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 …

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.

Hank Johnson: Clarence Thomas ‘Worse’ Than Edward Snowden For Gutting Voting Rights Act  —  WASHINGTON — Rep. Hank Johnson (D-Ga.) said Wednesday that the fact that Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas voted this week to gut the Voting Rights Act — the 1965 law aimed at protecting disenfranchised voters …

Witness describes Zimmerman's injuries, phone call to wife  —  A resident of the Florida community where George Zimmerman shot Trayvon Martin last year told jurors Friday afternoon how he encountered a bloodied Zimmerman immediately after the confrontation and took pictures of the murder defendant's injuries.

Woman indicted in mailing of ricin-laced letters to Obama, Bloomberg  —  Actress arrested in ricin case  —  (CNN) — A Texas woman has been indicted and charged with mailing ricin-laced letters to President Obama and New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, a U.S. attorney's office in Texas said Friday.

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 …

Remember the Obama Scandals?  That Used to Be a Thing  —  Sifting through the Republican responses to President Obama's climate speech Tuesday, an odd omission could be found — or, at least, it would have seemed odd as recently as a week or two ago.  The various Republican statements churned …

Krugman hits Erickson for ‘fake populism’  —  In response to Erick Erickson's latest us-versus-them screed against the Acela-corridor...  Paul Krugman drops some Bureau of Labor Statistics data to show that the price of milk and bread haven't actually gone up at all.  And asks:

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 …

Issa's panel vote clears path for Lerner's return  —  The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee voted 22-17 on Friday that embattled IRS official Lois Lerner waived her Fifth Amendment rights during a hearing last month on the agency's tea party targeting scandal.

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 …

Nationalized gay marriage, now inevitable  —  Under the Defense of Marriage Act, the federal government does not recognize same-sex marriages even in states that have legalized it.  This week, the Supreme Court ruled DOMA unconstitutional.  —  There are two possible grounds, distinct and in some ways contradictory, for doing so.

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 …

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.

Obama administration finalizes birth-control mandate in healthcare law  —  The Obama administration announced final rules Friday on ObamaCare's birth-control coverage mandate.  —  The final rules do not substantively alter the controversial mandate, which requires most employers to cover …

Jimmy Carter to Paula Deen: ‘Let the dust settle’  —  Former President Jimmy Carter has advice for his friend and celebrity chef Paula Deen.  —  “I've known Paula Deen quite well for a long period of time.  I advised her to let the dust settle and to make apologies,” Carter said in interview clips aired Friday on CNN.

What will it take for Snowden to come back?  Father has ideas  —  (CNN) — The father of Edward J. Snowden has offered federal authorities a deal that he says would likely lead the accused leaker to return voluntarily to the United States to face espionage charges.