Trayvon Martin And The Irony Of American Justice  —  In trying to assess the the killing of Trayvon Martin by George Zimmerman, two seemingly conflicted truths emerge for me.  The first is that is that based on the case presented by the state, and based on Florida law, George Zimmerman …

Reid digs in as Senate nears nuclear option showdown  —  Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid isn't backing down from the “nuclear option” as Democrats and Republicans clash ahead of a rare meeting in the Old Senate Chamber.  —  The nuclear option — which would allow Reid to end filibusters …

Senate Control in 2014 Increasingly Looks Like a Tossup  —  This weekend's announcement by the former governor of Montana, Brian Schweitzer, that he would not seek that state's Democratic nomination for Senate represents the latest in a series of favorable developments for Republicans as they seek control of the chamber.

Dems, GOP battle for leverage on farm bill  —  Senate Democrats and House Republicans are fighting for leverage on the $1 trillion dollar farm bill.  —  Democrats are accusing GOP leaders of blocking a conference committee, and on Monday urged them to act “right away” to begin the process of reconciling their competing proposals.

Teens chase kidnapping suspect on bikes, save 5-year-old girl  —  (CNN) — Two teenage boys are being hailed as heroes after they chased a car carrying a kidnapped girl — on their bicycles.  —  Five-year-old Jocelyn Rojas was playing in her front yard in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, when she vanished Thursday afternoon.

Wendy Davis Raises Nearly $1 Million … State Sen. Wendy Davis, the new star of the Texas Democratic Party, raised nearly $1 million in the final two weeks of June, much of it from small donors who sent her money after she launched her famous filibuster of a restrictive abortion bill, her campaign will reveal Monday.

Polls: Spitzer, Weiner both in top spot in redemption bids  —  (CNN) - With less than two months to go until primary day in New York City, a new poll indicates that two candidates hoping to come back from scandals that sidetracked their political careers are both edging out their opponents.

MSNBC crushed in Zimmerman ratings race  —  MSNBC's ratings woes came into sharp relief on Monday with the release of the preliminary numbers for the Zimmerman verdict.  —  In the 10-11 p.m. hour on Saturday night, when the verdict in, Fox News had 3,682,000 total viewers …

McDonalds Tells Workers To Budget By Getting A Second Job And Turning Off Their Heat  —  McDonalds has partnered with Visa to launch a website to help its low-wage workers making an average $8.25 an hour to budget.  But while the site is clearly meant to illustrate that McDonalds workers …

U.S. Repeals Propaganda Ban, Spreads Government-Made News To Americans  —  For decades, a so-called anti-propaganda law prevented the U.S. government's mammoth broadcasting arm from delivering programming to American audiences.  But on July 2, that came silently to an end with the implementation of a new reform passed in January.

Restaurant Shift: Sorry, Just Part-Time  —  More Restaurants Replace Full-Timers, Concerned About Insurance  —  Ken Adams has been turning to more part-time workers at his 10 Subway sandwich shops in Michigan to avoid possibly incurring higher health-care costs under the new federal insurance law.

‘Heroic effort at great personal cost’: Edward Snowden nominated for Nobel Peace Prize  —  A Swedish sociology professor has nominated Edward Snowden for the Nobel Peace Prize.  He says the NSA whistleblower could help “save the prize from the disrepute incurred by the hasty and ill-conceived decision” …

Russia's Putin: signs Snowden is shifting on the U.S.  —  (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Monday he saw signs that Edward Snowden, the former U.S. spy agency contractor turned fugitive secrets leaker, was shifting towards stopping “political activity” directed against the United States.

TWINKIES MAY BE SMALLER THAN PEOPLE RECALL  —  You are here  —  Home » Business » Twinkies may be smaller than people recall  —  NEW YORK (AP) — Twinkies are back, but they may be a bit smaller than you remember.  —  The new boxes hitting shelves this week list …

California Supreme Court Denies Request For Immediate Halt To Same-Sex Couples' Marriages  —  The justices' order comes three days after the supporters of Proposition 8 asked the court to stop the marriages, which resumed in the state on June 28.  —  The California Supreme Court has rejected …

Virginians sour on McDonnell  —  PPP's newest Virginia poll finds that Bob McDonnell's net approval rating has dropped 12 points in the last month, and that for the first time since taking office he's under water.  Only 36% of voters approve of the job he's doing to 41% who disapprove.