Navy Yard shooting: AR-15, back in the news — briefly  —  Mass shooting at D.C. Navy Yard  —  (CNN) — It has been called the most popular rifle in America, and it briefly returned to the spotlight after Monday's shooting at the Navy Yard: the AR-15.  —  A U.S. law enforcement official …

If House Republicans can't hold together, they have no leverage at all.  —  Perhaps the only war strategizing more inept than President Obama's on Syria are GOP plans for the budget hostilities this autumn.  Republicans are fracturing over tactics, and even over the nature of political reality …

Income, Poverty and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2012  —  The U.S. Census Bureau announced today that in 2012, real median household income and the poverty rate were not statistically different from the previous year, while the percentage of people without health insurance coverage decreased.

The 2013 Long-Term Budget Outlook  —  Between 2009 and 2012, the federal government recorded the largest budget deficits relative to the size of the economy since 1946, causing federal debt to soar.  Federal debt held by the public is now about 73 percent of the economy's annual output, or gross domestic product (GDP).

Elizabeth Warren bounces Larry Summers as stock continues to rise  —  It looks like Harvard women got the last laugh on Larry Summers.  —  When Summers was president of Harvard, he got in trouble for suggesting that women like Liz Warren might be innately deficient in science and math.

Exclusive: Embattled Syria ‘Expert’ Elizabeth O'Bagy Says She Made ‘Many Mistakes’  —  Her research on Syria influenced key lawmakers—but ‘Dr.’ Elizabeth O'Bagy wasn't who she said she was.  For the first time, she tells Josh Rogin that she was never even in a Ph.D. program.

Minimum wage, overtime protections extended to direct care workers by US Labor Department  —  Nearly two million home health and personal care workers to benefit  —  WASHINGTON — Fulfilling a promise by President Obama to ensure that direct care workers receive a fair day's pay for a fair day's work …

The Rational Choices of Crack Addicts  —  Long before he brought people into his laboratory at Columbia University to smoke crack cocaine, Carl Hart saw its effects firsthand.  Growing up in poverty, he watched relatives become crack addicts, living in squalor and stealing from their mothers.

They Have Made A Desert, And Called It Reform  —  It was, I suppose, predictable that Europe's austerians would claim vindication at the first hint of an upturn.  Still, Wolfgang Schäuble's piece in the FT, in which he claims complete vindication because Europe has had one, count it …

‘Dog Whisperer’ reps pit bulls on Hill  —  Some might find this interview for the dogs: Tuesday at 1 p.m., Rep. Tony Cardenas (D-Calif.) will be interviewed not by, say, Bob Woodward or David Gregory, but by Cesar Millan.  —  Yes, the “Dog Whisperer,” known for his show of the same name …

First on CNN: Perry to tour gun facility near Washington  —  Washington (CNN) - With guns back in the national spotlight after a mass shooting at Washington's Navy Yard, Texas Gov. Rick Perry will tour Maryland's largest gun manufacturer on Wednesday as part of his ongoing effort to lure businesses to his home state.

Costa Concordia pulled completely upright off Italy  —  Uprighted Costa Concordia is seen in waters just off Italy on Sept. 17, 2013 / CBS  —  The crippled Costa Concordia cruise ship was pulled completely upright early Tuesday after a complicated, 19-hour operation to wrench it from its side …