Politics

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This image posted on the Syrian presidency’s official Facebook page on Thursday, Aug. 1, 2013, purports to show Syrian President Bashar Assad talking with soldiers in Darya, Syria, on his first known public trip outside Damascus, the capital, since March 2012. (Associated Press)

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Democratic Reps. Luis V. Gutierrez (foreground) of Illinois and Raul M. Grijalva of Arizona join immigration reform supporters Thursday at a protest on Capitol Hill, marking an escalation in efforts to push for a bill this year that contains a pathway to citizenship. (Associated Press)

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"Now is the single best time and best opportunity to defeat Obamacare. No. 2, this is a fight that we can win. And No. 3, only the American people can win this," said Sen. Ted Cruz, Texas Republican. (Associated Press)

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D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson said the bill requiring certain larger retailers to pay a higher minimum wage still has not yet reached his desk. It will then go to Mayor Vincent C. Gray to sign off on it or veto it. (Andrew Harnik/The Washington Times)

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Chinese sculptor Lei Yixin gives an update Thursday on his work to remove a controversial "drum major" quote off the side of the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial near the Tidal Basin. (Andrew Harnik/The Washington Times)

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Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach says he and the ICE agents are "considering our options" after a judge tossed out their suit trying to halt the administration's nondeportation policies. (Associated Press)

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Washington Wizards owner Ted Leonsis, left, looks on as point guard John Wall speaks during a news conference to announce his new contract at the Verizon Center on Thursday, Aug. 1, 2013, in Washington. Wall signed a five-year, $80 million extension to remain with the team. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

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A bus goes up in flames in Bogra, some 120 kilometers (75 miles) north of Dhaka, Bangladesh, on Aug. 1, 2013, after being set on fire by activists in Bangladesh's Jamaat-e-Islami party after the Bangladesh high court disqualified the party from taking part in the next general election. The High Court panel ruled that the country's largest Islamic party’s regulations violate the constitutional provision of secularism. (Associated Press)

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Rep. Darrell Issa, California Republican and chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, discusses a plan July 24, 2013, on Capitol Hill to move mail to cluster box and curbside delivery in a move to cut costs at the cash-strapped Postal Service by up to $4.5 billion a year. With the Postal Service facing billions of dollars in annual losses, the tradition of mail delivery to the door could be virtually phased out by 2022 under a proposal in Congress. At left is the committee's ranking Democrat, Rep. Elijah Cummings of Maryland. (Associated Press)

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Rep. Luis Gutierrez, D-Ill., right, and Rep. Raul Grijalva, D-Ariz., center, join immigration reform supporters as they block a street on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Aug. 1, 2013, during a rally protesting against immigration policies and the House GOP’s inability to pass a bill that contains a pathway to citizenship. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

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President Obama speaks in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Wednesday, July 31, 2013. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

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President Barack Obama makes a point during one in a series of meetings in the Situation Room in 2011. National Security Adviser Tom Donilon is pictured at right. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza) **FILE**