Attorney: New audio reveals pause in gunfire when Michael Brown was shot  —  (CNN) — Could a newly released audio provide more clues on what led up to Michael Brown's shooting death?  —  The FBI has questioned a man who says he recorded audio of gunfire at the time Brown was shot …

Sofia Vergara blasts critics of ‘sexist’ Emmy pedestal  —  Backstage at the Primetime Emmys, Sofia Vergara blasted critics who called her pedestal gag sexist.  —  During the 66th annual awards, the Modern Family actress stepped onto on a slowly rotating pedestal, showing off her curves …

This One Congressional Race Epitomizes the GOP's Increasing Extremism  —  There's been so much talk of late about the transformation of the Republican Party over the course of the last few decades that it is easy to become inured to reports of ideologically extreme new arrivals in the party's ranks.

Exclusive: American Extremist Killed Fighting for ISIS Terrorists  —  Douglas McAuthur McCain, 33, of San Diego, was killed over the weekend while fighting for ISIS, according to the Free Syrian Army.

ISIS Demands $6.6M Ransom for 26-Year-Old American Woman … A third American hostage held by ISIS has been identified as a 26-year-old American woman who was kidnapped a year ago while doing humanitarian relief work in Syria.  The terror group is demanding $6.6 million and the release …

Paul Ryan's List of 6 Favorite Books Has One Huge Omission  —  World's Most Honest Man suffers strange memory loss.  —  Shares  —  Paul Ryan was asked by the Week to list his six favorite books about economics and democracy.  The request was a bit mischievous, as Ryan has tried …

Obama Addresses Vets in Trip Laden With Politics  —  Three months after a veterans' health care scandal rocked his administration, President Barack Obama is taking executive action to improve the mental well-being of veterans.  The president was to announce his initiatives during an appearance …

Steve Schmidt joins Rick Perry's legal team  —  Republican strategist and former John McCain consultant Steve Schmidt has joined the team helping Texas Gov. Rick Perry with the strategy around his indictment, POLITICO has learned.  —  Schmidt is the latest addition to a team that Perry has been expanding with legal hands.

Governor Cuomo's Failure on Ethics Reform Hinders an Endorsement  —  More than four years ago, while announcing his campaign for governor of New York, Andrew Cuomo stood in front of the Tweed Courthouse in downtown Manhattan and said Albany's antics “could make Boss Tweed blush.”

One in six French people say they support ISIS  —  TWEET SHARE +1 LINKEDIN EMAIL PRINT  —  Two polls released this week both ask a question that you would hope wouldn't need asking: how many people support the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS)?  Unfortunately, in all four countries surveyed …

Republicans Open Up Wider ‘Expectations Gap’ Ahead of Midterms  —  With just over two months before the midterm elections, Republican voters are widening the “expectations gap” with the Democrats.  About six-in-ten (61%) Republican and GOP-leaning registered voters think their party …

Will there be a GOP wave or wipeout in the Senate?  —  Will there be a GOP wave in the Senate—or a wipeout?  —  So where's the wave?  This is President Obama's sixth-year-itch election.  The map of states with contested Senate seats could hardly be better from the Republicans' vantage point.

With Burger King in Talks to Buy Tim Hortons, Brown Urges Congressional Action to Address Inversions; Calls for Creation of Global Minimum Tax  —  WASHINGTON, DC - As Burger King begins talks to purchase Canadian-based Tim Hortons, U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) - a member of the Senate Finance Committee …

Social Media and the ‘Spiral of Silence’  —  Summary of Findings  —  A major insight into human behavior from pre-internet era studies of communication is the tendency of people not to speak up about policy issues in public—or among their family, friends, and work colleagues …

Cornel West and the Insular World of the Obama-Hating Left  —  A revealing interview.  —  Shares  —  The political subculture of anti-Obama leftists has entered a phase by this point in the Obama presidency where the truth of its worldview is so well-established to its own adherents that it requires no exposition.

The Madness of 2008  —  A nation became unhinged by trivialities like “hope and change.”  It has now awakened.  —  America is suddenly angry at the laxity, incompetence, and polarizing politics of the Obama administration, the bad optics of the president putting about in his bright golf clothes while the world burns.

IRS Shocker: Filing Reveals Lerner Blackberry Destroyed  —  The device was wiped AFTER Congressional inquiry began  —  The IRS filing in federal Judge Emmet Sullivan's court reveals shocking new information.  The IRS destroyed Lerner's Blackberry AFTER it knew her computer had crashed …

The Monkey in the Room  —  As shown in the pictures below, the monkey is the second most photographed subject in H-232, aside from Speaker Boehner himself.  It all started in the fall of 2011, when Speaker Boehner joked in an interview that some days he felt like a windup toy because his jam-packed scheduled kept him so busy.

McDonnell Living With Priest Who Pleaded Guilty To Sex Crime  —  Virginia ex-Gov. Bob McDonnell (R) revealed during testimony last week that he moved out of his family home and in with his parish priest the week before his federal corruption trial began.  —  McDonnell explained on the stand …

Lost in America  —  More and more I'm convinced that America right now isn't a country dealing with a mere dip in its mood and might.  It's a country surrendering to a new identity and era, in which optimism is quaint and the frontier anything but endless.  —  There's a feeling of helplessness …