Bill and Hillary Clinton are ‘livid’ at comparisons to Weiner's sexcapades and Huma's forgiveness  —  Bill and Hillary Clinton are angry with efforts by mayoral hopeful Anthony Weiner and his campaign to compare his Internet sexcapades — and his wife Huma Abedin's incredible forgiveness …

Are Republicans too divided to have a civil war?  —  A nasty fight is brewing among Republicans over a proposal to defund Obamacare.  Another intra-party fight is flaring over national security and the war on terror.  And yet another is well under way over immigration reform.

The Affordable Care Act's Rate-Setting Won't Work  —  Experience tells me the Independent Payment Advisory Board will fail.  —  Continuing efforts by congressional Republicans to “defund” further implementation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, even if it takes shutting …

Pope Francis Says He Will Not Judge Gay Priests  —  ABOARD THE PAPAL AIRCRAFT (AP) — Pope Francis reached out to gays on Monday, saying he wouldn't judge priests for their sexual orientation in a remarkably open and wide-ranging news conference as he returned from his first foreign trip.

Stranded by Sprawl  —  Detroit is a symbol of the old economy's decline.  It's not just the derelict center; the metropolitan area as a whole lost population between 2000 and 2010, the worst performance among major cities.  Atlanta, by contrast, epitomizes the rise of the Sun Belt …

Cory Booker Visiting Iowa In August  —  Is Cory Booker already running for President in 2016? … The Newark mayor who is heavily favored in New Jersey's special election to replace Frank Lautenberg in the U.S. Senate has already scheduled a major speaking engagement in Iowa in August.

Cumulus planning to drop Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity  —  In a major shakeup for the radio industry, Cumulus Media, the second-biggest broadcaster in the country, is planning to drop both Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity from its stations at the end of the year, an industry source told POLITICO on Sunday.

Obama: Toughest Work Ahead in Mideast Talks  —  President Barack Obama says the relaunch of Israeli-Palestinian peace talks is a promising step forward.  But he adds that the most difficult work is yet to come.  —  With senior Israeli and Palestinian negotiators en route to Washington …

In U.S., 52% Back Law to Legalize Gay Marriage in 50 States  —  Americans would legalize gay marriage nationwide, favor equal rights for such unions  —  PRINCETON, NJ — If given the opportunity to vote on a law legalizing gay marriage in all 50 states, the slight majority of Americans …

Mitch Daniels Was Right  —  Mitch Daniels, whom some Republicans would like to see president of something more than Purdue University, is under attack because as governor of Indiana he objected to the use of Howard Zinn's A People's History of the United States in public-school curricula.

Fast food strikes intensify in seven cities  —  The biggest walkout yet begins this morning — and the strikes could have far-reaching implications for labor  —  This morning marks the start of what will likely be the largest fast food worker mobilization in U.S. history …

Apple's supplier Pegatron Group violates workers' rights  —  Today, China Labor Watch (CLW) published an investigative report detailing the labor violations of three factories of Pegatron Group, a major supplier to Apple.  In 2013, Apple has increased its orders to these factories …

A Blow for the Press, and for Democracy  —  SOMETIMES James Risen feels like Jean Valjean, the beleaguered protagonist of “Les Miserables,” hounded for years by the authorities.  —  “They just keep coming at me,” Mr. Risen, a Times reporter in Washington, told me by phone last week.

Momentum Builds Against N.S.A. Surveillance  —  WASHINGTON — The movement to crack down on government surveillance started with an odd couple from Michigan, Representatives Justin Amash, a young libertarian Republican known even to his friends as “chief wing nut,” and John Conyers Jr. …