Barack Obama's early VA response: Executive inaction  —  President Barack Obama wants to talk about flexing his administrative and executive power to do more.  Instead, he got stuck talking about a clear administrative and executive failure that, at least so far, he hasn't done much about.

Mark Cuban discusses his own prejudices in startling terms  —  It turns out, regarding race-related views among NBA owners, Donald Sterling may have company.  —  Less than a month after Sterling rocked the sports world with racist remarks, Mark Cuban, owner of the Dallas Mavericks, has openly acknowledged his own prejudices.

Morning Plum: Obama slams ‘false equivalence’ media  —  At a fundraiser last night, President Obama unleashed a surprisingly spirited and comprehensive attack on both-sides-to-blame media coverage.  While he has taken issue with Beltway coverage before, what was particularly noteworthy …

How right-wingers are amping up their war on science  —  From climate change to reproduction, Republicans are increasingly deciding “science” is whatever they say it is  —  No longer content just to claim to be “skeptical” of scientific findings they find disagreeable …

Scarborough: I've Never Heard Anyone Object To Obamacare Over Race (VIDEO)  —  Joe Scarborough said Friday that he doesn't understand what evidence Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) has to back up his claim that opposition to President Barack Obama's signature health care law is driven by his race.

The Hard Sell on Climate Change  —  Jeff Zucker, the president of CNN, was very forthright about his media priorities at a Society of Professional Journalists dinner in New York City on Monday.  —  He told Bill Carter of the New York Times: “Climate change is one of those stories that deserves more attention, that we all talk about.

Tennessee brings back electric chair  —  Editor's note: CNN's original series “Death Row Stories” explores America's capital punishment system at 9 p.m. ET/PT Sundays, beginning July 13.  Join the conversation about the death penalty at facebook.com/cnn or Twitter @CNNorigSeries using #DeathRowStories.

A Surveillance Bill That Falls Short  —  A year ago, it would have been unimaginable for the House to pass a bill to curtail the government's abusive surveillance practices.  The documents leaked by Edward Snowden, however, finally shocked lawmakers from both parties into action …

Did a Pennsylvania Republican Lose Because He's Openly Gay?  —  Mike Fleck ran unopposed three times, but appears to have been beaten by a write-in candidate after coming out in 2012.  —  Pennsylvania may have become the 19th state to allow same-sex couples to marry Tuesday but did it also vote …

The One Thing Each Party Needs to Overcome by 2016  —  So far, neither side has made much progress toward solving its lingering challenge.  —  Each party emerged from the 2012 presidential election facing one key electoral challenge before the next contest in 2016.

They Had a Dream  —  Rule by experts comes a cropper  —  They had a dream.  For almost a hundred years now, the famed academic-artistic-and-punditry industrial complex has dreamed of a government run by their kind of people (i.e., nature's noblemen), whose intelligence, wit, and refined sensibilities would bring us a heaven on earth.

A Response to Michael Kinsley  —  In 2006, Charlie Savage won the Pulitzer Prize for his series of articles in The Boston Globe exposing the Bush administration's use of “signing statements” as a means of ignoring the law.  In response to those revelations, Michael Kinsley …

Georgia Senate: Nunn (D) Holds Slight Edge Over GOP Finalists  —  Georgia Republicans won't have a specific nominee for a couple more months, but the final two contenders are running slightly behind Democrat Michelle Nunn in Rasmussen Reports' first look at the U.S. Senate race in Georgia.

Connecting the dots: Mayfield, Sager, Mary and McDaniel  —  Mark Mayfield is an attorney, Madison County Republican Party leader and officer in multiple tea party organizations.  —  Richard Sager is an elementary school physical education teacher and high school soccer coach.

IRS Will Revise Proposal on Political Nonprofit Groups  —  The U.S. Internal Revenue Service said today that it will revise proposed rules governing nonprofit groups' involvement in politics.  —  The rules, released last year, were an attempt to provide guidance for how much political …

Who made the pivot to Asia?  Putin.  —  On Wednesday, it finally happened — the pivot to Asia.  No, not the United States.  It was Russia that turned East.  —  In Shanghai, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping signed a spectacular energy deal …