In a final videotaped message, a sad reflection of the sexist stories we so often see on screen  —  Police were examining this video posted on YouTube in which a man who identifies himself as Elliot Rodger says he is planning an attack in Isla Vista because he had been snubbed by women.

Joe The Plumber To UCSB Parents: 'Your Dead Kids Don't Trump' My Guns  —  Samuel Wurzelbacher gave his condolences this week to the families of the victims of the mass shooting near the University of California, Santa Barbara.  But no tragedy is going to stop “Joe The Plumber” from defending the Second Amendment.

U.S. Will Complete Afghan Pullout by End of 2016, Obama Says  —  WASHINGTON — President Obama said on Tuesday that he planned to withdraw the last combat troops from Afghanistan by the end of 2016, declaring that “it's time to turn the page on a decade in which so much of our foreign policy …

There's another scandal in American health care  —  TWEET SHARE LINKEDIN EMAIL PRINT  —  The investigation is ongoing, but as of now, it looks like overwhelmed VA hospitals shunted some veterans onto secret wait lists and delayed their care (read Vox's explainer here).

Gun Activists Flaunting Assault Rifles Get Booted From Chili's and Sonic  —  As a backlash grows, open-carry groups in Texas beat a retreat.  —  It would be an understatement to say that the tactics of gun rights activists have been backfiring of late.  The showdown has taken place foremost in Texas …

How the Gun Nuts Try to Excuse Away the Santa Barbara Slaughter—and Why They're All Wrong  —  The firearms fanboys have been more creative than usual, scrambling to defend their precious weapons in the wake of the massacre in Santa Barbara.  It's only made their excuses lamer.

HILLARY CLINTON: Book is not for 'followers of Washington's long-running soap opera ... I'm proud of what we accomplished ... America remains the “indispensable nation"' — GOP SENATE CONTRACT '14?  —  EXCLUSIVE: The initial printing of Hillary Rodham Clinton's “Hard Choices,” …

Major Jewish Group Slams MSNBC Host Toure for Suggesting Holocaust Survivors Benefitted from ‘the Power of Whiteness’  —  A major Jewish organization dedicated to combating anti-Semitism and pursuing Nazi war criminals is criticizing MSNBC host Toure for suggesting that Jewish Holocaust survivors benefitted from being white.

Were Christians Right About Gay Marriage All Along?  —  The marriage equality fight is all but won.  Will the future of marriage be boring as hell, or a Bible-thumper's idea of Sodom and Gomorrah?  —  Same-sex marriage is becoming a national inevitability.

Chamber of Commerce goes up for Joni Ernst in Iowa primary  —  The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is giving Iowa Senate candidate Joni Ernst a last-minute boost ahead of the state's June 3 GOP primary, touting her farm-family upbringing and military credentials in a TV ad obtained by POLITICO.

Federal Judge Who Halted Walker Dark Money Criminal Probe Attended Koch-Backed Judicial Junkets  —  The federal judge who ordered a halt to Wisconsin's “John Doe” criminal investigation into spending during the 2011 and 2012 recall elections has regularly attended all-expenses paid …

Ukraine forces battle separatists; 40 dead  —  Donetsk, Ukraine (CNN) — Pro-Russia separatists and government forces battled at Donetsk airport in eastern Ukraine, claiming 40 lives, authorities said Tuesday, in what appears to be the deadliest outbreak of violence in the city.

Casting the Ideal Challenger to Hillary Clinton  —  Jim Webb, the former Democratic senator from Virginia, stirred the political pot this past week, saying he was considering a presidential run in 2016.  Webb was a moderate when he was in the Senate, and he strikes a different ideological chord …

GOPer Covers Room In Vulgar Words To Make A Point About Sexism (VIDEO)  —  It was clear that Annette Bosworth's Tuesday morning press conference would be unusual when she said it was intended for a “mature audience” only. … It got even more so when the long-shot candidate for U.S. Senate …

The Brussels mystery: Was shooting anti-Semitism or part of spy games?  —  Considering how professional the shooter looked on footage, and the fact two of those killed were former Israeli civil servants, maybe the attack was actually a battle in the covert war.

Michelle Nunn's Lucrative Years Running a Nonprofit Organization  —  Georgia Democrats are quite excited about their candidate for Senate, Michelle Nunn.  —  Here's how her campaign describes her work in the nonprofit sector:  —  Seeing a need in Atlanta for a vehicle by which young people …

George W. Bush Treated at Rush University Medical Center  —  President George W. Bush traveled to Chicago over the Memorial Day weekend to have knee replacement surgery at the Rush University Medical Center's Midwest Orthapaedics.  —  The former president had outpatient surgery on Saturday …

Black Republican Congressional Candidate Defends Cliven Bundy  —  “I don't consider Cliven or his wonderful family racist at all,” says Niger Innis.  Period, end of story.  youtube.com  —  A Republican congressional candidate running to represent the district where rancher Cliven Bundy's …