Florida jury in loud music trial reaches verdict on 4 counts, undecided on 5th  —  (CNN) — The jurors weighing the fate of Michael Dunn — the white man who shot into a SUV with black teens after he had asked them to turn down their music — have reached a verdict on four counts …

Another Christie childhood friend witnessed traffic surge  —  A Port Authority police officer with personal ties to New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie was at the George Washington Bridge when access lanes were closed last September and personally drove David Wildstein, the Christie appointee …

Spying by N.S.A. Ally Entangled U.S. Law Firm  —  The list of those caught up in the global surveillance net cast by the National Security Agency and its overseas partners, from social media users to foreign heads of state, now includes another entry: American lawyers.

Calling Lois Lerner  —  The American people still need to hear from Lois Lerner.  That's a point that can't be made often enough.  —  Remember her?  She's the IRS official who gave a statement before Congress declaring herself innocent of any wrongdoing — and then promptly took the Fifth.

Rescuing a Vietnam Casualty: Johnson's Legacy  —  AUSTIN, Tex. — Luci Baines Johnson leaned forward in her father's private suite at the L.B.J. Presidential Library, her voice breaking as she recounted the “agony of Vietnam” that engulfed Lyndon Baines Johnson and the pain she feels …

McCain sees ‘viable’ options in Syria  —  The U.S. needs to rethink its strategy in Syria now that peace talks have essentially stalled, Sen. John McCain said Sunday.  —  Blaming the Obama administration, the Arizona Republican described America's policy in Syria as an “abysmal failure and a disgraceful one.”

For Democrats looking to post-Obama era, how populist a future?  —  With three years remaining in the presidency of Barack Obama, the party he has led since mesmerizing members with his 2008 campaign has begun debating a post-Obama future.  —  Though more united than Republicans …

Volkswagen Vote is Defeat for Labor in South  —  CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — In a defeat for organized labor in the South, employees at the Volkswagen plant here voted 712 to 626 against joining the United Automobile Workers.  —  The loss is an especially stinging blow for U.A.W. because Volkswagen …

High cost of an ego trip  —  Very few Americans know how close the country came to catastrophe this week.  —  The final tally shows that the Senate voted by a wide margin Wednesday, 67 to 31, to break Sen. Ted Cruz's filibuster of an increase in the debt limit, thus avoiding a default on the United States' full faith and credit.

GOP: Obamacare hitting seniors hard  —  Republican Rep. Tom Rooney of Florida took aim today at Obamacare's impact on older Americans, saying that seniors across the country are paying “more money for fewer choices, less access and far less peace of mind.”  —  In the GOP's weekly address …