Blame for Both Sides as Possible Government Shutdown Approaches  —  Tea Party Reps Say Stick to Principles, Even if Shutdown Results  —  If the federal government shuts down because Republicans and the Obama administration fail to agree on a budget, there will be plenty of blame to go around.

Ted Cruz: The Distinguished Wacko Bird from Texas  —  In less than a year, Texas Republican Ted Cruz has become the most despised man in the U.S. Senate.  He's been likened to Joe McCarthy, accused of behaving like a schoolyard bully, and smeared by senior members of his own party.

Clinton World Hints at Ditching Old Baggage for Hillary Run … Hillary Clinton's first major print interview since leaving the Obama administration seven months ago leaves two inescapable impressions: She is running in 2016, and this campaign won't look anything like her failed 2008 run.

Nationalities of Kenya shopping mall gunmen unknown  —  NAIROBI — Kenyan security forces on Monday seized control of a luxury shopping mall that had been attacked by Islamist militants, but officials said some assailants remained hidden inside stores in the mall and little was known …

Reid, Cruz begin ObamaCare slugfest  —  Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) threw the first punches Monday in what is likely to be a weeklong slugfest over ObamaCare.  —  Cruz asked for unanimous consent to pass the House continuing resolution that would fund …

Obamacare Will Increase Health Spending By $7,450 For A Typical Family of Four  —  It was one of candidate Obama's most vivid and concrete campaign promises.  Forget about high minded (some might say high sounding) but gauzy promises of hope and change.  This candidate solemnly pledged on June 5 …

Lower Health Insurance Premiums to Come at Cost of Fewer Choices  —  WASHINGTON — Federal officials often say that health insurance will cost consumers less than expected under President Obama's health care law.  But they rarely mention one big reason: many insurers are significantly limiting …

E.W. Jackson says non-Christians are engaged in ‘some sort of false religion’  —  At a morning sermon Sunday in Northern Virginia, Republican lieutenant governor candidate E.W. Jackson, a Chesapeake pastor, said people who don't follow Jesus Christ “are engaged in some sort of false religion.”

Bush: Obama should play golf  —  Former President George W. Bush said President Obama should not be criticized over his frequent golf outings.  —  Former President George W. Bush said President Obama should not be criticized over his frequent golf outings.

A Mayoral Hopeful Now, de Blasio Was Once a Young Leftist  —  The scruffy young man who arrived in Nicaragua in 1988 stood out.  —  He was tall and sometimes goofy, known for his ability to mimic a goose's honk.  He spoke in long, meandering paragraphs, musing on Franklin D. Roosevelt, Karl Marx and Bob Marley.

Graham: ‘Allahu akbar’ is a ‘war chant’  —  Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) on Monday said “allahu akbar” is a “war chant” that sends him running for cover.  —  “When somebody yells ‘allahu akbar’ in the Middle East, I duck,” the senator said on Fox News radio.

CASD in crisis after racially-charged text messages surface  —  The abrupt departure of the Coatesville Area School District superintendent and another senior administrator came two weeks after numerous exchanges of inappropriate and racially-charged text messages were discovered …

Opinion: Defunders are playing Russian roulette with GOP, writes ex-senator  —  Most Americans these days are simply ignoring Republicans.  And they should.  —  The self-promotional babble of a few has become the mainstream of Republican political thought.  It has marginalized the influence of the party to an appalling degree.

In Supreme Court Opinions, Web Links That Go Nowhere  —  WASHINGTON — Supreme Court opinions have come down with a bad case of link rot.  According to a new study, 49 percent of the hyperlinks in Supreme Court decisions no longer work.  —  This can sometimes be amusing.

The Mower Gang: #Anarchy in Detroit, Part I  —  We all know Detroit's in trouble: A bankrupt city full of crumbling houses, abandoned factory buildings, and a dwindling population.  —  But while politicians, unions, and investors slug it out in bankruptcy court and grasp for their share …

Lois Lerner still Hill's favorite piñata  —  Lois Lerner is the political piñata that Congress still loves to whack months after she awkwardly acknowledged that the IRS wrongly scrutinized conservative groups for years.  —  Her sudden retirement on Monday after 12 years at the agency won't change that.