Obama's history-defying decision to seek Congressional approval on Syria  —  President Barack Obama, according to background briefings by his aides, reached a fateful decision late Friday afternoon as he strolled along the White House lawn with his chief of staff Denis McDonough.

Sir David Frost, broadcaster and writer, dies at 74  —  Veteran broadcaster Sir David Frost has died at the age of 74 after a suspected heart attack while on board a cruise ship.  —  A family statement said he had been giving a speech aboard the Queen Elizabeth on Saturday night.

Fukushima radiation levels ‘18 times higher’ than thought  —  Radiation levels around Japan's Fukushima nuclear plant are 18 times higher than previously thought, Japanese authorities have warned.  —  Last week the plant's operator reported radioactive water had leaked from a storage tank into the ground.

Hill briefing: Uphill battle for Obama on Syria  —  President Barack Obama faces a clear uphill battle in swaying skeptical lawmakers of the merits of military action in Syria, as top officials were dispatched to Capitol Hill Sunday to make the administration's case.

Senior Syrian military chiefs tell captain: fire chemicals or be shot  —  BRITISH intelligence chiefs have intercepted radio messages in which senior Syrian military chiefs are heard ordering the use of chemical weapons.  —  Prepared: UN inspectors in gas masks at work in eastern Damascus

Anthony Weiner stages a ‘meat’ and greet in Bronx deli  —  The Democratic mayoral hopeful holds a big Italian sausage and poses with the owner of the Arthur Ave. business  —  Anthony Weiner is all smiles after getting “The Big Salami” from David Greco (r.), owner of Mike's Deli and Arthur Avenue Trattoria.

Bush aide makes Mandela mistake  —  Former President George H.W. Bush's office mistakenly announced the death of Nelson Mandela on Sunday morning, with a condolences statement about the South African leader.  —  “STATEMENT BY PRESIDENT GEORGE H. W. BUSH 41 ON THE DEATH OF NELSON MANDELA,” …

Vodafone, Verizon Agree on $130 Billion Deal  —  An Announcement Over Deal—if Approved by Both Boards—Could Come Monday  —  Negotiators for Verizon Communications Inc. and Vodafone Group PLC have agreed to a deal for the U.K. company's stake in their U.S. joint venture, people familiar with the matter said.

First Person: Jake Tapper, anchor of CNN's ‘The Lead With Jake Tapper’  —  Most interviews that I do are not super aggressive.  They can't be, and they shouldn't be; that would get pretty tiresome.  So when there's an interview that's tough or a question that's tough, it's something that raises eyebrows.