James Gandolfini Is Dead at 51; Tough-Talking Mob Boss in ‘Sopranos’  —  James Gandolfini, the Emmy Award-winning actor who shot to fame on the HBO drama “The Sopranos” as Tony Soprano, a tough-talking, hard-living crime boss with a stolid exterior but a rich interior life, died on Wednesday.

Concord police stun, arrest gun rights protester after officer touched on shoulder  —  CONCORD — A man was arrested and two people, including a Concord police officer, were allegedly assaulted during a rally Tuesday in a clash between a gun control group and gun rights supporters.

OP-ED: Murkowski Shares Thoughts on Marriage Equality with Alaskans  —  Not too long ago, I had the honor of nominating an Alaskan family as “Angels in Adoption,” a celebration of the selflessness shown by foster care families and those who adopt children.  They arrived in Washington, DC …

Phil Gingrey, In DOMA Speech, Says Children Should Take Classes On Traditional Gender Roles  —  Rep. Phil Gingrey (R-Ga.) told colleagues on the House floor on Tuesday that young boys and girls should take classes on traditional gender roles in a marriage because there are some things fathers do “maybe a little bit better” than mothers.

Berlin Speech: 200,000 for Obama in 2008; Only 6,000 Today  —  The White House pool report reveals that only 6,000 will be in attendance for Obama's Berlin speech today: … Last time around, when Obama delivered a speech in Berlin in the 2008 presidential campaign, when he was still a senator, 200,000 folks came out to see him.

Illinois GOP official pens allegedly racist attack on black GOP candidate  —  • By Kevin McDermott kmcdermott@post-dispatch.com 314-340-8268  —  A county Republican Party chairman in central Illinois called a black female congressional candidate the “love child” of the Democratic party …

For immediate release  —  Information received since the Federal Open Market Committee met in May suggests that economic activity has been expanding at a moderate pace.  Labor market conditions have shown further improvement in recent months, on balance, but the unemployment rate remains elevated.

FBI director admits domestic use of drones for surveillance  —  The FBI uses drones for domestic surveillance purposes, the head of the agency told Congress early Wednesday.  —  Robert Mueller, the director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, confirmed to lawmakers that the FBI owns …

TWA Flight 800 investigators break silence in new documentary, claim original conclusion about cause of crash is wrong  —  A group of whistle-blowers, including a number of aviation experts, have come forward in a new documentary to claim that the official explanation for the crash of TWA Flight 800 …

Chomsky: Obama is ‘dedicated to increasing terrorism’  —  In a wide-ranging interview with GRITtv host Laura Flanders, MIT professor and author Noam Chomsky plainly stated that President Barack Obama's administration is “dedicated to increasing terrorism” all around the world.

Daly attacks ‘slobbering’ over Obamas  —  Taoiseach rejects claim Ireland ‘a nation of pimps, prostituting ourselves in return for a pat on the head’ … Taoiseach Enda Kenny rounded on Independent TD Clare Daly after she accused him of showcasing Ireland “as a nation of pimps, prostituting ourselves in return for a pat on the head”.

Obama Job Approval Holds Steady, Economic Views Improve  —  Obama Rated Positively on Terrorism, Negatively on Civil Liberties  —  OVERVIEW  —  In a second term marked by a series of controversies and little legislative success, President Obama's job approval rating has nonetheless remained fairly steady.

Obama Readying Emissions Limits on Power Plants  —  WASHINGTON — President Obama is preparing regulations limiting carbon dioxide emissions from existing power plants, senior officials said Wednesday.  The move would be the most consequential climate policy step he could take and one likely …

Serena Williams: The Great One  —  No athlete alive dominates a sport like Serena Williams does women's tennis.  But on the whole, she'd rather be eating cinnamon rolls  —  Who is the most dominant figure in sports today?  LeBron James?  Michael Phelps?  Please.  Get that weak sauce out of here.

How Are These Times Different?  —  Ah, Paris!  You walk for miles and miles — it's still, after all these years, a spectacularly beautiful city.  Then you have as traditional a meal as possible at an old-fashioned bistro, washed down with lots of wine.  —  And you feel like hell the next morning.

Microsoft Explored Deal for Nokia  —  Microsoft Corp. recently held advanced talks with Nokia Corp. about buying its handset business, people familiar with the matter said, as laggards in the fast-moving mobile market struggle to gain ground.  —  The discussions faltered over price and worries …

PLAYBOY INTERVIEW: SEAN HANNITY  —  Fox News host Sean Hannity is a believer.  He believes in God, country and the once and future Bush dynasty.  In his opinion, global warming is a crock, kids today are oversexed and President Obama's radical agenda is destroying our nation.

Anti-Immigration Reform Crusader Steve King Feels The Tea Party Love  —  The Iowa Republican and immigration hardliner holds a six hour “press conference” to protest the Senate's immigration bill.  “I didn't know when we started out this morning if I might be standing here alone till five o'clock tonight,” he said.

White House seeks NBA assist on Obamacare  —  Could LeBron James be the next spokesman for Obamacare?  —  The Obama administration has reached out to the NBA about a potential marketing partnership to promote the health law, POLITICO has learned.  —  The news, revealed recently …

Stephen Nodine eyes congressional bid from jail  —  MOBILE, Ala. - Stephen Nodine, a former Mobile County Commissioner now serving a two-year jail term on perjury and harassment charges, announced via email that he is considering a bid for Alabama's 1st District congressional seat.

I Am Sorry  —  Three years ago, Leslie and I began a very public conversation with Our America's Lisa Ling, from the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN) regarding some of our deeply held beliefs about Christianity and the LGBT community.  Today, we have decided to carry this public conversation even further.

Buyers Are Scarce for Quinn's Memoir  —  New Yorkers are not buying Christine C. Quinn's story — at bookstores, anyway.  —  In its first week on sale, Ms. Quinn's 240-page memoir, “With Patience and Fortitude,” sold about 100 print copies, according to Nielsen BookScan, which measures book sales.