Shutdown looms over ObamaCare  —  ObamaCare is at the center of a rapidly escalating fight that threatens to shut the government down this fall.  [WATCH VIDEO]  —  Senate Republicans, including two members of the leadership, are coalescing around a proposal to block any government funding resolution …

Republicans wait as O'Donnell weighs another campaign  —  In the three years since her unsuccessful U.S. Senate campaign nearly caused a schism in the state Republican Party, little has changed for Christine O'Donnell as she considers another race.  —  O'Donnell continues to be regarded …

Poll: Obama's job approval plunges; Congress, especially GOP, still unpopular  —  WASHINGTON — Stung by Americans' persistent worries about the economy and a capital gripped by controversy and gridlock, President Barack Obama is suffering his lowest job approval numbers in nearly two years, according to a new McClatchy-Marist poll.

The NYPD: Guilty of Saving 7,383 Lives  —  Accusations of racial profiling ignore the fact that violent crime overwhelmingly occurs in minority neighborhoods.  —  Since 2002, the New York Police Department has taken tens of thousands of weapons off the street through proactive policing strategies.

North Carolina On Cusp Of Passing Worst Voter Suppression Bill In The Nation  —  Voting in North Carolina may soon change, much in the same way a wrecking ball changes a building.  —  The highly-conservative North Carolina legislature just released a new voter suppression bill that would enact …

No Comment From Weiner Camp On New Alleged Sex Chats  —  The Dirty posts explicit Facebook and Formspring exchanges.  “I'm deeply flawed.”  —  Source: thedirty.com  —  Anthony Weiner's campaign did not respond Tuesday to repeated inquiries about a new set of unverified images suggesting …

Cheney Senate bid looks like an uphill battle  —  PPP's new Wyoming poll finds that most voters in the state see Liz Cheney as an outsider...and as a result she starts out at a significant deficit in a primary contest with Mike Enzi.  —  Overall only 31% of Wyoming voters consider Cheney to be a ‘Wyomingite’ to 50% who do not.

Sacha Baron Cohen Exits Freddie Mercury Biopic Over Creative Differences With Queen  —  BREAKING... EXCLUSIVE... Sacha Baron Cohen is just not seeing eye to eye with the remaining members of Queen who have script and director approval over that biopic on iconic lead singer Freddie Mercury.

Chicago alderman gets White House award, admits talking to FBI … Clout Street  —  In a case of only-in-Chicago political timing, the White House announced Monday it would honor Ald.  Joe Moore as a “pioneer for political reform,” the same day the veteran City Council member revealed …

Michelle Nunn declares herself a U.S. Senate candidate  —  Shortly after 1 p.m. Monday, Michelle Nunn declared herself a Democratic candidate in the 2014 race for U.S. Senate, the very seat once held by her father.  —  The formal announce will come Tuesday, when she files the official paperwork.

House GOP August Plan: Hate on Washington  —  When House Republicans retreat to their districts for the August recess, they will each be armed with a detailed guide — an exceptionally detailed guide — on how to assure their already convinced constituents that Washington is broken.

Both Parties Need to Keep an Eye on Older Voters for 2014 Elections  —  The electorate has changed since the 2010 midterms, and this segment - which voted Republican in the last two elections - appears to be shifting in recent surveys.  —  This week, I had the opportunity to listen …

New York Man Arrested After Threatening Two News Anchors On Twitter  —  PHOENIX (AP) — A New York man has been arrested on allegations that he made threats on Twitter against two national newscasters who angered him with their coverage of the Jodi Arias trial, Arizona authorities said Monday.

Getting Detroit Back on Its Feet  —  After suffering through decades of economic decline and official mismanagement, the city of Detroit sought bankruptcy protection last week, becoming the largest American municipality to take that extreme step.  The city's debts total a staggering $18 billion …

House GOP budget plan collapsing  —  Like an army that's outrun its supply line, the Republican budget strategy in Congress shows almost daily signs of coming apart.  —  The central premise, as sold by House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, was that Washington could wipe out deficits …

Radioactive wastewater from Fukushima power plant leaking into ocean, say officials  —  More than two years after a magnitude 9. earthquake and resulting tsunami devestated northeastern Japan, the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) announced that contaminated groundwater appears to be leaking …

GOP lawmaker slams Jay Z and Kanye West for boycotting Florida  —  Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-Fla.) slammed rapper Jay-Z for joining Stevie Wonder's boycott of Florida after traveling to Cuba.  —  Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-Fla.) slammed rapper Jay-Z for joining Stevie Wonder's boycott of Florida after traveling to Cuba.

Former military head says it was quickly clear terrorists behind Benghazi consulate attack  —  The former head of U.S. forces in Africa, General Carter Ham, told the Aspen Security Forum that it quickly became clear the assault on the American consulate in Benghazi last year was a terrorist attack and not a spontaneous demonstration.

A Growing Share of Latinos Get Their News in English  —  I. Overview  —  The language of news media consumption is changing for Hispanics: a growing share of Latino adults are consuming news in English from television, print, radio and internet outlets, and a declining share are doing so in Spanish …