Helen Thomas, trailblazing reporter, dead at 92  —  Helen Thomas, whose career covering the White House dated back to the Kennedy administration, died on Saturday at the age of 92, the Gridiron Club announced in an email to members on Saturday.  —  Thomas was the first woman to join …

Obama's safe, overrated and airy speech  —  The president's remarks gave us context to the episode, but not a single opinion on the issues that brought us here  —  When people hold their breath for your imminent words, isn't it exasperating when you open your mouth, but don't say much?

Palestinian Prisoner Release Is Critical Hurdle in Resuming Peace Talks  —  JERUSALEM — After a week of intense diplomatic meetings with Palestinian leaders, Secretary of State John Kerry is counting on an Israeli government decision to release long-serving Palestinian prisoners …

Congressional Black Caucus members would support Florida boycott  —  A number of House Democrats are lining up behind the Rev. Jesse Jackson's threat for an economic boycott of Florida following the not-guilty verdict in the death of Trayvon Martin.  —  The lawmakers, all members …

China's Flying Propaganda Weapon Will Blow Your Mind  —  What's the latest weapon in the Chinese military's arsenal of high-tech killing machines?  It might be an airplane capable of disseminating propaganda so powerful it induces nervous breakdowns, according to report in Tuesday's Global Times …

Nate Silver of FiveThirtyEight Blog Is to Join ESPN Staff  —  Nate Silver, the statistician who attained national fame for his accurate projections about the 2008 and 2012 presidential elections, is parting ways with The New York Times and moving his FiveThirtyEight franchise to ESPN …

We Have to Step In and Save Detroit  —  For months, the question in many minds has been not whether Detroit would file for bankruptcy, but when.  —  But while Detroit's decision this week to enter bankruptcy might make it easier to improve the city's fiscal position, it will prove far tougher …

Rise of the Warrior Cop  —  Is it time to reconsider the militarization of American policing?  —  On Jan. 4 of last year, a local narcotics strike force conducted a raid on the Ogden, Utah, home of Matthew David Stewart at 8:40 p.m. The 12 officers were acting on a tip from Mr. Stewart's former girlfriend …

NSA surveillance program extended by court, intelligence officials say  —  A secret court on Friday extended the National Security Agency's authority to collect and store the phone records of tens of millions of American cellphone customers, the top U.S. intelligence official confirmed.

Ted Cruz could beat Hillary  —  There's been some more buzz this week about Ted Cruz's presidential prospects.  The demagoguing senator took his first trip to Iowa just six months after being sworn in to office, and he's pretty clearly reaching for the White House.  Early reports are that it's going well.