Inside the border deal that almost failed  —  Sen. Chuck Schumer spent Tuesday privately urging President Barack Obama and the entire Democratic caucus to just be patient — a border security deal they could accept was still within reach.  —  But after a testy, 45-minute call that night …

The dysfunctional House  —  Someone in House leadership screwed up again.  —  The defeat of the farm bill — after both parties were privately bullish it would pass with large margins — shows, once again, how massively dysfunctional the House and its leadership has become.

Revealed: 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

Aaron Hernandez Arrest Warrant Prepared on Obstruction of Justice Charge, Sources Say  —  New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez is now the subject of an arrest warrant drawn up on obstruction of justice charges based on the possible destruction of evidence in connection with the shooting death …

FAA to Relax Rules for Gadgets in Flight  —  Airline passengers irritated at having to turn off their devices could soon see some reprieve, with regulators set to allow wider use of gadgets in flight.  —  The Federal Aviation Administration is expected to relax the ban on using some types …

The Last Mystery of the Financial Crisis  —  It's long been suspected that ratings agencies like Moody's and Standard & Poor's helped trigger the meltdown.  A new trove of embarrassing documents shows how they did it  —  By  —  W  —  hat about the ratings agencies?

The top 9,486 ways Jay Carney won't answer your questions (interactive)  —  Jay Carney doesn't have an answer for that.  He hasn't discussed that subject with the president.  He will refer you to the Department of [insert agency here].  He refuses to speculate on that.  He'll have to get back to you.

Obama hits a wall in Berlin  —  The question of whether Barack Obama's second term will be a failure was answered in the affirmative before his Berlin debacle, which has recast the question, which now is: Will this term be silly, even scary in its detachment from reality?

Russ Tice, Bush-Era Whistleblower, Claims NSA Ordered Wiretap Of Barack Obama In 2004  —  Russ Tice, a former intelligence analyst who in 2005 blew the whistle on what he alleged was massive unconstitutional domestic spying across multiple agencies, claimed Wednesday that the NSA had ordered wiretaps …

Hundreds Of Texans Stand Up Against Sweeping Anti-Abortion Bill, Block It From Coming To A Vote  —  Protesters projected “End the War on Women” onto the building where the hearing on SB 5 was held.  (Credit: @TaneneAllison)  —  Texas lawmakers are currently rushing an omnibus anti-abortion bill through …

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 …

FEDERAL NULLIFICATION EFFORTS MOUNTING IN STATES … JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Imagine the scenario: A federal agent attempts to arrest someone for illegally selling a machine gun.  Instead, the federal agent is arrested - charged in a state court with the crime of enforcing federal gun laws.

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 …

Revealed: Bush ancestor was heavily invested in kidnapping Africans into slavery  —  Thomas “Beau” Walker, the great-great-great grandfather to U.S. President George W. Bush, was a notorious slave trader who either personally led or heavily invested in expeditions to kidnap Africans …

This is why global markets are freaking out  —  Around the world, markets were frazzled by the latest out of the Fed.  (Kin Cheung/AP)  —  A wave of selling washed across the financial world Thursday, driving the stock market down, interest rates up, and bringing new tremors of concern …

Weiner explains reaction to gay slur  —  A story about the New York mayoral race in today's Washington Post reported an exchange between Anthony Weiner and a voter in Queens who used a gay slur to refer to fellow mayoral candidate Christine Quinn. … Weiner was asked about those remarks …

Chelsea Clinton Laments: My Great Grandmother Did Not Have Access to Planned Parenthood  —  New York, NY (CFAM) — From the stage at the recent Women Deliver conference, former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's daughter Chelsea revealed that her much-admired maternal grandmother …

Zimmerman jury seated after Judge rejects State serial striking of white women  —  The attorneys in the Zimmerman case have selected the 6 jurors who will be on the case.  —  Andrew Branca will have more analysis tonight in his wrap-up.  —  The selection process included the state trying …

Icelandic Businessman Has Jet Ready For Snowden  —  REYKJAVIK, June 20 (Reuters) - An Icelandic businessman linked to WikiLeaks said he has readied a private plane to take Edward Snowden, the former National Security Agency contractor who exposed secret U.S. surveillance programmes, to Iceland if the government grants him asylum.