Politics

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Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, Kentucky Republican, speaks to the media on Capitol Hill after the Senate passed the debt ceiling plan on Aug. 2, 2011. (Drew Angerer/The Washington Times)

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Nevada Democrat, and Sen. Charles E. Schumer, New York Democrat, speak to the media on Capitol Hill after the Senate passed the debt ceiling plan on Aug. 2, 2011. (Drew Angerer/The Washington Times)

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Washington Redskins wide receiver Jabar Gaffney (10) goes through stretching exercises during training camp at Redskins Park in Ashburn, Va., Tuesday, August 2, 2011. (Rod Lamkey Jr./The Washington Times)

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Washington Redskins wide receiver Jabar Gaffney (10) goes through stretching exercises during training camp at Redskins Park in Ashburn, Va., Tuesday, August 2, 2011. (Rod Lamkey Jr./The Washington Times)

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Afghan police officers carry the body of a hotel guard in a black cloth after a suicide attack in Kunduz, north of Kabul, Afghanistan, on Aug. 2, 2011. (Associated Press)

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In this image made from amateur video released by the so-called Shams News Network, a loosely organized anti-Assad group, and accessed via the Associated Press Television News on Monday, Aug. 1, 2011, military armored vehicles are seen in the central city of Hama, Syria. Note: The Associated Press cannot independently verify the content, date, location or authenticity of this material. (AP Photo/APTN)

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James Blake returns the ball to Tatsuma Ito, of Japan, during a match at the Legg Mason Tennis Classic, Monday, Aug. 1, 2011, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

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Former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty speaks to local residents at The Sports Page bar & grill in Indianola, Iowa, on July 20. He is among Republican presidential candidates refusing to sign a pledge denouncing gay marriage. But gay activists intend to eventually pin him down on his attitude. (Associated Press)

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Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota, a candidate for president, speaks during a rally at the Delaware County fairgrounds in Manchester, Iowa, on July 25. She strongly opposes gay marriage. (Associated Press)

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"We can get this done," Sen. John D. Rockefeller IV, West Virginia Democrat, said Monday of efforts to resolve the partial shutdown of the Federal Aviation Administration. But Republicans later blocked a bipartisan plan to settle the funding issue, making a standoff a possibility until September. (Associated Press)

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Thousands of mourners in Benghazi, Libya, marched in the funeral procession Friday for the Libyan rebels' slain military chief, Abdel-Fattah Younis, a day after he was gunned down under still mysterious circumstances. An investigation has begun. (Associated Press)

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President Obama speaks from White House briefing room, Sunday, July 31, 2011 in Washington, about a deal being reached to raise the debt limit. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

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In this image from House Television, Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, Arizona Democrat, appears on the floor of the House of Representatives Monday, Aug. 1, 2011, in Washington. Giffords was on the floor for the first time since her shooting earlier this year, attending a vote on the debt standoff compromise. (AP Photo/House Television)

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Republican Texas Gov. Rick Perry has not announced whether he will run for president, but he will host D.C.-based small-business groups later this month. (Associated Press)

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"We all have something to learn from the tragedy. We can all have a need to say 'I was wrong,' and be respected for it," said Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg. (Associated Press)

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In this image made from amateur video released by the so-called Shams News Network, a loosely organized anti-Assad group and accessed via The Associated Press Television News on Monday, Aug. 1, 2011, military armored vehicles are seen in the central city of Hama, Syria. (AP Photo/APTN)