The truth about the Fast and Furious scandal  —  A Fortune investigation reveals that the ATF never intentionally allowed guns to fall into the hands of Mexican drug cartels.  How the world came to believe just the opposite is a tale of rivalry, murder, and political bloodlust.

Why the Whole Health Care Law Is in Jeopardy  —  The real Supreme Court news on Tuesday wasn't the Arizona immigration decision or even the summary reversal of the Supreme Court of Montana in the “Citizens United 2” case.  It was that the chief justice of the United States didn't write any of these opinions.

Democratic campaign chair tells candidates to avoid convention  —  (Reuters) - The man responsible for getting Democrats elected to the U.S. Congress this fall has a message for his party's candidates: Stay away from the Democratic National Convention.  —  “If they want to win an election …

Florida, Ohio, Pennsylvania Swinging To Obama, Quinnipiac University Swing State Poll Finds; Voters Back President On Immigration, Split On Economy  —  This compares to the results of a May 3 Swing State Poll by the independent Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh-pe-ack) University, showing Obama …

Holder in peril as Dems break ranks on contempt resolution  —  June 26, 2012: Attorney General Eric Holder gestures while speaking at a civil rights symposium in Boston.AP  —  The congressional contempt vote against Attorney General Eric Holder is looking more and more like a fait accompli …

Romney to seek Washington Post retraction  —  Mitt Romney campaign representatives will meet with the Washington Post today to seek a formal retraction of its June 21 report that Bain Capital invested in firms that specialized in outsourcing American jobs, POLITICO has learned.

PROTESTERS SHOW UP TO RALLY AGAINST KARL ROVE — BUT CAN'T REALLY SAY WHO KARL ROVE IS  —  Organized protesters set out to counter the issue of money in politics while marching over a mile through Washington DC last week.  The heat index was a blistering 90 degrees, which seemed to add …

A third of Earthlings believe in UFOs, would befriend aliens  —  Aliens often compete with superheroes, vampires and zombies to top hit movie lists — but more than a third of Americans say UFOs are not a fantasy.  —  That's the word from a new National Geographic Channel study finding …

It's Lung Cancer  —  Stage III, inoperable.  Median survival prognosis: One year after diagnosis.  —  Which is, as it turns out, the reason I haven't been accomplishing much, including posting here and making progress on the sequel to Temporary Duty.  The details are complicated, and I don't have the energy to fully explain.

Minnesota for Marriage: Gays should be ‘put to death’  —  From the official campaign:  —  I think that the campaign's final response to Brad's question says it all, don't you?  —  **UPDATE: The MN For Marriage campaign is now claiming they were hacked.  That seems very fishy …

Mayor rigs wacky A/C to keep his SUV chilled  —  Who's full of hot air?  —  Mayor Bloomberg wants to maintain his politically correct credentials on global warming — but hates to get into a hot car when he leaves an air conditioned building.  —  The solution his aides came up with could easily …

Day 5 of Waldo Canyon Fire evacuation: Blaze engulfs homes/historic ranch; 32k total evacuated; more dangerous winds, heat ahead  —  Twitter panorama photo from last night via @megzenger  —  Via Matt Meister, StormTracker 13, from the front lines 2:15am MT Wednesday morning in Mountain Shadows

Nora Ephron |  1941-2012: Nora Ephron, Essayist, Screenwriter and Director, Dies at 71  —  Nora Ephron, an essayist and humorist in the Dorothy Parker mold (only smarter and funnier, some said) who became one of her era's most successful screenwriters and filmmakers, making romantic comedy hits like …

Charles Barron won't accept landslide loss in Brooklyn's 8th Congressional District against Hakeem Jeffries  —  With 54% of precincts reporting, the Associated Press deemed Jeffries the easy winner, 75% of the vote to Barron's 25%.  —  Charles Barron concession speech at Sistas Cafe in Bed Stuy …

For Romney Superfan, a New Truck Courtesy of the Candidate  —  Jim Wilson, the peripatetic, profane, pipe-smoking volunteer for Mitt Romney whose ubiquitous pickup truck was destroyed in a fire last week, has a new set of wheels, donated by the campaign to which he has devoted a year of his life.

Laffer Curve  —  This panel explores the extent to which economists agree or disagree on major public policy issues.  To assess such beliefs we assembled this panel of expert economists.  Statistics teaches that a sample of (say) 40 opinions will be adequate to reflect a broader population …

Iran's Vice President Makes Anti-Semitic Speech at Forum  —  TEHRAN — Iran's vice president delivered a baldly anti-Semitic speech on Tuesday at an international antidrug conference here, saying that the Talmud, a central text of Judaism, was responsible for the spread of illegal drugs around the world.

Polls: Obama boosts edge among Hispanics after immigration shift  —  A new poll released Wednesday finds President Obama opening up a 40-point lead over Mitt Romney among Hispanics, boosted in part from support among that demographic for his new deportation policies.

Unemployed Brooklyn man misses job interview to save 9-month-old boy who was blown into path of oncoming subway train  —  Like a superhero without a cape, Delroy Simmonds jumps onto elevated tracks and hoists bleeding child — still strapped into stroller — to safety of the platform as J train bore down on them.