Blame it on Rio: Just seven weeks from the opening of the summer Olympics, the Brazilian state of Rio de Janeiro is broke and the governor has declared a state of emergency. Public employees aren’t getting paid. Crime is rising …

Permawar: More than 50 State Department officials signed an internal letter criticizing President Obama’s reluctance to order direct strikes against the military of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad. The letter was filed in the State Department’s internal “dissent channel” that allows …