Farm Bill's Failure Poisons Well in House  —  Updated 6:23 p.m. |  The House's stunning defeat of the farm bill Thursday dealt another blow to Speaker John A. Boehner's leadership and set off a poisonous round of partisan finger-pointing that raised questions about the ability of the chamber …

Revealed: the top secret rules that allow NSA to use US data without a warrant  —  Fisa court submissions show broad scope of procedures governing NSA's surveillance of Americans' communication  —  • Document one: procedures used by NSA to target non-US persons

Howard Kurtz Joining Fox News To Anchor New Version Of Fox News Watch  —  Mediaite has learned that Fox News is expected to announce today that Howard Kurtz will join the network.  —  Kurtz is currently the anchor of CNN's Sunday morning media criticism show Reliable Sources.

George Zimmerman trial: Jury selected, opening statements begin Monday  —  SANFORD - A jury has been seated and sworn for the second-degree murder trial of George Zimmerman in the shooting death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin, after more than a week of intensive jury selection in the high-profile case.

How Ted Cruz's Father Shaped His Views On Immigration … As the Senate debates a massive overhaul of the nation's immigration laws, one of its newest members has emerged as a leading opponent of the bill's most controversial feature: a path to citizenship for millions living in the country unlawfully.

LePage slips ‘Vaseline’ jab toward Democratic senator  —  AUGUSTA, Maine — Gov. Paul LePage on Thursday said a Democratic lawmaker, Sen. Troy Jackson of Aroostook County, “claims to be for the people but he's the first one to give it to the people without providing Vaseline.”

On the left, Howard Dean open to presidential bid  —  San Jose, California (CNN) - Howard Dean, the former Vermont governor who electrified anti-war liberals during the 2004 presidential race, said Thursday he would consider another run for the White House - a statement that will surely be met …

WikiLeaks says Michael Hastings contacted it just before his death.  Are they implying he was murdered?  —  WikiLeaks just threw some gasoline onto the conspiracy fire.  On Wednesday night, they Tweeted: “Michael Hastings contacted WikiLeaks lawyer Jennifer Robinson just a few hours before he died …

George W. Bush's Great-Great-Great-Great-Grandfather Was a Slave Trader  —  A surprising new discovery about the notorious Thomas “Beau” Walker.  —  BUNCE ISLAND, Sierra Leone—Twelve American presidents owned slaves, eight while serving in office, and at least 25 presidents count slave owners among their ancestors.

Controversial GOP NH Rep. Tremblay resigns  —  Tremblay alleges Marathon bombing may have been faked  —  Controversial state Rep. Stella Tremblay, R-Auburn, resigned from the New Hampshire House of Representatives Thursday, moments before lawmakers were poised to pass a two-year …

Consumers saved $3.9 billion on premiums in 2012  —  Health care law will provide families an average of $100 back in premium rebates  —  Today, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announces that nationwide, 77.8 million consumers saved $3.4 billion up front on their premiums …

GOP leader steps down after rant on ex-Miss America  —  WASHINGTON — The local Illinois Republican Party official who called a biracial congressional candidate a “street walker” resigned Thursday, after his comments were widely denounced as offensive.  —  Jim Allen referred to Erika Harold …

Louie Gohmert advises LGBT people to hide who they are at work  —  Rep. Louie Gohmert, R-Texas, said on Wednesday that he wasn't “aware of exactly which one you're talking about” when a reporter asked him about his position on the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, but his attempt to dodge …

The Incarceration Epidemic  —  About one-fourth of all incarcerated people on Earth is in the U.S. That constitutes a public health problem.  —  The U.S. incarceration rate has more than quadrupled since 1980.  It's now the highest in the world, just ahead of Russia and Rwanda.

Introducing Aaron's Law, a Desperately Needed Reform of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act  —  The Internet is up for grabs.  —  Foreign countries want to control it.  Military regimes use it to spy, to oppress, and to attack public and private institutions.  ‘Big Content’ sought to censor it and dismantle its architecture.

The New Economic Risk: Complacency  —  With each month of steady employment growth — in May, 175,000 jobs were created — the feeling of lassitude around the issues facing the American economy takes hold a little bit more.  —  Amid the gathering drumbeat of pronouncements of economic optimism …

Bloomberg Group Named Christopher Dorner, Other Murder Suspects On List Of Gun Violence “Victims”  —  Demonstrators trying to bolster support for gun control read aloud from a list of more than 6,000 gun violence “victims” — including at least 10 murder suspects who were killed by police.

Senate votes 54-43 to reject Cornyn plan for border security ‘trigger’  —  The Senate on Thursday rejected Sen. John Cornyn's (R-Texas) immigration reform bill amendment that would have put mandatory border security triggers in place before immigrants were given legal status.

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Pelosi Stops Talking About Abortion  —  At a press conference Thursday afternoon, House minority leader Nancy Pelosi ripped Republicans for not spending enough money on food stamps.  “They're taking food out of the mouths of babies,” Pelosi said of her Republican colleagues following the defeat of the farm bill in a floor vote.