The Scandal at the VA Is Real, and Obama Is Ducking It  —  Democrats can dismiss Benghazi and the IRS as pseudo-scandals, maybe, but 40 veterans have died, and where has Obama been?  Totally absent.  —  Up to now, President Obama and congressional Democrats had thought “so-called” …

Arthur Sulzberger's First Interview About the Turmoil at The New York Times: “I Would Have Done It Differently”  —  A week after the firing of Jill Abramson as executive editor of The New York Times, the newspaper's publisher, Arthur Sulzberger Jr., sat down with V.F.'s Sarah Ellison for an exclusive interview about the controversy.

Republicans Have Edge on Top Election Issue: the Economy  —  Democrats have advantage on Affordable Care Act and economic inequality  —  PRINCETON, NJ — American voters rate the economy as the most important issue to their vote for Congress this year, and give the Republicans in Congress …

Dems desperately seek an Obama midterm strategy  —  For months, President Barack Obama has been telling donors that there's nothing more important to him than the November elections.  —  But many Democrats say their biggest worry for the fall is the president himself.

Hillary's Brain; Hillary's Brain on Drudge  —  An article linked today on Drudge:  —  http://on.wsj.com/1jOqOJR  —  Hey!  Hillary's brain is off-limits!  Leave her health records alone!  Democrats are right - scouring records of a female candidate is just politics of personal destruction …

Monica Wehby's ex-husband accused her of ‘ongoing harassment’ during divorce: police report  —  The ex-husband of Republican Senate candidate Monica Wehby accused her of “ongoing harassment” as they were going through a divorce in December 2007 and also called the police on her in December 2009 …

Oregon gay marriage ban struck down by federal judge; same-sex marriages begin  —  Oregon's ban on same-sex marriages was struck down Monday by U.S. District Judge Michael McShane, who ruled that the prohibition violated the federal constitutional rights of gays and lesbians.

Cochran campaign knew of wife's taping for weeks  —  Sen. Thad Cochran's (R-Miss.) legal team apparently held onto information concerning a man's taping of the senator's bedridden wife for as many as two weeks before turning it over to the police.  —  Cochran's campaign spokesman …

U.S. Cites End to C.I.A. Ruses Using Vaccines  —  WASHINGTON — Three years after the Central Intelligence Agency set up a phony hepatitis vaccination program in Pakistan as part of the hunt for Osama bin Laden, the Obama administration told a group of American health educators last week …

Thomas Piketty and the End of Our Peaceful Coexistence With Inequality  —  Economic disparities aren't new.  But from Piketty to the pope, talking about them is.  —  Two years ago, I wrote, “Inequality will be the central theme of 2012.  It has always existed and is not going away …

Florida Lawmaker: Common Core Will Turn ‘Every One Of Your Children’ Gay  —  Florida Republican Rep. Charles Van Zant, left, believes that increasing educational standards cause homosexuality.  —  CREDIT: AP Photo/Phil Coale  —  Common Core may not be a well-intentioned set …

Report: Fear of high ObamaCare premiums ‘unfounded’  —  Fears that insurance premiums will spike next year are premature, according to a new report that argues market competition will likely keep costs from rising.  —  Critics of the Affordable Care Act have long warned that premiums …

Why Democrats Are Aching to Run Against Jeb Bush  —  On Friday, Hillary Clinton spoke at the New America Foundation's “Big Ideas” conference (disclosure: I'm a New America senior fellow).  Her basic theme was familiar—the American dream of upward mobility is in peril—though she did offer a couple of intriguing twists.

NRA Thinks #BringBackOurGirls Hashtag Isn't 2nd Amendment-y Enough  —  The hashtag #BringBackOurGirls, which was launched to bring attention to the kidnapping of hundreds of girls in Nigeria by the Islamist militant group Boko Haram, has inspired plenty of discussion, on Twitter and elsewhere.

Economic Recovery Yields Few Benefits for the Voters Democrats Rely On  —  WASHINGTON — Signs that a long-awaited economic recovery may finally be gaining steam should be welcome news for President Obama and his party as they try to stem losses in this year's midterm elections.

Thailand army declares martial law  —  Jonathan Head reports from Bangkok on the surprise announcement  —  The Thai army says that it is imposing martial law amid a political crisis “to preserve law and order”.  —  The surprise announcement also granted the army wide-ranging powers to enforce its decision.

U.S. may evacuate embassy in Libya  —  Tripoli, Libya (CNN) — The U.S. military has doubled the number of aircraft standing by in Italy if needed to evacuate Americans from the U.S. Embassy in Tripoli, Libya, CNN has learned.  —  A decision to evacuate as violence in the Libyan capital grows is …

Truthers Plan to Hand out Fake Brochures for 9/11 Museum On Opening Day  —  The dedication of the new National September 11 Memorial Museum happened last week, with speeches from President Obama and Mayor de Blasio and flags flown at half-mast outside at the World Trade Center Memorial Plaza.

Krauthammer: Obama Acts as If He ‘Stumbled Upon the Presidency’  —  Time after time, President Obama has reportedly learned of a number of big administration scandals in the media, from the IRS to Fast & Furious and now the VA scandal over wait times and veterans dying before receiving proper treatment …