Why many Republicans won't support Obama on Syria attack  —  CONGRESS BARACK OBAMA REPUBLICAN PARTY SYRIA  —  Early signs say it will be hard for President Obama to win congressional authorization for military action in Syria.  That could change; lawmakers might re-write …

Will Congress Follow Its Leaders On Syria?  —  President Barack Obama and congressional leaders face a daunting task convincing skeptical lawmakers to back a war against Syria.  —  Obama's surprising announcement Saturday that he would go to Congress for a use-of-force authorization put top leaders …

Jeffrey Bezos, Washington Post's next owner, aims for a new ‘golden era’ at the newspaper  —  Jeffrey P. Bezos, the next owner of The Washington Post, says he doesn't have all the answers for what's ailing the newspaper industry or for the financially challenged news organization he is preparing to buy.

Microsoft to acquire Nokia's devices & services business, license Nokia's patents and mapping services  —  Microsoft Corporation and Nokia Corporation today announced that the Boards of Directors for both companies have decided to enter into a transaction whereby Microsoft will purchase substantially …

Top-secret U.S. intelligence files show new levels of distrust of Pakistan  —  The $52.6 billion U.S. intelligence arsenal is aimed mainly at unambiguous adversaries, including al-Qaeda, North Korea and Iran.  But top-secret budget documents reveal an equally intense focus on one purported ally: Pakistan.

Dennis Rodman Returns to North Korea to Visit Kim  —  HONG KONG — The former basketball star Dennis Rodman returned Tuesday to North Korea, where he plans “to see my friend” Kim Jong-un, the dictator whose country until recently was threatening to annihilate the United States with nuclear weapons.

Syria Prepares for U.S. Attack  —  The Assad regime prepared for a U.S. military attack on the capital, urging civilian evacuations, moving soldiers into vacant apartments and issuing new threats of retaliation.  —  DAMASCUS, Syria—The Assad regime prepared for a U.S. attack on the capital despite …

Sweet Cakes closing shop amid same-sex rift  —  GRESHAM, Ore. (KOIN) — A bakery embroiled in controversy after an owner refused to make a wedding cake for a same-sex couple is closing up its Gresham storefront.  —  According to the “Sweet Cakes by Melissa” Facebook page …

MC Anthony Weiner Parades West Indian Style, Sorta: “Anybody Here From Jamaica?”  —  Anthony Weiner may be lagging in the polls, but his West Indian Day Parade float — complete with dancehall-style DJ and Weiner (MC Carlos Danger?) himself on the mic — put his mayoral rivals' productions to shame Monday.

Father who beat to death man he caught raping his five-year-old daughter will NOT face charges because of Texas state laws on deadly force  — A young father who beat his daughter's rapist to death after walking in on the assault will not face charges according to the states grand jury

Where isolationism leads  —  The Syria debacle sheds light on the thinking of both interventionists and isolationists.  The former are furious with President Obama for stalling, evading a burgeoning crisis and then coming up with half-measures coupled with a punt to Congress.

EXCLUSIVE: Controller candidate Scott Stringer voted to let a pro-pedophilia group keep its tax break  —  Stringer said 1996 vote against yanking the tax-free status of the North American Man/Boy Love Association came amid fear that stripping groups of non-profit status would set a ‘dangerous precedent’

Your Labor Day Syria Reader, Part 2: William Polk  —  Many times I've mentioned the foreign-policy assessments of William R. Polk, at right, who first wrote for the Atlantic (about Iraq) during Dwight Eisenhower's administration, back in 1958, and served on the State Department's Policy Planning staff during the Kennedy years.