Kim Jong-un's ex-lover ‘executed by firing squad’  —  Kim Jong-un's ex-girlfriend was among a dozen well-known North Korean performers who were executed by firing squad nine days go, according to South Korean reports.  —  Hyon Song-wol, a singer and rumoured to be a former lover of the North Korean leader …

AP SOURCES: INTELLIGENCE ON WEAPONS NO ‘SLAM DUNK’  —  You are here  —  Home » United States government » AP sources: Intelligence on weapons no ‘slam dunk’  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — The intelligence linking Syrian President Bashar Assad or his inner circle to an alleged chemical weapons attack …

Obama's Affordable Care Act Looking a Bit Unaffordable  —  Independent National Journal analysis finds premiums higher under Obamacare as employers weigh dropping coverage.  —  Republicans have long blamed President Obama's signature health care initiative for increasing insurance costs, dubbing it the “Unaffordable Care Act.”

If You Send Your Kid to Private School, You Are a Bad Person  —  A manifesto.  —  You are a bad person if you send your children to private school.  Not bad like murderer bad—but bad like ruining-one-of-our-nation's-most- essential-institutions-in-order-to-get- what's-best-for-your-kid bad.

OBAMA OFFERS NEW GUN CONTROL STEPS  —  You are here  —  Home » United States government » Obama offers new gun control steps  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — Striving to take action where Congress would not, the Obama administration announced new steps Thursday on gun control …

U.S. spy network's successes, failures and objectives detailed in ‘black budget’ summary  —  U.S. spy agencies have built an intelligence-gathering colossus since the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, but remain unable to provide critical information to the president on a range of national security threats …

Dubious Data Points For 2016  —  Taking advantage of a slow news week, Tom Edsall takes to the virtual pages of the New York Times' Opinionator blog today to assess Republican odds of regaining the White House in 2016, which is audacious since many news consumers groan about early discussions …

Sabattus man says ‘shoot’ posting wasn't a threat against Obama, defends using racial slur  —  SABATTUS, Maine — David Marsters said Tuesday night that the wording of his Facebook post was a mistake, but he defended it, anyway.  —  “(The Secret Service) didn't see no pictures of Obama with bullet holes in his head,” Marsters said.

Cory Booker's Imaginary Friend  —  Go back and listen to Cory Booker's stump speeches over the years, and, as in those of any politician, you'll hear many of the same stories.  But Booker's are more dramatic and heart-rending than most.  They draw heavily on his experiences in Newark, N.J. …

Republicans absent from March on Washington  —  Not a single Republican elected official stood on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial on Wednesday with activists, actors, lawmakers and former presidents invited to mark the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington — a notable absence …

State: Montco same-sex marriage licenses meaningless  —  The Corbett administration said its lawsuit seeking to halt same-sex marriage licenses in Montgomery County “would have no direct effect” on the couples who have already received them.  —  In a brief Wednesday, state attorneys …

On the Death of Dreams  —  If we are honest with ourselves we will see a president who believes in particular black morality, but eschews particular black policy.  —  Watching Barack Obama's speech yesterday, I thought of a young W.E.B. Du Bois who in 1897 authored the original Poundcake Speech:

U.S. fast-food workers plan nationwide strikes over wages … Atossa Araxia Abrahamian  —  NEW YORK (Reuters) - Fast-food workers across the United States are expected to stage their largest strike to date on Thursday in an almost year-long campaign to raise wages in the service sector.

First Term Troubles - Corbett's numbers continue to drop  —  PENNSYLVANIA governors typically encounter trouble in their first terms and the polls reflect that with dipping popularity.  —  It happened to Gov. Tom Ridge, a Republican, in the late 1990s.  —  It happened to Gov. Ed Rendell, a Democrat, in the mid-2000s.

WATCH: IDF soldiers ‘abandon patrol to party with Palestinians in Hebron club’  —  Army probing soldiers apparently seen dancing to Gangnam style.  —  The Israel Defense Forces has launched an investigation after Israeli soldiers from the elite Givati Brigade were captured on camera dancing …

Bill de Blasio's America  —  A guy named Bill de Blasio is now leading the polls, and might be elected mayor of New York City in a couple of months.  Which, if it happens, will not only be a big deal for de Blasio, his charming, telegenic family, and New York's citizens …