Michael Hastings, ‘Rolling Stone’ Contributor, Dead at 33  —  The bold journalist died in a car accident in Los Angeles  —  Michael Hastings, the fearless journalist whose reporting brought down the career of General Stanley McChrystal, has died in a car accident in Los Angeles, Rolling Stone has learned.

Extending a Hand, Obama Finds a Cold Shoulder Abroad  —  WASHINGTON — Over porterhouse steak and cherry pie at a desert estate in California earlier this month, President Obama delivered a stern lecture to President Xi Jinping about China's disputes with its neighbors.

Karzai suspends talks with U.S. over Taliban agreement  —  Afghan President Hamid Karzai speaks during a joint press conference with NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen following a security handoff ceremony at a military academy outside Kabul.  (Shah Marai, AFP/Getty Images / June 18, 2013)

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 …

WMAL EXCLUSIVE: Allen West Challenges Marco Rubio On Immigration; Won't Rule Out 2016 Primary Bid  —  WASHINGTON — Former Congressman Allen West says challenging Senator Marco Rubio in the 2016 Republican Florida primary election would be a daunting task.  —  “That's a pretty heavy lift …

The GOP's clueless caucus  —  They've waxed philosophic about “legitimate rape,” reflected on the economic role of “wetbacks” and denounced the actions of “brazen, self-described illegal aliens.”  They've lamented that “mom got in the workplace” and called out the United States attorney general for casting “aspersions on my asparagus.”

Rep. Won't Say Why She Opposes 5-Month Abortion Ban Even If It ‘Saves One Life’  —  (CNSNews.com) - Rep. Diana DeGette (D-Colo.) would not answer why she opposed a bill to ban late-term abortions after 20 weeks even if it would “save one life,” a rationale regularly used by Democrats when pushing for gun-control legislation.

Reception for Obama Is More Sober Than in 2008  —  BERLIN — The last time President Obama paid a visit here, as a candidate in 2008, he was cheered on by 200,000 Germans eager to see the back of George W. Bush and, as one member of that crowd recalled Tuesday, “full of wholly unrealistic expectations …

LePage issues new policy: No more talking to 3 newspapers  —  The policy comes after a series of articles about the Department of Environmental Protection.  —  AUGUSTA - Gov. Paul LePage's administration will no longer comment in stories published by the Portland Press Herald …

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 …

Dissent Festers in States That Obama Forgot  —  WASHINGTON — You might call North Dakota the antithesis of President Obama's political base.  —  Whites make up 90 percent of its population, which is fewer than one million people and mostly in rural areas.  Its proportion of people 65 and over exceeds the national average.

Did senior State Department security officials commit perjury?  —  Two top officials at the State Department's Diplomatic Security Service (DS) — the federal law enforcement agency that protects American diplomats and investigates allegations of criminal misconduct by State Department employees …

The F.B.I. Deemed Agents Faultless in 150 Shootings  —  WASHINGTON — After contradictory stories emerged about an F.B.I. agent's killing last month of a Chechen man in Orlando, Fla., who was being questioned over ties to the Boston Marathon bombing suspects, the bureau reassured the public that it would clear up the murky episode.

Chris Van Hollen: IRS Rules To Be Challenged In Court  —  WASHINGTON — Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) said Tuesday that he and two campaign finance watchdog groups would sue the IRS, challenging regulations that allow nonprofit groups to be involved in politics if they're “primarily” devoted to a social welfare purpose.

Autopsy On GOP Social Issues Is ‘Grossly Overstated’ Say GOP Lawmakers  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican lawmakers have a message for those who want the party to soften its emphasis on social conservatism in hopes of reaching a wider national audience: Not so fast.

On fertility, and the flauntingly fecund Sarah Palin  —  Distilled to a slogan, politics of late goes something like this: “I'm more fertile than you are.”  —  It seems fecundity is emerging as the best argument for public office, policy or even citizenship.

WAS JUSTICE ROBERTS INTIMIDATED INTO VOTING FOR ‘OBAMACARE’?  SENATOR MIKE LEE PRESENTS THE EVIDENCE  —  After Chief Supreme Court Justice John Roberts voted to uphold the Affordable Care Act, more commonly known as “ObamaCare,” many wondered if there could be a yet-unknown reason …

THINGS IN POLITICO THAT MAKE ME WANT TO GUZZLE ANTIFREEZE, PART THE INFINITY  —  It's just that Drudge-whorish and link-baity. … Actually, the critique of Politico is, “Jesus H. Christ on a Jetski, you people are trivial.”  You gave a column to Joe Fking Scarborough for pity's sake.  To wit:

Which Party Benefits From Immigration Reform?  —  Rush Limbaugh asks a pretty decent question.  If Republicans need to pass comprehensive immigration reform in order to stave off demographic doom, why are Democrats so eager to help them? … Limbaugh is definitely on to something.

Organizing for Action gathers a whopping three people for gun-control rally in California  —  Feel the momentum: … The problem for the gun-control crowd has always been, even when polls show support for a measure of gun control under consideration, gun control moves Second Amendment supporters …

Why It Matters that Obama's Approval Rating Is Falling  —  Despite ridiculous hype about a recent CNN poll that showed an exaggerated 8-point drop in Obama's approval rating, there's no doubt that his approval rating is about 4 points lower than it was in January 2013.