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 …

Judge Orders Kim Davis Freed from Kentucky Jail  —  A federal judge ruled Tuesday that a Kentucky clerk who has refused to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples may leave prison — as long as she doesn't interfere with the licenses that her deputies have been granting since her incarceration last week.

Voters Show Little Sympathy for Jailed Clerk in Gay Marriage Spat  —  A federal judge has sent a Kentucky county clerk to jail for refusing to issue wedding licenses to gay couples despite a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in late June upholding the legality of same-sex marriage.

Case appealed  —  Kentucky clerk faces judge in marriage debate 04:01  —  On Monday, Davis' legal team appealed her case to the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals.  —  “We would like them to release her from jail and provide reasonable, sensible accommodation so she can do her job,” …

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.