House Republicans Cave On Marriage Fight  —  “[T]he House now seeks leave to withdraw as a party defendant.”  House Republicans stop defending statutes similar to the Defense of Marriage Act that ban recognition of same-sex couples' marriages.  —  Via: J. Scott Applewhite / AP

Have You Heard the One About President Joe Biden?  —  That's No Joke.  Consider: He is the most quietly effective politician in D.C. (Don't laugh.)  The “Most Influential Vice President in History.”  (Seriously, stop laughing.)  One of our nation's most senior statesmen.  (Look it up!)

IRS lawyer says scandal was overseen by D.C., names names  —  Top IRS officials in Washington, D.C. planned and oversaw the agency's improper targeting of conservative groups, according to the 72-year old retiring IRS lawyer who will testify Thursday before the House Oversight Committee.

Planned Parenthood To Close Three Texas Clinics  —  Planned Parenthood on Wednesday informed staff at three of its facilities in Texas that they would be closing, according to people familiar with the decision.  —  The three clinics are located in Bryan, Huntsville and Lufkin, Texas.

Detroit Files Biggest U.S. Municipal Bankruptcy  —  Emergency Manager Orr Seeks to Liquidate Assets to Satisfy Creditors  —  The city of Detroit filed for federal bankruptcy protection on Thursday afternoon, making the automobile capital and onetime music powerhouse the country's largest-ever municipal bankruptcy case.

Testy Meeting Among Senate GOP on ‘Nuclear Option’ Deal  —  A meeting of Senate Republicans on Wednesday grew tense as Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., told his members he could have gotten a better deal on nominations than the one negotiated by rank-and-file Republicans.

Liz Cheney for Senate  —  Vicious, cynical and talented Liz Cheney is perfect  —  Liz Cheney, the infamous political operative and daughter of Vice President Dick Cheney, announced last night that she is running for Senate.  After careful consideration, I believe this is welcome news …

Congressman: Benghazi Survivors Forced to Sign Non-Disclosure Agreements  —  Congressman Frank Wolf, a Republican from Virginia, said today on the House floor that survivors of the Benghazi terror attack have been forced to sign non-disclosure agreements:  —  “On Tuesday I raised the question …

Michelle Obama, daughters catch Beyonce while in town  —  Staff report  —  First lady Michelle Obama, in town to spotlight school career programs, took a side trip with her daughters to a Beyonce concert at the United Center Wednesday night.  —  A motorcade carrying Obama and her daughters …

Republicans, White House in Talks Toward Big Fiscal Deal  —  GOP senators and Obama's chief of staff have been meeting for weeks to set a course that might avoid a crisis when America hits its debt limit in the fall.  —  At least a dozen Republican senators are regularly meeting …

Moscow Trip for Obama May Be Off as Snowden Tensions Build  —  WASHINGTON — President Obama may cancel a scheduled trip to Moscow to meet with President Vladimir V. Putin in September as the standoff over the fate of Edward J. Snowden, the former National Security Agency contractor seeking asylum there …

Brian Tamanaha Says We Should Look at the Below Average Outcomes (And We Did)  —  Brian Tamanaha's response to The Economic Value of a Law Degree, as reported by Inside Higher Education doesn't capture the contents of the study.  According to IHE, Tamanaha said:

Prominent Democrats Are Now Comfortable With Racial and Ethnic Profiling  —  How else can one interpret President Obama and Senator Chuck Schumer saying that the NYPD's Ray Kelly would make a good secretary of Homeland Security?  —  On Wednesday, President Obama assured a Univision reporter that Ray Kelly …

Back in Black - New York Versus Texas  —  Rick Perry tries luring New York businesses to Texas, but Lewis Black is none too impressed with the Lone Star State.  (06:36)

The Obamacare provision that terrifies insurers  —  President Obama is set to speak this morning about how the health-care law is cutting premiums for millions of Americans.  His remarks will focus on a small Affordable Care Act provision known to health wonks as the “medical loss ratio.”

Pelosi: GOP needs ‘lesson on the birds and the bees’ amid abortion fights  —  House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) slammed Republican lawmakers in Washington and in statehouses across the country for attempting to pass new laws restricting abortion rights, saying they needed a lesson on “the birds and the bees.”

Marco Rubio stumbles  —  Todd Harris, the usually gregarious consultant to Sen. Marco Rubio, uncharacteristically resisted eight days of calls and emails seeking his thoughts for this column.  When he finally did reply, the answer was: “to be honest, another story about Marco and immigration is not high on Christmas list!!”

The Drone That Killed My Grandson  —  SANA, Yemen — I LEARNED that my 16-year-old grandson, Abdulrahman — a United States citizen — had been killed by an American drone strike from news reports the morning after he died.  —  The missile killed him, his teenage cousin and at least five …

Ted Cruz is a legitimate 2016 threat  —  Ted Cruz is heading to Iowa this week for the state GOP's summer picnic.  He's going to New Hampshire to speak before the Republican State Committee on Aug. 23 He visited South Carolina, another early primary state, in May.

Senate votes to end debate on McCarthy's nomination to lead EPA  —  The Senate voted 69-31 Thursday to end debate on the nomination of Gina McCarthy to lead the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).  —  More than 10 Republicans voted with Democrats to advance McCarthy's nomination process.