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 …

Same-Sex Married Couples To Get Federal Tax Recognition Regardless Of State  —  WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of the Treasury announced Thursday that when it comes to taxes, it will recognize same-sex couples' marriages even if they live in a state that does not.

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. …

Justice Department Announces Update to Marijuana Enforcement Policy  —  Today, the U.S. Department of Justice announced an update to its federal marijuana enforcement policy in light of recent state ballot initiatives that legalize, under state law, the possession of small amounts of marijuana …

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 …

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 …

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.