attack, official says  —  [Breaking news update 8:38 a.m. ET]  —  Syria has agreed to allow weapons inspectors full access to any site of a purported chemical weapons attack, effective immediately, Syria's Deputy Foreign …

Court Is ‘One of Most Activist,’ Ginsburg Says, Vowing to Stay  —  WASHINGTON — Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, 80, vowed in an interview to stay on the Supreme Court as long as her health and intellect remained strong, saying she was fully engaged in her work as the leader of the liberal opposition …

Two Endorsements: Quinn and Lhota  —  Mayor Michael Bloomberg is almost gone.  At year's end there will be nothing more he can do to shape, alter or improve the City of New York.  It's the end of 12 years of governing under one man's singular, often inspiring, sometimes maddening priorities …

Cruz: Political ‘tsunami’ needed to win fight to defund ObamaCare  —  Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) said Sunday it would take a political “tsunami” of grassroots pressure to win his fight to defund President Obama's healthcare law in the coming budget showdown.  —  “It is going to take a tsunami …

Ignoring Qualms, Some Republicans Nurture Dreams of Impeaching Obama  —  WASHINGTON — Representative Kerry Bentivolio, a freshman Republican from Michigan, has a legislative dream.  It is not to balance the federal budget, or find a way to help his ailing state or even take away money …

In Syria, America Loses if Either Side Wins  —  WASHINGTON — ON Wednesday, reports surfaced of a mass chemical-weapons attack in the Damascus suburbs that human rights activists claim killed hundreds of civilians, bringing Syria's continuing civil war back onto the White House's foreign policy radar …

Richard Vedder: The Real Reason College Costs So Much  —  The expert on the economics of higher education explains how subsidies fuel rising prices and why there's a ‘bubble’ in student loans and college enrollment.  —  Another school year beckons, which means it's time for President Obama to go on another college retreat.

Plagiarism or coincidence?  Writer, Wall Street Journal square off  —  Boot submitted a preliminary draft to Rosen on Aug. 9 and a draft “ready to be edited” on Aug. 12.  In an interview with POLITICO, Rosen said the piece underwent only minor revisions before it was posted to the Journal's website at 5:20 p.m. on Aug. 17.

Powell: Trayvon Martin verdict ‘questionable’  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — Former Secretary of State Colin Powell says the jury verdict that freed the killer of Florida teenager Trayvon Martin was “questionable.”  But he isn't sure it will have staying power in the public consciousness.

In Paper War, Flood of Liens Is the Weapon  —  MINNEAPOLIS — One of the first inklings Sheriff Richard Stanek had that something was wrong came with a call from the mortgage company handling his refinancing.  —  “It must be a mistake,” he said, when the loan officer told him that someone …

Missing the point at the IMF  —  The IMF have just published a working paper entitled: ‘Assessing the Impact and Phasing of Multi-year  —  Fiscal Adjustment: A General Framework’.  Or to put it more simply: should austerity be front loaded or delayed?  A really important topic …