Obama urges unity on eve of 9/11 anniversary

US President Barack Obama has urged Americans to remain united in the face of terrorist attacks, in a barely-veiled jab at Republican White House nominee Donald Trump 15 years after 9/11. "In the face of terrorism, how we respond matters," Mr Obama said in his weekly radio and online address, delivered on the eve of the 15th anniversary of the September 11 terror attacks in the United States.

House conservatives serve notice to Ryan a ” and Clinton

House conservatives have wasted no time since returning from their summer recess showing just how tough they can make life for Speaker Paul Ryan - and for Democrat Hillary Clinton if she becomes president. Conservatives look determined to force a vote in coming days to impeach the head of the IRS despite deep misgivings among other Republicans about such a pre-election move.

Lavrov, Kerry express concern after latest North Korea nuclear test

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry expressed concern after North Korea conducted its fifth nuclear test on Friday. Lavrov told reporters while meeting Kerry in Geneva to discuss Syria peace efforts that a message must be sent "very strongly" on implementing U.N. resolutions on North Korea.

House conservatives serve notice to Ryan – and Clinton

House conservatives have wasted no time since returning from their summer recess showing just how tough they can make life for Speaker Paul Ryan - and for Democrat Hillary Clinton if she becomes president. Conservatives look determined to force a vote in coming days to impeach the head of the IRS despite deep misgivings among other Republicans about such a pre-election move.

Stone-walling of Garland nomination dereliction of duty

As President Barack Obama's second and final term winds down, commentators consider each decision, each foreign trip and each utterance, along with the unfolding presidential campaign, in terms of what it all means in terms of his legacy. The Senate Republican leadership's legacy, as the congressional session winds down, is already clear.

Matt Lauer’s rough night increases pressure on debate moderators

Traffic cop or truth detector? The rough reception given Matt Lauer for his back-to-back interviews with Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump laid bare a disagreement over whether journalists who moderate presidential debates should call candidates out for telling lies. Online critics hit Lauer for spending too much time on Clinton's email server and trying to cut her answers short during Wednesday's NBC forum on national security issues.

Libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johnson asks – What is Aleppo?’

Libertarian Party presidential candidate Gary Johnson framed an embarrassing lapse on foreign affairs as simple human error on Thursday after he responded to a question about a flashpoint in the Syrian civil war by asking, "What is Aleppo?" The gaffe came during an MSNBC interview about the continuing battle for Syria's biggest city, Aleppo, which has been divided for years into government and rebel sectors and has been in the news daily in recent weeks. The embarrassing exchange followed a forum on Wednesday night in which Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton and Republican rival Donald Trump sought to showcase their national security and defense credentials.

Russia is sowing seeds of global instability, says US defence chief Ash Carter

US Defence Secretary Ash Carter has accused Russia of sowing seeds of global instability and questioned whether Moscow genuinely wants a viable cease-fire in Syria. In a hard-hitting speech at Britain's Oxford University on Wednesday, Carter emphasised deep scepticism about Russian intentions in Syria, even as US Secretary of State John Kerry prepared to fly to Geneva for more talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

Dear John McCain, your Spanish-speaking constituents aren’t dumb. The white ones aren’t, either

Donald Trump is the Republican nominee, which is frightening.We must make sure his hateful rhetoric does not even come close... Donald Trump has gone too far with his attacks on Gold Star parents Khizr and Ghazala Khan, whose son Army Capt. Humayun Khan... A Donald Trump White House would be a disaster, and this goes way beyond any ideological difference.

The Latest: Lavrov, Kerry to meet again on Syria

Starbucks is venturing into the world of "content creation" with stories it says will help balance the "cynicism" fueling media coverage of the presidential election. Starbucks wants to tell stories about inspiring Americans, marking the coffee chain's latest push to deepen its relationship with customers and cast itself as a positive force on social issues.

CNN poll shows Trump inching ahead of Clinton

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks at the American Legion Convention in Cincinnati, Ohio, September 1, 2016. A CNN poll published Tuesday gave Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump a two-point lead over his Democrat rival Hillary Clinton, although most voters still think Clinton will win the race to the White House.

The Latest: Clinton blasts Trump for comments on China

Hillary Clinton is blasting Donald Trump for saying that he would have left a G-20 summit in China after a logistical flap over the staircase that President Barack Obama used to depart Air Force One. Clinton told reporters aboard her campaign plane en route to Florida that Trump's views offer "yet another strong piece of evidence as to why he should never be anywhere near the White House."

Trump-Bondi creeps into the New York Times. Barely.

Donald Trump is the Republican nominee, which is frightening.We must make sure his hateful rhetoric does not even come close... Donald Trump has gone too far with his attacks on Gold Star parents Khizr and Ghazala Khan, whose son Army Capt. Humayun Khan... A Donald Trump White House would be a disaster, and this goes way beyond any ideological difference.

US probing potential covert Russian plan to disrupt November elections

Washington: US intelligence and law enforcement agencies are probing what they see as a broad covert Russian operation in the United States to sow public distrust in the upcoming presidential election and in US political institutions, intelligence and congressional officials said. The FBI is investigating how thousands of Democratic National Committee emails were hacked, a breach that Hillary Clinton's campaign maintains was committed by Russia to benefit Donald Trump.

Juan Williams: GOP leaders must pick a poison on shutdown

When the House and Senate get back to work tomorrow, the GOP majorities on both sides of Capitol Hill will be up against a September 30 deadline to pass a spending bill to keep the federal government open. That means funding the military, keeping Social Security checks going out and assuring global investors that the world's leading economic power is not about to grind to a halt.