Quiz: How Dumb Does Obama Think We Are?  —  The Veterans Affairs policy fiasco is magnified by an insulting-public relations strategy.  —  News quiz: President Obama and his communications team hope that Americans are: 1) Dumb; 2) Distracted; 3) Numb to government inefficiency; 4) All of above.

Bush-Appointed Judge Cites Scalia In Axing Pennsylania Gay Marriage Ban  —  Upon striking down Pennsylvania's gay marriage ban Tuesday, a federal judge cited Justice Antonin Scalia's “cogen[t]” argument that the Supreme Court had essentially paved the way for nationwide marriage equality last year.

D'Souza pleads guilty to U.S. campaign finance law violation  —  (Reuters) - The conservative author and filmmaker Dinesh D'Souza pleaded guilty on Tuesday to a campaign finance law violation, averting a trial that had been expected to begin the same day in Manhattan federal court.

Wife, attorney say blogger was pawn  —  It's still unclear how a political blogger gained access to the bedridden wife of U.S. Sen. Thad Cochran in her nursing home, but the man's wife and his attorney said he didn't sneak into the facility, and that he appears to be a pawn in a big political game.

NPR To End ‘Tell Me More,’ Eliminate 28 Positions  —  NPR announced Wednesday that it would cease broadcast of the weekday program Tell Me More on Aug. 1 and eliminate 28 positions as part of a larger effort to end the company's persistent budget deficits.  —  “These times require …

Reid Hints at ‘Nuclear’ Summer Over Debate Time  —  On the morning of his Republican counterpart's primary back home in Kentucky, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said he would not change the chamber's rules in his absence.  —  But Minority Leader Mitch McConnell might well be advised …

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.

Convicted former U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr.: Presidential pardons for all ex-offenders  —  Former Illinois Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr., who is serving the end of his federal prison term in a Montgomery federal prison.  —  ctoner@al.com By Casey Toner |  ctoner@al.com

Comey: FBI ‘Grappling’ With Hiring Policy Concerning Marijuana  —  Monday was a big day for the nation's cyber police.  The Justice Department charged five Chinese military officials with hacking, and brought charges against the creators of powerful hacking software.

Jeff Zucker talks CNN's post-plane plans  —  Last night, CNN Worldwide President Jeff Zucker gave a hint of where the network will go next now thats its two-plus-month coverage of missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 is subsiding.  —  “I don't think there's any question about our commitment …

The next big fight over the safety net  —  Word has it that Democrats are set to take a shellacking in the 2014 elections, in part because midterm electorates tends to be older and whiter.  So what if Dems campaigned on expanding Social Security, rather than allowing themselves to get drawn …

Exclusive: Al Qaeda's American Fighters Are Coming Home—And U.S. Intelligence Can't Find Them  —  The number of American extremists who have flocked to Syria is higher than previously understood, American intelligence sources say.  And some of the fighters are coming home.

Businesses Turn Out Workers' Votes to Stomp Tea Party  —  Photographer: Joe Jaszewski/The Idaho Statesman/AP Photo  —  Ben Tarbutton has never worked so hard in a primary election to urge his company's employees to vote early or educate them on a candidate's record.

As Candidate For Congress, Ted Yoho Suggested Limiting The Right To Vote To Property Owners  —  Recently unearthed footage of Rep. Ted Yoho speaking at Berean Baptist Church in Ocala, Florida, during his candidacy for Congress in the 2012 election cycle shows the Republican politician suggesting …

No prison time for Indiana man convicted of drugging, raping wife  —  Nation Now  —  The nation's news, events, people and culture

Will Russell Bucklew's Execution Be the Next Death-Penalty Disaster?  —  Missouri plans to kill a convicted murderer Wednesday, but his health and the state's secrecy about lethal-injection procedures raise serious constitutional issues.  —  Aside from the fact that he is likely …

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.

Adam Carolla: The gay mafia is real  —  The comedian and author sounds off to Salon on political correctness and why Asians prove discrimination is a lie  —  Adam Carolla, as ever, has a few things to get off his chest.  —  The comedian and podcaster, whose broadcast career began …