Breakthrough in Senate immigration talks; announcement set for Thursday  —  Senators seeking a solution to a deadlock over border security have reached a tentative agreement they believe could win the votes of a significant number of Republican lawmakers for the Gang of Eight comprehensive immigration reform bill.

James Gandolfini Is Dead at 51; a Complex 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.  He was 51.

Exodus International to Shut Down  —  Thirty-seven-year-old ministry for those with same-sex attraction marks its last national conference  —  Irvine, Calif. (June 19, 2013) — Exodus International, the oldest and largest Christian ministry dealing with faith and homosexuality announced tonight …

Power  —  You should decide now what kind of Supreme Court you want.  Don't wait until after the Justices hand down the Term's major decisions.  That will be too late.  Make a real choice now about how much power you think the Court should have - before your judgment is skewed by either elation or outrage at the results.

Barack Obama bombs in Berlin: a weak, underwhelming address from a floundering president  —  When John F. Kennedy delivered his “Ich Bin Ein Berliner” speech in front of the Brandenburg Gate on June 26, 1963, 450,000 people flocked to hear him.  Fifty years later a far more subdued invitation …

Virginia Lt. Gov. Candidate Says Social Programs Hurt ‘Black Family’ More Than Slavery (Video)  —  The Virginia GOP's nominee for lieutenant governor, E.W. Jackson, gave a speech Wednesday in which he claimed government social programs have done more harm to the “black family” than slavery.

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 …

Obama offends Catholics in the UK, says religious schools are divisive  —  The Catholic media is up in arms over comments President Obama made during a speech while in Northern Ireland for the G8 summit.  Obama made what is described as “an alarming call for an end to Catholic education,” …

Democrats start transition from President Obama to Hillary Clinton  —  Democrats in Washington are starting to shift from the Obamas to the Clintons.  —  Hillary Clinton has already racked up a couple of endorsements for the 2016 presidential race — and she hasn't even announced she's running yet.

Manchin hits back at NRA in new TV ad  —  Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) on Thursday hit back at the National Rifle Association, accusing its leaders of shifting their stance on background checks for political gain, and unveiling a new television ad defending his bipartisan gun-control measure.

Paranoia Strikes Deep: The Press and Rand Paul  —  The absurd lengths journalists have gone to portray the Kentucky senator as if he's hiding something dangerous  —  Critiques of democracy are as old as the excesses of the Athenian variety.  Here's a classic: The unmediated masses …

The Do-Nothing Congress Has Done a Lot  —  Perhaps, like approximately 80 percent of Americans, you disapprove of Congress.  Beholding the nation's capital, you are apt to see a sleazy, gridlocked mess, a Boschian hellscape of partisan acrimony and special-interest greed.

Using ObamaCare To Create A Permanent Democratic Majority  —  If you have to keep it a secret, you probably shouldn't be doing it.  —  But the California legislature and the new Covered California health insurance exchange are conspiring to keep secret how they will dole out more than half …

Mueller tells lawmakers FBI has used drones in U.S.  —  WASHINGTON — FBI Director Robert Mueller acknowledged Wednesday that the agency has deployed drones to conduct surveillance in the U.S., and that the bureau was developing guidelines for their future law enforcement use.

Democratic groups launching ad against McConnell  —  Senate Majority PAC and Patriot Majority USA are launching a sustained campaign against Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), starting with a television ad launched Thursday that hammers him for his decades-long tenure in Congress.

Report: Watchdog to testify federal security clearance vetting lacks proper oversight  —  According to CNN, Patrick McFarland, the inspector general for the Office of Personnel Management, will tell lawmakers that the Office of Personnel Management does not have enough funding to make sure …