PLATON  —  I am staying at the Hotel Metropol, a whimsical sand-colored monument to pre-revolutionary art nouveau.  Built during the time of Czar Nicholas II, it later became the Second House of the Soviets after the Bolsheviks took over in 1917.  In the restaurant, Lenin would harangue …

Robin Williams and the Pop Culture Media  —  RUSH: This is Mark in Des Plaines, Illinois.  Welcome to the program.  Hi.  —  CALLER: Hi, Rush.  You are such a great guy.  I have a question for you about the news about Robin Williams —  RUSH: Before you get to that.

Who rules America?  —  A shattering new study by two political science professors has found that ordinary Americans have virtually no impact whatsoever on the making of national policy in our country.  The analysts found that rich individuals and business-controlled interest groups largely shape policy outcomes in the United States.

It's the Loyalty, Stupid  —  WASHINGTON — I talked to Robin Williams once, about breasts.  —  In 1993, when he played a prim British nanny in “Mrs. Doubtfire,” I went to interview him at his Pacific Heights house.  —  “It's great to be this blue-mouthed old lady hitting on somebody,” …

Jesse Jackson: There's a ‘Ferguson’ near you  —  Look around you.  The absence of noise isn't the presence of justice.  —  Michael Brown, an unarmed 18-year-old African American male in suburban Ferguson, Missouri, who had just graduated from high school and planned to start college …

Lauren Bacall Dies at 89; in a Bygone Hollywood, She Purred Every Word  —  Lauren Bacall, the actress whose provocative glamour elevated her to stardom in Hollywood's golden age and whose lasting mystique put her on a plateau in American culture that few stars reach, died on Tuesday in New York.

Hillary Clinton not comfortable in her own skin  —  Hillary Clinton walks through a paneled doorway and onto the set of “The Colbert Report.”  A grin splits her face.  She puts her arms out and rocks them up and down as if she were a mechanical toy.  —  Stephen Colbert is stunned.  Shocked.

Obama and Clinton: The rivalry returns  —  A split between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama was inevitable.  Now that they've made peace, keeping it will be the challenge.  —  The Obama and Clinton camps tried to mend their differences Tuesday, but certain dynamics won't be as easy to overcome …

A charged-up Rick Perry after his Iowa State Fair speech: 'I'm awesome'  —  Rick Perry admits he's preparing to possibly run for president, even if Iowans haven't forgotten his forgetfulness.  —  And at the Iowa State Fair today, the Texas governor couldn't walk 10 feet without someone gunning for his attention.

Childhood Lead Exposure Causes a Lot More Than Just a Rise in Violent Crime  —  Jessica Wolpaw Reyes has a new paper out that investigates the link between childhood lead exposure—mostly via tailpipe emissions of leaded gasoline—and violent crime.  Unsurprisingly, since her previous research …

Defense Secretary: ‘The World is Exploding All Over’  —  Fresh off a trip to India and Australia, Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel addressed a group of Marines in San Diego, California Tuesday, and may have delivered a line that will show up in Republican campaign ads this election cycle.

Hollywood tries to save Senate for Dems  —  Hollywood is pouring money into the midterm elections, with A-listers such as Leonardo DiCaprio, Gwyneth Paltrow, Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Barbra Streisand all coughing up blockbuster bucks.  —  The donations are largely aimed at keeping the Senate in Democratic hands.

Exclusive: Sen. Mary Landrieu's campaign flight was charged to taxpayers  —  (CNN) — Sen. Mary Landrieu made headlines last November when she hitched a ride home on Air Force One with President Obama, but chose not to attend his event in New Orleans.  Another lesser-known flight Landrieu took …

Alaska Election Offers Two Chances to Vote for Dan Sullivan  —  Candidates in Primary Have Same Name, Creating Confusion at Ballot  —  There are two Dan Sullivans running for political office in Alaska this year, and that is causing confusion among voters.

Photos of Rand Paul at party in the Hamptons catch Iowans' attention  —  The Republican potential presidential candidate said he had to miss a Christian conservative event in Iowa because of a family commitment  —  An Iowa evangelical Christian leader stood on stage and told the 1,200 conservatives …