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 …

All Legal Same-Sex Marriages Will Be Recognized for Federal Tax Purposes  —  Ruling Provides Certainty, Benefits and Protections Under Federal Tax Law for Same-Sex Married Couples  —  WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of the Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) …

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 …

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.

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.”

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 …

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 …

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. …

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.

Eliot Spitzer loses advantage in bid for political comeback: poll  —  NEW YORK — Eliot Spitzer's commanding lead in the race for city comptroller has vanished, according to a new poll.  —  A Quinnipiac University survey released on Thursday found the former New York governor tied with rival Scott Stringer …

Clinton's line was true: The sad facts about assault weapons and voting  —  At the 50th Anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.'s March on Washington yesterday afternoon, former President Bill Clinton delivered not just one of the best lines of the day, but one of the best lines of the debate …

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:

10% Think Race Relations Better Since Obama Elected  —  Voters think America's a better place since Martin Luther King, Jr. gave his famous “I have a dream” speech 50 years ago this week, but nearly nine-out-of-10 say race relations have gotten worse or remained about the same since the election of the nation's first black president.