In Raid to Save Foley and Other Hostages, U.S. Found None  —  EDGARTOWN, Mass. — A secret nighttime military mission authorized by President Obama to rescue Americans held captive in Syria failed early this summer when a team of two dozen Delta Force commandos raided an oil refinery …

Missouri cop was badly beaten before shooting Michael Brown, says source  —  Darren Wilson, the Ferguson, Mo., police officer whose fatal shooting of Michael Brown touched off more than a week of demonstrations, suffered severe facial injuries, including an orbital (eye socket) fracture …

Councilman under fire for posting what some call ‘racist photos’ on Facebook … POPLAR BLUFF, MO (KFVS) -  —  A Poplar Bluff city councilman is under fire for posting what some are calling racist photos of President Obama on his Facebook page.  —  The issue was brought up at Monday night's city council meeting.

‘SNL’ Political Secrets Revealed: Hillary's “Entitlement,” the Sketch Obama Killed and the Show's “Karl Rove”  —  In an exclusive book excerpt, Tina Fey, Amy Poehler and even Sarah Palin recount the inner battle between the left and right … Lorne Michaels, executive producer …

Contempt [Updated]  —  In recent months, Barack Obama has crossed an important threshold.  He has always shown contempt for his opponents; now he shows contempt for his supporters.  He has quit pretending to be a leader, and more or less quit pretending to be a president.

St. Louis Police Release Video, Calls From City Shooting  —  On Tuesday, two officers from the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department shot and killed Kajieme Powell, who was 25 years old.  —  Powell was suspected of shoplifting energy drinks and donuts from a convenience store.

“No One Treats African-Americans Worse Than We Treat Each Other”  —  The troubling self-flagellation in Ferguson's black community  —  Last Thursday, the rapper Nelly went on the air of his hometown hip-hop radio station, St. Louis's Hot 104.1, to announce a college scholarship fund …

From a vulnerable red state Democrat, a strong pro-Obamacare ad  —  One of the key questions of this cycle has been: As the potency of anti-Obamacare attacks fading as enrollment mounts and roll-out problems are forgotten, will we reach a point where vulnerable Democrats in red state territory …

In first, Hamas official takes credit for kidnap and murder of Israeli teens  —  Salah al-Aruri praises “heroic action” of Kassam Brigades; Hamas had previously denied kidnapping Fraenkel, Shaer and Yifrah.  —  A senior Hamas official admitted for the first time on Wednesday …

Holder tells Ferguson students he was a victim of racial profiling  —  FERUGUSON, Mo. — Attorney General Eric Holder on Wednesday told a group of black college students here that he had been a victim of racial profiling.  —  Holder, who is in Ferguson as part of the Justice Department's investigation …

Supreme Court blocks Virginia same-sex marriages  —  The U.S. Supreme Court has blocked same-sex marriage from taking place this week in Virginia.  (Washington Blade file photo by Michael Key)  —  The U.S. Supreme Court agreed to a stay Wednesday on a federal appeals court's ruling …

McConnell's plan to shut down Obama  —  HENDERSON, Ky. — Mitch McConnell has a game plan to confront President Barack Obama with a stark choice next year: Accept bills reining in the administration's policies or veto them and risk a government shutdown.  —  In an extensive interview here …

Joe The Plumber: Hold A Job Fair In Ferguson, Protestors Will ‘Scatter Like Cockroaches’  —  Samuel Wurzelbacher, better known as “Joe the Plumber,” took to Facebook on Wednesday to post his thoughts about the ongoing conflict in Ferguson, Mo. and compared the protestors to “cockroaches.”

Missouri Highway Patrol Capt. Ron Johnson is not a gang member.  He's just a Kappa.  —  Today in Ferguson, Mo., news, The Washington Post takes on the assertion that Missouri Highway Patrol Captain Ron Johnson has been photographed flashing gang signs with members of the community.  —  He has not.