The Syria Solution: Obama Got Played by Putin and Assad  —  This, apparently, is how diplomacy happens these days: Someone makes an off-hand remark at a press conference and triggers an international chain reaction that turns an already chaotic and complex situation completely on its head …

‘A Grand Betrayal’: Conservatives Slam GOP's Gambit On Defunding Obamacare  —  The initial reviews from conservatives Tuesday are in and they're staunchly negative.  The proposed House Republican plan to force the Senate to vote on defunding Obamacare — while removing the threat …

McConnell to Vote ‘No’  —  In remarks this morning on the floor, Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.) will announce that he's voting against on the Syria resolution.  National Review has obtained the text of his remarks (see below).  In the speech, McConnell says that even though he's voting “no,” he's not an isolationist.

Kerry's claim that he opposed Bush's invasion of Iraq  —  “You know, Senator Chuck Hagel, when he was senator, Senator Chuck Hagel, now secretary of defense, and when I was a senator, we opposed the president's decision to go into Iraq, but we know full well how that evidence was used to persuade …

Bride: I pushed my husband off cliff  —  (CNN) — A woman in Montana is accused of pushing her husband off a cliff after an argument.  The pair had been married for just more than a week.  —  Jordan Linn Graham made an initial appearance in court Monday to face a charge of second-degree murder.

Business Insider CTO Forced to Resign Following Twitter Firestorm [Updated]  —  Pax Dickinson has been forced to resign as chief technology officer at Business Insider following an online firestorm over his long history of controversial tweets, according to a source who has been in contact with him.

A Climate Alarm, Too Muted for Some  —  This month, the world will get a new report from a United Nations panel about the science of climate change.  Scientists will soon meet in Stockholm to put the finishing touches on the document, and behind the scenes, two big fights are brewing.

The United States of weakness  —  Red lines that may or may not be real, retaliatory strikes that may or may not be hours from launch, congressional debates that may or may not be necessary for the president to do what he wants—whatever that happens to be this hour.

Fox News host: Atheists 'don't have to live here'  —  (CNN) - Fox News pundit Dana Perino said she's “tired” of atheists attempting to remove the phrase “under God” from the Pledge of Allegiance, adding, “if these people really don't like it, they don't have to live here.”

Testicle size ‘link to father role’  —  A link between the size of a father's testicles and how active he is in bringing up his children has been suggested by scientists.  —  Researchers at Emory University, US, said those with smaller testicles were more likely to be involved with nappy changing, feeding and bath time.

Bus rider's face smashed in during ‘hate attack’  —  An attacker pummeled a bus passenger so hard he smashed the bones in his face after calling the victim a “cracker” in Manhattan - marking the second time in two days that people appeared to be randomly targeted in racial tirades against white people, authorities said.

A True Liberal Mayor At Last?  —  New York City is on the verge of electing its first progressive mayor in a generation.  —  In most polls, Public Advocate Bill de Blasio is well over the 40 percent threshold required to avoid a runoff in the Democratic Primary.

Syria: Government Likely Culprit in Chemical Attack  —  New Evidence based on Rocket Analysis, Witness Accounts  —  (New York) - Available evidence strongly suggests that Syrian government forces were responsible for chemical weapons attacks on two Damascus suburbs on August 21, 2013.