What Putin Has to Say to Americans About Syria  —  MOSCOW — RECENT events surrounding Syria have prompted me to speak directly to the American people and their political leaders.  It is important to do so at a time of insufficient communication between our societies.

Reflecting on the Colorado recalls  —  We did a poll last weekend in Colorado Senate District 3 and found that voters intended to recall Angela Giron by a 12 point margin, 54/42.  In a district that Barack Obama won by almost 20 points I figured there was no way that could be right and made a rare decision not to release the poll.

Exclusive: The Koch brothers' secret bank  —  An Arlington, Va.-based conservative group, whose existence until now was unknown to almost everyone in politics, raised and spent $250 million in 2012 to shape political and policy debate nationwide.  —  The group, Freedom Partners …

CNN Poll: Who would get blamed for government shutdown?  —  Washington (CNN) - With the clock ticking towards two crucial deadlines, a new national poll indicates congressional Republicans would shoulder more blame than President Barack Obama for a possible government shutdown.

WSJ op-ed writer Elizabeth O'Bagy fired for resume lie  —  The Syria researcher whose Wall Street Journal op-piece was cited by Secretary of State John Kerry and Sen. John McCain during congressional hearings about the use of force has been fired from the Institute for the Study of War for lying …

WATCH: College Students Chase David Petraeus and Shout at Him on First Day of Class  —  Recent video shows former CIA director David Petraeus being chased down a New York City street by student activists at the City University of New York.  —  As BusinessInsider reported …

NR v. Booker  —  Newark mayor Cory Booker has a very active imagination.  Eliana Johnson demonstrated that with her report on Booker's moving, highly detailed accounts of his involvement with “T-Bone,” a hard-luck drug dealer who Booker admitted to a friend is a fiction.

Sen. Corker: Obama ‘uncomfortable’ as Commander in Chief  —  Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) said President Obama is a “diminished” leader on Capitol Hill and “uncomfortable” being commander in chief.  —  Corker —the ranking Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee who helped write …

Exclusive: IAC And Daily Beast Editor Tina Brown To Part Ways  —  A source with direct knowledge of the situation says IAC does not plan to renew Tina Brown's contract when it expires in January.  A decision has not yet been made on the future of The Daily Beast.  —  Jason Kempin / FilmMagic

Companies lay off thousands, then demand immigration reform for new labor  —  BELTWAY CONFIDENTIAL CONGRESS IMMIGRATION LABOR JOHN BOEHNER NANCY PELOSI  —  On Tuesday, the chief human resources officers of more than 100 large corporations sent a letter to House Speaker John Boehner …

‘2 Million Bikers’ roar into D.C. to honor 9/11, protest Muslim rally  —  Thousands of bikers from around the country roared into the D.C. area on Wednesday in a show of support for Sept. 11 victims and in solidarity against a controversial Muslim rally on the Mall.

NSA shares raw intelligence with Israel  —  • Secret deal places no legal limits on use of data by Israelis  —  • Only official US government communications protected  —  • Agency insists it complies with rules governing privacy  —  • Read the NSA and Israel's ‘memorandum of understanding’

Reports: Terry Jones arrested with 2,998 kerosene-soaked Korans  —  Terry Jones at the Dove World Outreach Center in Gainesville, Fla., on Aug. 30, 2010.  On Wednesday, the 12th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks, Jones had planned to 2,998 burn copies of the Koran at a public park in Florida.

Syria Tells You Everything You Need to Know About Barack Obama  —  This security crisis put the president's best and worst attributes on display for the whole world to judge.  —  The good news is we're not at war.  The bad news is ... almost everything else about President Obama's handling of Syria …