Nation: Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, a Tea Party stalwart, is expected to announce tomorrow that he is a candidate for president in 2016. He would be the first major Republican candidate to announce. Cruz was first elected to the Senate …

Ukraine: NATO says Russia has massed 20,000 troops on the Ukraine border in a position to invade. The fear is that as Ukraine slowly defeats pro-Russian separatists, Russia will step in on the pretext of a humanitarian or peacekeeping mission.Russia …

Tighten Up: Punishing Russia for its continued involvement in the Ukraine crisis, President Obama yesterday imposed new and more severe sanctions on Russian banks, energy, and defense companies. “I’ve repeatedly made it clear that Russia must halt the flow of …

Iraq: Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki has rejected international calls to form a unity government that includes the Sunni minority to defuse the country’s civil war. Maliki is a Shiite who has squeezed Sunnis out of power in both the military …

Nation: After three years of budget confrontations, the Republican-controlled House voted to raise the national debt ceiling with no fight. Only 28 Republicans voted in favor, Speaker John Boehner among them. Boehner’s decision to let the debt limit pass set …

At The Polls: NY City today is likely to elect progressive candidate Bill de Blasio as its next mayor. It’ll be a left turn after 12 years of conservative, and effective, Michael Bloomberg.   NPR says Virginia must choose between …

Syria: President Obama suggested this morning during a press conference in Sweden that he might order action against Syria even if Congress does not approve it. “My credibility is not on the line, the international community’s credibility is on the …

Egypt: Dozens of people are reported dead today after Egyptian forces cleared encampments of protesters supporting deposed president Mohamed Morsi. Security forces used armored vehicles, tear gas, shotguns and automatic rifles. The government reports 95 dead and 900 injured, but …

National: In a White House shakeup UN Ambassador Susan Rice is replacing Tom Donilon as national security advisor. It’s bound to irritate Republicans who blocked Rice from becoming Secretary of State. Organizers of several Tea Party and conservative groups testified …

National: The recently fired head of the IRS was personally audited by an angry Congressional committee over the agency’s special attention to conservative political groups. But Steven Miller refused to say the audits of groups applying for non-profit status were …