Welcome to the Republican Party's make-believe fight to defund Obamacare.  —  If you're in a hurry, and you can only memorize one fact about the coming congressional debt and budget war, try this: There will be no “defunding of Obamacare.”  It's impossible for Republicans to admit it …

Spitting on Their Graves: Democrats Leave Benghazi Hearing Before Testimony From Families of Victims  —  During the second portion of a House Oversight and Government Reform hearing about Benghazi Thursday on Capitol Hill, the majority of Democrats on the Committee left the room and refused …

EXCLUSIVE: Two decades after her affair with Bill Clinton, Gennifer Flowers reveals they'd be together now if it wasn't for Chelsea and how former president confided in her that Hillary was bisexual  — She bitterly regrets rejecting him when he last begged to see her and says he's the ‘love of her life’

Blair's fight to stop Brown's coup  —  Exclusive: Like a script for The Thick of It - the messages that show how the PM's team fought in vain to prevent Brown's coup  —  Read the leaked emails detailing the battle in Downing Street  —  Downing Street emails detailing the rearguard battle …

The real Navy Yard scandal  —  In the liberal remake of “Casablanca,” the police captain comes upon the scene of the shooting and orders his men to “round up the usual weapons.”  —  It's always the weapon and never the shooter.  Twelve people are murdered in a rampage at the Washington Navy Yard …

Warming lull haunts authors of key climate report  —  STOCKHOLM (AP) — Scientists working on a landmark U.N. report on climate change are struggling to explain why global warming appears to have slowed down in the past 15 years even though greenhouse gas emissions keep rising.

Why Iran seeks constructive engagement  —  Hassan Rouhani is president of Iran.  —  Three months ago, my platform of “prudence and hope” gained a broad, popular mandate.  Iranians embraced my approach to domestic and international affairs because they saw it as long overdue.

Pope Says Church Is ‘Obsessed’ With Gays, Abortion and Birth Control  —  Six months into his papacy, Pope Francis sent shock waves through the Roman Catholic church on Thursday with the publication of his remarks that the church had grown “obsessed” with abortion, gay marriage and contraception …

Rand Paul says recent GOP wins a roadmap for party's future  —  CHANTILLY, Va. — Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., on Thursday said Republicans have been “winning” recent Washington battles and laid out a roadmap  —  for how the party can use the victories to appeal to key voting blocks that fueled President Barack Obama's 2012 re-election.

Justice Dept. watchdog never probed judges' NSA concerns  —  In response to a FOIA request from USA TODAY, the Justice Department said its ethics office never looked into complaints from two federal judges that they had been misled about NSA surveillance.  —  CONNECT

Pricing Glitch Afflicts Rollout of Online Health Exchanges  —  Less than two weeks before the launch of insurance marketplaces created by the federal health overhaul, the government's software can't reliably determine how much people need to pay for coverage, according to insurance executives and people familiar with the program.

GOP plans ‘one man, one woman’ law in wake of same-sex marriage ruling  —  A group of Republicans in the House is set to unveil a proposal aimed at protecting conservative groups in the wake of the Supreme Court decision on same-sex marriage.  —  Rep. Raul Labrador (R-Idaho) …

DeLay thanks God after aquittal for money laundering  —  HOUSTON - Former House Majority Leader Tom Delay says he thanks God for his acquittal on money laundering charges, calling the prosecution, “an outrageous criminalization of politics.”  —  Lunching in the Capitol with other Texas Republicans Thursday …

AllThingsD parting ways with Dow Jones  —  AllThingsD and The Wall Street Journal call it quits.  —  FORTUNE — The team behind influential tech site AllThingsD is severing ties with founding owner Dow Jones, a subsidiary of News Corp. (NWS).  A formal statement is expected later today.

The Crazy Party  —  Early this year, Bobby Jindal, the governor of Louisiana, made headlines by telling his fellow Republicans that they needed to stop being the “stupid party.”  Unfortunately, Mr. Jindal failed to offer any constructive suggestions about how they might do that.

Colorado House Republicans Unanimously Support Flood Relief, Unanimously Opposed Sandy Aid  —  As historic floods of “biblical” proportions continue to ravage Colorado, President Obama signed an emergency declaration on Sunday — a move that was encouraged by a bipartisan letter last week …