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 …

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.

Release Detail  —  July 29, 2013 - Weiner Should Drop Out, NYC Likely Dem Voters Tell Quinnipiac University Poll; Quinn Leads, With De Blasio, Thompson Tied For Second  —  Congressman Anthony Weiner drops to fourth place among likely Democratic primary voters in the race for New York City mayor …

Mitt Romney's Incredible 47-Percent Denial: “Actually, I Didn't Say That”  —  Poor Mitt Romney.  He seems unable to come to terms with one of the most significant episodes in his public life: the 47 percent video that undercut his chance of becoming president of the United States.

Rand Paul explains why both sides are losing the GOP civil war  —  So Rand Paul is in a bit of an argument with Republicans like New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and and New York Congressman Peter King over warrantless surveillance.  Paul says he's against it, and they say they're for it …

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.

Eliot Spitzer not voting for Anthony Weiner  —  Former New York Governor Eliot Spitzer doesn't think Anthony Weiner should be mayor of New York City.  —  Asked by host Chris Matthews Monday on MSNBC's “Hardball” who he would vote for in the mayoral election, Spitzer was hesitant to answer.

Widening Regional Divide over Abortion Laws  —  OVERVIEW  —  While the balance of opinion toward abortion nationwide has remained largely steady over the past 20 years, there are widening disparities in public attitudes on the issue across different regions of the country.

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 …

Conservatives bashed me for speaking out about the Zimmerman verdict  —  America may be a nation of ‘free speech’, but be prepared to be bullied and harassed for speaking up, especially on race  —  Hours after the George Zimmerman verdict, I found myself at my computer, calling to mind a text I had first read in seminary.

Obama Vineyard vacation at $7.6m private resort, over 75 rooms booked for staff  —  MASSACHUSETTS WASHINGTON SECRETS WHITE HOUSE  —  The Massachusetts island of Martha's Vineyard, the exclusive playground for presidents and their families, is about to get its annual summer infusion of cash …

Abortion legislation signed by McCrory  —  RALEIGH — Gov. Pat McCrory signed the controversial abortion bill and 17 others into law on Monday.  —  The state Senate gave final approval Thursday to the measure which gave the state Department of Health and Human Services the authority …

Guantanamo's Secret Camp Loves ‘Shades Of Grey’ Series, Officials Tell Congressional Delegation  —  ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Military officials gave a congressional delegation a tour of Guantanamo's secretive Camp Seven last week and told a visiting congressional delegation that the camp's high-value detainees enjoy …

In 93-1 vote, Senate confirms FBI nominee  —  The Senate voted 93-1 Monday to confirm James Comey as head of the FBI.  —  The only senator to vote against Comey was Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), who has expressed concerns about the FBI's domestic drone program.  —  Sens. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) voted present.

Fear of a Female Fed Chief  —  The hard-money cranks of the right have spent the Obama years nurturing fears of incipient inflation that never seems to arrive, yet whose non-arrival never dents their airtight worldview.  The current jostling between Larry Summers and Janet Yellen to become …

Building collapses in Philadelphia  —  (CNN) — Firefighters in Philadelphia were responding to a building collapse Monday morning, the city's fire department said.  —  Witnesses told CNN affiliate KYW that they heard an explosion and smelled gas after the blast.

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 …