CNN Poll: Economic optimism jumping  —  Washington (CNN) - Although most Americans think that the economy is currently in poor shape, economic optimism has skyrocketed since last fall, according to a new national poll.  —  And a CNN/ORC International poll released Tuesday also indicates …

Chris Collins: 'People Now Don't Die From Prostate Cancer, Breast Cancer' … REACT:  —  FOLLOW:  —  Health Care, Video, Affordable Care Act, Chris Collins Affordable Care Act, Chris Collins Health Care, Kathy Hochul, Chris Collins, Obamacare, Politics News

The Declaration of Independence Annotated  —  [From the next edition of my casebook, Constitutional Law: Cases in Context:]  —  When reading the Declaration, it is worth keeping in mind two very important facts.  The Declaration constituted high treason against the Crown and every person …

What Life Was Like in 1776  —  Americans had the highest per capita income in the civilized world, paid the lowest taxes—and were determined to keep it that way.  —  Almost every American knows the traditional story of July Fourth—the soaring idealism of the Declaration of Independence …

The eternal meaning of Independence Day  —  On July 9, 1858, Illinois Senator Stephen Douglas gave a campaign speech to a raucous throng from the balcony of the Tremont Hotel in Chicago.  Abraham Lincoln was in the audience when Douglas prepared to speak.  Douglas invited Lincoln to come join him on the balcony to watch the speech.

Obama hosts naturalization ceremony, presses Congress on immigration reform  —  President Obama helped celebrate the Fourth of July Wednesday by naturalizing more than two-dozen active duty service members, and used the opportunity to press lawmakers to take up comprehensive immigration reform.

As Weather Channel Buys Wunderground, Storm Clouds Brew Among Fans  —  It's stormy out there.  —  The announcement on Monday that the Weather Channel Companies, owners of television's Weather Channel and weather.com, would buy one of its rivals, Weather Underground, set off howls of displeasure …

Ben Bradlee's 20 Best Verbal or Written Barbs Microsoft's Downfall: Inside the Executive E-mails and Cannibalistic Culture That Felled a Tech Giant  —  Microsoft C.E.O. Steve Ballmer delivers the keynote address at the 2012 International Consumer Electronics Show, in Las Vegas, on January 9.

The Recession-Proof Fireworks Industry … - Egypt's New President Is Awfully Critical of the United States.  Should We Be Worried?  — Manjoo: Apple's iPhone Used To Be the Best.  But Its Competitors Have Caught Up.  — Why the Higgs Boson Discovery Is Such a Big Deal …

Fast and Furious: Grassley presses Holder on ‘false letter’  —  Sen. Chuck Grassley is demanding to know who at the Justice Department saw a memo written by a Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosive agent about the botched Fast and Furious gun-walking operation that was allegedly sent …

Too Quiet, Again, on Health Care  —  Nearly two dozen Pennsylvania residents, interviewed recently by Abby Goodnough of The Times, said they were opposed to President Obama's health care reform law.  Though almost all of them would benefit from it, they expressed fears about a loss of control …

Snyder signs most of election reform legislation  —  LANSING, Mich. - Gov. Rick Snyder recently signed legislation to increase election transparency, prevent election fraud and provide consistency across all voting locations.  —  The election reform bills provide for better documentation …

Where Tax Dollars Work, Our Public Trust Remains  —  Douglas State Forest, July 3, 2012.  —  DOUGLAS, Mass. — I still know how the wind sounds here.  I still know the difference between how it sounds as it shakes the birches and how it sounds as it ripples through the top branches in a stand of great oak trees.

STUDY: Medicaid Expansion Saves States Billions  —  Republican politicians across the country claim that Obamacare's expansion of Medicaid, the widely popular program which makes health insurance available for lower-income Americans, will increase costs for states.

NEWS FLASH  —  North Carolina General Assembly Officially Dismantles The Racial Justice Act |  Today in North Carolina, the Republican-dominated General Assembly overrode Gov. Bev Perdue's (D-NC) veto of the rewritten Racial Justice Act.  The landmark legislation allowed North Carolina death row inmates …