The image John Kerry WON'T want you to see: U.S. Secretary of State pictured dining with Assad and his wife at Damascus restaurant before war broke out in Syria  —  This astonishing photograph shows U.S Secretary of State John Kerry having a cosy and intimate dinner with Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad.

Obama To Meet With LGBT Activists While In Russia  —  After canceling a bilateral summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin while there for the G20 summit, Obama may anger the Kremlin further by meeting with Russian activists — including from LGBT groups.  —  Jason Reed / Reuters

Syrian Electronic Army Hacks Marines Website  —  A collection of pro-Syrian government hackers apparently defaced a Marine Corps recruitment website Monday.  —  The Syrian Electronic Army, which has hacked a series of websites, posted a letter on the Marines.com website arguing the Syrian government is “fighting a vile common enemy.”

Rand Paul to campaign for Steve Lonegan  —  Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul will visit his sometime rival Chris Christie's home state of New Jersey next week to campaign for Republican Senate candidate Steve Lonegan, POLITICO has learned.  —  Paul, who sparred sharply with Christie this summer …

Love for Labor Lost  —  It wasn't always about the hot dogs.  Originally, believe it or not, Labor Day actually had something to do with showing respect for labor.  —  Here's how it happened: In 1894 Pullman workers, facing wage cuts in the wake of a financial crisis, went on strike …

CITING OBAMACARE, 40,000 LONGSHOREMEN QUIT THE AFL-CIO  —  In what is being reported as a surprise move, the 40,000 members of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) announced that they have formally ended their association with the AFL-CIO, one of the nation's largest private sector unions.

CIA finds 1 in 5 flagged job applicants hail from Hamas, Hezbollah, al Qaeda  —  An estimated one-fifth of a subset of all applicants for Central Intelligence Agency positions had significant ties to the terror groups Hamas, Hezbollah and al Qaeda, a newly released document from the Edward Snowden collection revealed Monday.

Rangel: 'Of course it's embarrassing'  —  Rep. Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.) on Monday said “of course it's embarrassing” that President Obama warned Syria of a red line for using chemical weapons but then didn't move forward immediately with a military strike.  —  Rangel, who opposes a military strike …

Assad: If The West Attacks, ‘Risk Of A Regional War Exists’  —  Syrian President Bashar al-Assad dismissed evidence the United States and France said shows his regime used chemical weapons on Syrian civilians, warning that any planned military response could result in a “regional war.”

Father who beat to death man he caught raping his five-year-old daughter will NOT face charges because of Texas state laws on deadly force  — A young father who beat his daughter's rapist to death after walking in on the assault will not face charges according to the states grand jury

RIP Frederik Pohl, the man who transformed science fiction  —  One of the leading lights of the science fiction world, editor and author Frederik Pohl, passed away this weekend after a career that defined the genre for decades.  —  His granddaughter Emily Pohl Weary confirmed the news:

Labor union frustration boils over with president on ObamaCare  —  Unions are frustrated the Obama administration hasn't responded to their calls for changes to ObamaCare.  —  Labor has watched with growing annoyance as the White House has backed ObamaCare changes in response to concerns …

Obama and Congress: ‘Rolling the dice’  —  The stakes of Syria vote couldn't be higher for President Barack Obama: If Congress doesn't back him up, his already troubled second term would be dealt another blow in the twin arenas of domestic and foreign politics.