Exclusive: CIA Files Prove America Helped Saddam as He Gassed Iran  —  The U.S. knew Hussein was launching some of the worst chemical attacks in history — and still gave him a hand.  —  The U.S. government may be considering military action in response to chemical strikes near Damascus.

Ex-US Attorney Calls James O'Keefe ‘A Nasty Little Cowardly Spud’  —  The conservative video maker James O'Keefe has turned his cameras on the former federal prosecutor whose office brought charges against him and his accomplices in the phone-tampering of a Democratic U.S. senator.

TWENTY-FOUR-HOUR PARTY PEOPLE  —  When the news broke—"cleveland kidnapping victims free"—Rachel Maddow wasn't sure she had much to add.  It was the kind of story that cable news loves: three women had been abducted and held hostage for years, until a garrulous local man named Charles Ramsey helped kick …

Controversial rodeo clown speaks out after death threats  —  A rodeo clown's controversial Missouri State Fair antics went viral after wearing a President Barack Obama mask and mocking the nation's leader.  —  It divided people across the country on whether Tuffy Gessling's stunt was disrespectful to Obama.

Drone crashes into Virginia bull run crowd  —  An aerial drone, a pilotless aircraft of the type that has aroused intense public discussion in recent months, crashed Saturday into the stands at a public event in Virginia that has also aroused heated discourse.

Massive Rim fire continues to reshape lives and topography  —  The blaze, now 134,000 acres, pushes into Yosemite National Park.  Each day, what it does depends on the wind.  —  Charred trees and undergrowth at the Hetch Hetchy gate to Yosemite National Park.  The Rim fire continues out of control in and near the national park.

Treasury tells Congress nation will breach debt ceiling in mid-October  —  The Treasury Department has told Congress it must raise the $16.7 trillion national debt limit by mid-October.  —  Treasury Secretary Jack Lew in a letter sent Monday to lawmakers said his department would exhaust the …

Report: Snowden stayed at Russian consulate while in Hong Kong  —  MOSCOW — Before American fugitive Edward Snowden arrived in Moscow in June — an arrival that Russian officials have said caught them by surprise — he spent several days living at the Russian Consulate in Hong Kong, a Moscow newspaper reported Monday.

How America Spies on Europe and the UN  —  President Obama promised that NSA surveillance activities were aimed exclusively at preventing terrorist attacks.  But secret documents from the intelligence agency show that the Americans spy on Europe, the UN and other countries.

Tea Party Now Covering News for Washington Post  —  The Washington Post's lead Sunday news story is one of the weirdest, and most weirdly biased, news articles I've ever read in my life.  The point of the story — headlined “After six budget showdowns, big government is mostly unchanged” …

The Outsiders: How Can Millennials Change Washington If They Hate It?  —  Young people are eager to serve and to change the world.  They just have no faith that public service or elected office are the way to get it done.  —  Forget what you've read about the “Me, Me, Me Generation.”

Tea party: Obamacare is now ‘BoehnerCare’  —  Tea party activists are planning to rally outside of House Speaker John A. Boehner's Ohio office on Tuesday, telling the Republican speaker that if he doesn't use this year's spending fight to defund the health care law, it will hence be known to them as “BoehnerCare.”

In Obama's High-Level Appointments, the Scales Still Tip Toward Men  —  WASHINGTON — Behind the roiling conversation over whether President Obama might make Janet L. Yellen the first female leader of the Federal Reserve is an uncomfortable reality for the White House: the administration …

Leahy: SJC Will Hold Hearing On Federal And State Marijuana Laws In September  —  WASHINGTON - Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) announced Monday that the Committee will hold a hearing next month on the conflict between state and federal marijuana laws.

Is Obama the worst president ever?  —  “If you like your health care plan, you can keep your health care plan.”  — President Obama, Aug. 11, 2009  —  So said President Obama again and again through 2009 and 2010 as he sold Obamacare to the country.  He promised.  He put his personal integrity on the line.

With Ensign Decision, Court Hands CREW Fourth Victory Against DOJ  —  Lawsuits, Congress, Federal Agencies, Department of Justice, Legal, Lawsuits, States, Nevada, Transparency, House Members, Don Young, Jerry Lewis, Senate Members, John Ensign, CREW v. Department of Justice (Ensign Investigation)

Daniel Hernandez, Former Intern Who Saved Giffords, Hit With Nasty, Homophobic Recall Campaign  —  Daniel Hernandez Jr., the former intern credited with helping to save Rep. Gabrielle Giffords' life when she was shot in 2011 and now an elected member of a Tucson-area school board …

Openly gay minister ordained in Minneapolis  —  Daniel Vigilante is now the minister of outreach at Trinity Community Church at 28th and Humboldt Avenue.  —  He tried to get ordained 13 years ago, but he had to remove himself from the process because the church wouldn't accept his sexual orientation.

Boehner aide: Obama must consult with Congress on Syria  —  An aide to Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) warned the White House on Monday it must consult with Congressional leaders before taking any military action in Syria.  —  Boehner spokesman Brendan Buck said in a blog post that the president …

Iowa GOP Not Conservative Enough?  —  At the New York Times yesterday, Jonathan Martin wrote a catch-up piece for those who haven't been paying attention (or reading Political Animal) to the early 2016 GOP skirmishing over and in Iowa.  Long story short: Iowa Republicans are nervous …

Julian Assange Sang And Danced In A Parody Rap Video For Some Awful Reason  —  The WikiLeaks founder raps and sings and it's really strange.  —  Wikileaks founder Julian Assange guest-starred in a satirical music video (he shows up around 3:30) and parodied an Australian '80s pop hit... while wearing a mullet.

A report card for U.S. policy in the Mideast  —  How Washington is doing on such issues as winding down military involvement, fighting terrorism and reducing our dependence on its oil.  —  U.S. soldiers of NATO's International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan.  (Sameem Ismail / EPA / August 16, 2013)