House Republicans repudiate McCarthy comments on Benghazi probe  — McCarthy said Tuesday night that the GOP-led Congress had succeeded by bringing down Clinton's poll numbers because of the Benghazi probe  —  Washington (CNN)House Republicans on Wednesday sharply repudiated …

Clinton's email woes deepen as classified messages pile up  —  <p>The controversy over Hillary Clinton's use of personal email while she was secretary of state is showing no signs of easing, as the number of messages now deemed classified doubled with the State Department's latest release …

Putin wants to humiliate Obama with airstrikes in Syria  —  Barack Obama extends his hand to Vladimir Putin during their meeting at the United Nations General Assembly.  —  The first thing to understand about Vladimir Putin is that he's not content just to win.  He has to destroy his opponents, foreign or domestic.

First on CNN: Biden expected to skip first Democratic debate  —  Washington (CNN)Vice President Joe Biden has extended his window for deciding whether to jump into the 2016 presidential campaign, several Democrats say, allowing the contest to play out even longer before he answers …

Secret Service official wanted to embarrass congressman  —  An assistant director of the Secret Service urged that unflattering information the agency had in its files about a congressman ­critical of the service should be made public, according to a government watchdog report released Wednesday.

Crunch time for candidates  —  <p>Rand Paul has a place on the GOP debate stage — for now.</p><p>But the debate rules announced Wednesday by CNBC could end up spelling disaster for the Kentucky senator and several other high-profile candidates — including Gov. Chris Christie and former …

Kissinger Biography Is Great, Says Pal of Author and Kissinger in New York Times  —  This Sunday, the New York Times Book Review will publish a review of the first volume of Niall Ferguson's authorized biography of Henry Kissinger, Kissinger: The Idealist.  The reviewer is Andrew Roberts.

GOP grapples over scope of budget deal  —  Senate Republicans are debating how far to go in budget talks with President Obama and Democratic leaders that would set spending levels for the federal government and possibly raise the debt ceiling.  —  The big question is how far Senate Majority …

Cougar sightings rattle residents  —  Big cats seen in Lucerne Valley, Hesperia

Why Pope Francis' Meeting With Kim Davis Is Such a Disaster  —  I woke up this morning to reports that during his recent U.S. visit, Pope Francis met with Kim Davis, a Kentucky county clerk best known for refusing to issue lawful marriage licenses, interfering with the ability of her deputies …

State to close 5 parks, cut back services at driver license offices  —  State parks and driver license offices were the first casualties announced because of the reduced state budget, which goes into effect Thursday.  —  The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency announced today that driver license examiners …

Trump: If I win, I'll send Syrian refugees back  —  Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump says if he takes the White House, he will send back Syrian refugees coming to the U.S.  —  “I'm putting the people on notice that are coming here from Syria as part of this mass migration,” he told an audience in Keene, N.H.

A Chief Justice Without a Friend  —  Lest anyone suppose that the beating Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. is taking from Republican candidates might cause liberals to enfold him in a comforting embrace, the current issue of The Nation puts that thought to rest.

Improving Mobile Profiles  —  People visit Facebook profiles more than four billion times per day, and we're continually looking for ways to make profiles the best place for people to curate their online identities and connect with others.  —  Today, we're unveiling some new, mobile-friendly features for Facebook profiles.