* Key rebel groups in Syria abandon the opposition’s political leaders, and sign up with an affiliate of Al Qaeda. * Stories from survivors of the Westgate mall attack in Nairobi. * FBI releases footage of the Navy Yard shooter, photos of his weapon, timeline of the attack. * Pussy Riot protester explains
* A complete history of U.S. government shutdowns and why they happened. * Powerful earthquake in Pakistan kills 45 and causes a new island to rise in the Arabian sea. * Beirut activists fight to preserve 2,000-year-old Roman hippodrome after government approves replacing it with luxury homes. * Aerial photographs
* Obama dedicates the rest of his term to better relations with Iran and a solution for Palestinians. * "Republicans Warn Iranian President Against Shaking Obama's Hand." * Among the victims of the siege at the Westgate mall is the credibility of Kenyan authorities. * So far, metadata has mostly
* One of the final poems of Kofi Awoonor, who died in the Kenyan mall attack. * Protecting his mother and sister during the Nairobi attack, a four-year-old shamed a gunman into sparing them. * Don't blame America's mass shootings on movies and video games—violence as
* Public defender says criminal statutes would be instantly overhauled if middle-class Americans were policed like working-class people. * Cruise ships wreck havoc on Venice's visitors and vistas. * California passes first law against "revenge porn," but stigma still blames women for taking nude photos of themselves.
* The U.S government seems to be taking the terrorist Twitter account seriously. * Why you should visit Iran. * Considering whether America's gun problem warrants outside intervention—it's so bad it could be considered a humanitarian crisis. * Neuroscience looks beyond pharma, devises ways we can alter neural
* Survival stories from the Nairobi mall attack. * Essential: A backgrounder on al-Shabab's war with Kenya. * Death toll in Pakistani church bombing climbs to 78; Taliban says violence will continue until U.S. drone attacks end. * A month-by-month timeline of U.S.-attributed civilian deaths in
* Inside an Afghanistan juvenile center for young militants caught attempting suicide attacks. * Slideshow: American teenagers chronicle their hometowns. * About 150 Americans die a year by accidentally taking too much acetaminophen. * The Russian gunfight over Kant is only the latest in a series of arguments over the philosopher. * See also: "
* A district-by-district breakdown of which Americans would have lost benefits had the anti-food stamp bill passed in 2011. * Panera CEO tries to live on a $4.50 daily budget for food, discovers he cannot afford Panera. * Puerto Rico's poverty rate is 44.9%—double the
* Since 1990, Australians "have enjoyed the longest period of economic expansion unbroken by recession of any developed country ever." * The difficulties of representing the sea on stage in Early Modern England. * British people use ["bloody"] quite a lot less than Americans think they do and a
