Obama Plans to Unveil His Agenda for Economy  —  WASHINGTON — With major battles looming in the fall over the federal budget and the debt ceiling, President Obama is trying to regain the initiative, embarking on a campaign-style tour of the Midwest this week to lay out his agenda for reinvigorating …

Rhetoric, race and reality in America  —  The biggest threat to black youths is other young blacks, not white bigots.  —  Rev. Al Sharpton speaks during a news conference outside the Department of Justice while discussing Trayvon Martin case.  Sharpton called for the federal government …

‘Stop Hillary’ group ramps up anti-Clinton efforts  —  Washington (CNN) - Hillary Clinton may or may not run for president in 2016, but the conservative effort to derail her potential candidacy is already underway.  —  The organizers behind Stop Hillary PAC, a political action committee quietly incorporated …

CONSERVATIVES FEAR ‘CONFERENCE’ MAY TRANSFORM HOUSE IMMIGRATION BILLS TO SENATE'S AMNESTY  —  While House Speaker John Boehner is keeping a tight lid on his personal position on immigration reform, conservative activists and lawmakers fear the Republican leader may rubber-stamp Democrats …

In Snowmass, Scalia says judges should not be policy makers  —  U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia used the twin terrors of Nazi Germany and radical Islam to warn a Snowmass Village audience Saturday about the dangers of judicial activism.  —  Speaking to a gathering …

Detroit, the New Greece  —  When Detroit declared bankruptcy, or at least tried to — the legal situation has gotten complicated — I know that I wasn't the only economist to have a sinking feeling about the likely impact on our policy discourse.  Was it going to be Greece all over again?

6 dead, 17 wounded in shootings since Friday night  —  Six men were killed and at least 17 people — including a 6-year-old girl — were wounded in shootings across the city since Friday night.  —  Asked Sunday about Chicago's reputation in the wake of another violent weekend …

The incredibly shrunken 2014 battlefield  —  Battleground 2014 is shaping up to be a very small place.  —  With the House sliced and diced into districts that leave most incumbents insulated from any serious reelection challenge —and a host of prized Senate recruits from both parties deciding …

Duchess of Cambridge Is Hospitalized in ‘Early Stages of Labor’  —  LONDON — After months of ever more frenetic anticipation, the British royal family said Monday that the Duchess of Cambridge, the former Kate Middleton, had gone to St. Mary's Hospital in the Paddington district of London …

The 'Ender's Game' Boycott  —  The film “Ender's Game” tells the story of a gifted child sent to a military academy in space to prepare for an alien invasion.  It's catnip for the Comic-Con crowd, and Lionsgate Entertainment wants to position it as November's big-budget blockbuster.

Personality likely to trump issues in Democratic governor race between Pat Quinn, Bill Daley  —  Incumbent governor, challenger bring own baggage to contest … With the field for next year's Democratic primary nomination for governor becoming clearer, so too is the realization …

NY food stamp recipients are shipping welfare-funded groceries to relatives in Jamaica, Dominican Republic and Haiti  —  Food stamps are paying for trans-Atlantic takeout — with New Yorkers using taxpayer-funded benefits to ship food to relatives in Jamaica, Haiti and the Dominican Republic.