Robin Williams Lived Intensely  —  Robin Williams is dead at 63.  The comedian carried insecurity and self-doubt with contagious intensity.  He was so grandiose and wild that it would've irritated audiences to their cores had his eyes not betrayed an insatiable melancholy, imploring, please, I just want to be liked.

Exclusive: Obama Told Lawmakers Criticism of His Syria Policy is ‘Horsesh*t’  —  Hillary Clinton and Congressmen alike have called on Obama to arm Syria's rebels.  But the President fumed at lawmakers in a private meeting for suggesting he should've done more.

Eyewitness to Michael Brown shooting recounts his friend's death  —  FERGUSON, Missouri — The last moments of Michael Brown's life were filled with shock, fear and terror, says a witness who stood just feet away as a police officer shot and killed the unarmed teen.

Was an Accusation of Plagiarism Really a Political Attack?  —  There aren't too many worse things you can suggest about an author than that his or her work is plagiarized.  It's the book-world equivalent of spreading the word that a financial adviser has cooked the books or that the parish priest has designs on the altar boys.

Times Journalist Is Injured in Iraqi Helicopter Crash  —  ERBIL, Iraq — A helicopter carrying aid from Iraq's Kurdish autonomous government to stranded Yazidi refugees in the Sinjar mountains of northern Iraq crashed on Tuesday, killing the pilot and injuring other passengers …

Iran congratulates Iraq's PM pick, snubs Maliki AFP 1 hr ago  —  Tehran (AFP) - Iran officially ended its long-time allegiance to Iraq's sidelined Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki on Tuesday, swinging its support behind newly designated premier Haidar al-Abadi in a congratulatory message.

David Gregory's flight to nowhere  —  David Gregory wasn't supposed to host “Meet The Press” on Sunday.  He was on a planned vacation in Nantucket, where, the night before, he had hosted a special presentation of the Boston Pops, sponsored by Coastal Living and Real Simple.

Dana Milbank: Obama vacations as the world burns  —  President Obama must really be teed off.  —  Hillary Rodham Clinton, his once-loyal secretary of state and his likeliest successor, has gone rogue, criticizing his foreign policy as too timid.  —  Dana Milbank writes about political theater in the nation's capital.

Obama's standing among voters is hurting Democrats, poll finds  —  WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama is dragging down his party and hurting the prospects of fellow Democrats as they head into midterm elections that will determine who controls Congress, according to a new McClatchy-Marist poll.

More lost emails — When will Democrats have enough?  —  Twenty different Obama administration officials have lost or destroyed a portion of their email traffic.  Email traffic that was, in some cases, under subpoena or in others requested as part of a larger inquiry into the conduct of the executive branch.

Can the G.O.P. Ever Attract Black Voters?  —  STORRS, Conn. — ON the morning of March 6, 1989, students began to gather at a flagpole on the campus of Howard University.  Then they entered the administration building, chained doors shut, locked arms and announced that they would not leave until key demands were met.

The Atlantic Grows Single Copy Sales 28% in First Half of 2014, Hits Record Audience at TheAtlantic.com  —  Washington, D.C. (August 12, 2014)—Single-copy newsstand sales of The Atlantic jumped 28 percent for the first half of 2014, even as the industry as a whole reported a drop of 11.9 percent …