WWII vet, beaten by teens outside Eagles Lodge, dies  —  Author: Ian Cull, KXLY4 Multimedia Journalist, ianc@kxly.com  —  WWII veteran Delbert Belton survived being wounded in action during the Battle of Okinawa only to be beaten and left for dead by two teens at the Eagles Lodge in Spokane on Wednesday evening.

Transcript of President Obama's interview on “New Day”  —  (CNN) — OBAMA: All right.  We're ready?  OK.  —  CUOMO: All right.  Let's begin with why you're here in Syracuse, why you're doing this particular bus tour what do you believe you can do to help lower the cost of college …

Obama's higher ed plan — a power grab, not a shake-up  —  President Obama has announced a plan that he claims will make “college more affordable, tackle rising costs, and improve value for students and their families.”  The key elements of his plan are (1) a federal college-rating system …

George Zimmerman Shops For Tactical Shotgun  —  SHOPS FOR TACTICAL SHOTGUN  —  EXCLUSIVE  —  George Zimmerman was on the hunt today — for a shotgun ... TMZ has learned.  —  Zimmerman went to Kel-Tec in Cocoa, Florida ... a gun manufacturing company.  We're told he was asking questions …

A New Strategy to Take on ObamaCare  —  A coalition of conservatives believes that ‘delay’ is more likely to succeed than ‘defund.’  —  The Republicans determined to defund ObamaCare are getting a little competition in the ideas department.  Maybe there's hope for progress against the president's health-care law after all.

Assad Calls Obama's Bluff  —  The timing was probably not a coincidence, falling as it did on two anniversaries.  August 18, 2011, was when President Obama first demanded Syrian president Bashar al-Assad step aside, and August 20 last year was when Obama warned that the use of chemical weapons would “change my calculus.”

Media wrestles with how to refer to Manning  —  Is he or isn't he a he?  —  The news media wrestled with pronouns Thursday after Bradley Manning, the Army private convicted of leaking military secrets, declared that he is a woman and intends to seek hormone treatment to complete his gender transition.

Ben Affleck Is the New Batman  —  VIEW GALLERY … Ben Affleck is Batman.  —  The actor will replace Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne in the upcoming untitled Batman-Superman feature for Warner Bros., the studio announced Thursday.  —  Affleck becomes the eighth actor to play the Caped Crusader …

Preparing to be ‘empty nesters,’ the Obamas turn to Sunny  —  (CNN) - Even the leader of the free world can't make time stop.  And just like every other parent, President Barack Obama is being forced to watch his children grow up.  His two daughters, Sasha and Malia, are still years away …

Obama's Economy — We've Fallen And Can't Get Up  —  Economy: Household incomes are still down 4.4% since the recession ended four years ago.  Meanwhile, the unemployment picture may be even worse than we think.  The Obama “recovery” continues to impress.  —  According to a report released …

Al Gore isn't even honest about his own movie.  —  In case you've forgotten, “Al Gore was vice president of the United States from 1993-2001.”  The Washington Post's Ezra Klein delivers that news in setting up an interview with Gore, who is known these days mostly as an alarmist advocate of global warmism.

Amazon Is Said to Have Tested a Wireless Network  —  Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN) has tested a new wireless network that would allow customers to connect its devices to the Internet, according to people with knowledge of the matter.  —  The wireless network, which was tested in Cupertino …

First abortion carried out under new legislation  —  National Maternity Hospital on Holles Street terminated unviable pregnancy at 18 weeks  —  The National Maternity Hospital on Holles Street is one of 25 hospitals in the State authorised to carry out terminations under the provisions of the Act.

Dems watch as Christie rolls  —  New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie has made little secret that he wants a resounding win in his reelection this year as a show of strength for his all-but-assumed 2016 presidential candidacy.  —  And Democrats appear perfectly willing to comply.

Theater owner won't show ‘Lee Daniels’ The Butler'  —  Boutwell has policy against showing Fonda movies  —  Last weekend's top movie for ticket sales isn't coming to Hardin County.  —  Lee Daniels' The Butler" brought in an estimated $25 million on its opening weekend with its portrayal of Cecil Gaines …

DHS employee spends spare time promoting race war against ‘whites’  —  Shown here is an image from the War on the Horizon website.  —  A Department of Homeland Security manager in charge of buying weapons and ammunition for the government is, on the side, running an inflammatory website …

Ted Cruz: ‘I am secretly a citizen of Ethiopia’  —  U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz poked fun at the flap over his citizenship at an appearance Thursday at National Instruments in Austin.  —  Cruz, who was born in Canada to a U.S.-born mom and Cuban father, said this week he'll renounce his Canadian citizenship …

N.F.L. Pressure Said to Lead ESPN to Quit Film Project  —  Pressure from the National Football League led to ESPN's decision on Thursday to pull out of an investigative project with “Frontline” regarding head injuries in the N.F.L., according to two people with direct knowledge of the situation.

This Age of Bubbles  —  So, another BRIC hits the wall.  Actually, I've never much liked the whole “BRIC” — Brazil, Russia, India, and China — concept: Russia, which is basically a petro-economy, doesn't belong there at all, and there are large differences among the other three.