Countdown to shutdown begins  —  <p>Congress returns from its long summer vacation Tuesday to an all-out, three-week sprint to avert a government shutdown - and no apparent plan yet to quell the conservative rebellion over Planned Parenthood that has dramatically increased the odds …

Ted Cruz to Star in Government Shutdown, the Sequel  —  The sequel to Government Shutdown—the 2013 battle that caused the closing of national parks and museums, cost the U.S. economy $20 billion, and tanked the Republican Party's popularity—is slated for this fall and will feature the same star: Ted Cruz.

Kim Davis Is No Rosa Parks  —  <p>Kim Davis, the Kentucky county clerk sitting in jail for refusing to issue same-sex couples marriage licenses, appears content to play the martyr's role.  But contrary to her own, self-aggrandizing description, she's no Rosa Parks.

Ted Cruz to Visit Jailed Kentucky County Clerk Kim Davis … The 2016 presidential campaign is coming to the jailhouse steps in Kentucky Tuesday, as GOP contender Ted Cruz is travelling there to visit Kim Davis, the clerk who has been jailed for refusing to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

Hillary Clinton to Show More Humor and Heart, Aides Say  —  There will be no more flip jokes about her private email server.  There will be no rope lines to wall off crowds, which added to an impression of aloofness.  And there will be new efforts to bring spontaneity to a candidacy that sometimes seems wooden and overly cautious.