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.

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.

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 …

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.

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 …

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)

The Racial Tit-for-Tat of Crime Reporting  —  Back when the George Zimmerman/Trayvon Martin story first exploded onto the national scene, with false accounts of a “white” shooter and edited 911 calls, we at Breitbart News made an editorial decision not to become involved in the racial tit-for-tat reporting that tempted many other sites.

Celebrating Women's Equality Day  —  Today, August 26th, we celebrate Women's Equality Day.  We commemorate the 93rd anniversary of the certification of the 19th Amendment, which granted women the right to vote.  It's hard to believe that less than 100 years ago, women did not have the right to vote.

Ex-Ohio Gov. John Gilligan dies  —  Former Ohio Gov. and Congressman John Gilligan, a liberal Democrat whose creation of the state income tax was both his most lasting accomplishment and the undoing of his political career, died Monday.  He was 92.  —  Gilligan's death was confirmed by his caregiver …

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.”

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.”

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.

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.

Open Secret About Google's Surveillance Case No Longer Secret  —  The Justice Department recently won a court battle to keep an Internet company from talking about federal demands for user data, arguing that even disclosing the company's name would damage national security.

NYT, AP to refer to Manning as ‘Chelsea’  —  Starting tomorrow, The New York Times and The Associated Press will refer to Bradley Manning as Chelsea Manning, “formerly know as Pfc. Bradley Manning,” honoring the former soldier's request to be addressed as a female.  Thereafter Manning will be referred to as “she.”