Obama team thought Iran would not tolerate Bashar Assad's use of WMDs  —  BELTWAY CONFIDENTIAL BARACK OBAMA SYRIA CHEMICAL WEAPONS BASHAR ASSAD  —  Iran is enduring economic sanctions designed to slow the country's nuclear weapons program, but President Obama's team thought …

Ed Asner Explains Hollywood Silence on Obama, Syria: They 'Don't Want to Feel Anti-Black'  —  Don't look for Iraq War-style protests, says the liberal activist, who — like “M*A*S*H” star Mike Farrell — opposes military action.  —  In 2003, ahead of a U.S. attack on Iraq …

14 Principled Anti-War Celebrities We Fear May Have Been Kidnapped  —  Our government is yet again marching us towards a war of choice in the Middle East and our non-partisan, peace-loving celebrities have gone missing since late 2008.  We fear the worst.  —  Sheryl Crow  —  LAST KNOWN PRE-2009 COMMUNICATION:

Alimony for Your Eggs  —  THE end of a marriage is always sad, but divorce can be particularly devastating for a woman who still wants children but whose fertility is on the decline.  Her ex may have many years left to start a new family of his own, but by the time she meets a new partner, it may be too late.

In Conversation: Michael Bloomberg  —  The mayor has harsh words for Bill de Blasio, rebuts the charge that he's in the tank for the wealthy, questions just how poor the poor really are, and considers (for the first time) what he might like named after him.  —  On August 6, I meet Mayor Bloomberg …

Why Janet Yellen, Not Larry Summers, Should Lead the Fed  —  The controversy over the choice of the next head of the Federal Reserve has become unusually heated.  The country is fortunate to have an enormously qualified candidate: the Fed's current vice chairwoman, Janet L. Yellen.

Reid faces double-digit defections on Syria strike measure (video)  —  Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) is bracing for double-digit defections in the Democratic caucus on the resolution authorizing military strikes on Syria, which will get a vote this coming week.

Obama ‘Imploding’ in the House  —  I was just talking to a Capitol Hill source who thinks there are maybe two dozen Republican votes for the authorization, no more — and there probably won't be more.  It's hard to know because the situation is fluid, and the vote is so sensitive …

Obama makes his case for action in Syria  —  President Obama outlined his case for military action in Syria in his weekly address Saturday ahead of a major speech he will deliver on Syria next week.  —  Obama said in the address that Syria is a serious threat to U.S. national security …

“Did the White House Help Plan the Syrian Chemical Attack?”  —  Yossef Bodansky's sources reveal that on August 13 and 14, there was a high-level meeting in Turkey that included the al-Qaeda Syrian rebels, along with U.S., Turkish, and Qatari officials, in which the Obama regime planned …

John McCain: ‘Maybe We Should Legalize’ Marijuana  —  Tim Steller, a columnist for the Arizona Daily Star, reported over Twitter from a town hall in Tucson, Ariz. that McCain cited the “will of the people” in expressing an openness to legalization: … The Justice Department announced …

On Syria Vote, Trust, but Verify  —  WASHINGTON — THE documentary record regarding an attack on Syria consists of just two papers: a four-page unclassified summary and a 12-page classified summary.  The first enumerates only the evidence in favor of an attack.

Google encrypts data amid backlash against NSA spying  —  Google is racing to encrypt the torrents of information that flow among its data centers around the world in a bid to thwart snooping by the NSA and the intelligence agencies of foreign governments, company officials said Friday.

August jobs report: Hiring continues as unemployment falls  —  Hiring continued at a slow pace in August, and the unemployment rate fell as more Americans dropped out of the labor force.  —  The U.S. economy added 169,000 jobs in August, the Department of Labor said Friday.

Wall Street Journal Op-Ed Draws Scrutiny Over Writer's Ties To Syrian Rebel Advocacy Group  —  NEW YORK — A Wall Street Journal op-ed cited this week by both Secretary of State John Kerry and Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) has drawn scrutiny for not disclosing writer Elizabeth O'Bagy's ties to a Syrian rebel advocacy group.