School district apologizes over yearbook quote incident  —  Sponsored Links  —  CLAYTON COUNTY, Ga. —  UPDATE: Paris Gray and her family met with the school's principal and the area superintendent on Tuesday.  They apologized for the miscommunication and said they would not deny her giving a speech at graduation.

Federal Judge Strikes Down Pennsylvania Same-Sex Marriage Ban  —  “We now join the twelve federal district courts across the country [that] ... have concluded that all couples deserve equal dignity in the realm of civil marriage.”  —  Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett delivers an address …

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 …

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.

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 …

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.

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.

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.

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.

Biggest Loser: Thawing Greenland Competes With Collapsing Antarctic For Fastest Ice Loss  —  Several new studies underscore scientists' concerns we're headed toward a coastline at least this flooded (20 meters or 69 feet) over many hundreds of years:  —  The worst-case scenario for sea level rise …

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 …

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.

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

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

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 …

Extreme Weather: How El Niño Might Alter the Political Climate  —  How El Niño Might Alter the Political Climate  —  A rise in sea surface temperatures could presage a season of weather extremes, as it did in 2002 when tuna crabs washed ashore north of their usual habitat.

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.

‘House of Cards’ looking for NSA director, senators, reporters  —  Casting call makes return feel official, after stormy off-season  —  After a politically stormy off-season, the return of “House of Cards” to Maryland becomes a reality with casting call notices like this one going out.