House GOP's immigration playbook  —  Circle July 10 with red ink: It's now the most important day for immigration reform.  —  That Wednesday is when a hobbled, divided and raucous House Republican Conference will meet in the Capitol basement to figure out how to address the Senate-passed bill.

Chief Justice Roberts Plays a Long Game on Supreme Court  —  WASHINGTON — Viewed in isolation, the Supreme Court term that just ended had elements of modesty.  The court declined to do away with affirmative action, gave Congress another shot at salvaging the Voting Rights Act and refused …

Pelosi: Dems are coalescing behind Hillary for 2016  —  In this clip from Capital Download, USA TODAY Washington Bureau Chief asks Democratic House Leader Nancy Pelosi about Secretary of State Hillary Clinton running for the Presidency in 2016.  Pelosi says Democrats are optimistic about it.

Cover Story: Bert and Ernie's “Moment of Joy”  —  “It's amazing to witness how attitudes on gay rights have evolved in my lifetime,” said Jack Hunter, the artist behind next week's cover, “Moment of Joy.”  Hunter, who originally submitted his image, unsolicited, to a Tumblr, continued …

Ex-Pentagon general target of leak investigation, sources say  —  Retired Marine Gen. James “Hoss” Cartwright was the second-highest ranking member of the U.S. military, and a key Obama adviser who served as the vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.  Legal sources tell NBC News Cartwright …

The Criminal N.S.A.  —  THE twin revelations that telecom carriers have been secretly giving the National Security Agency information about Americans' phone calls, and that the N.S.A. has been capturing e-mail and other private communications from Internet companies as part of a secret program called Prism …

Restricted web access to The Guardian is Armywide, officials say  —  The Army admitted Thursday to not only restricting access to The Guardian news website at the Presidio of Monterey, as reported in Thursday's Herald, but Armywide.  —  Presidio employees said the site had been blocked since …

What's Really ‘Immoral’ About Student Loans  —  It's not so much the interest rates charged.  It is, rather, the principal of the thing.  —  Unless Congress acts, interest rates for government subsidized student loans will double to 6.8% from 3.4% on July 1.

Alec Baldwin's pregnant wife Hilaria TWEETS about Rachael Ray and anniversary gifts during James Gandolfini's funeral  — She later insisted: 'I don't believe in bringing phones into a funeral and I never did and I never would'  —  It may not be considered funeral etiquette …

The most unfortunate anti-gay logo and slogan in the history of politics  —  In one of the most unfortunate moves in American politics since Republicans kept referring to the Tea Party “teabagging,” the anti-gay Family Research Council, which has been officially designated a “hate group,” …

Nearly One in Five Members of Congress Gets Paid Twice  —  They draw government pensions from previous work in addition to their congressional salary.  The practice is called “double-dipping.”  —  To solve the debt crisis, Americans—who are already suffering in these tough economic times …

The Real Problem With Rick Perry's Comments About Wendy Davis  —  Keeping Track of All of Today's A-Rod Reports  —  If you're a pro-choice liberal like me, Wendy Davis is a hero, and Rick Perry is one of the most cartoonishly villainous public figures in America.

In U.S., 43% of Uninsured Unaware They Must Get Coverage  —  Awareness higher, at 81%, among all Americans  —  PRINCETON, NJ — The vast majority of Americans, 81%, say they are aware of the 2010 Affordable Care Act's (ACA's) requirement that most Americans must carry health insurance or pay a fine.