EXCLUSIVE: Edward Snowden Tells Brian Williams the U.S. Stranded Him in Russia  —  In the sit-down, Snowden also fought back against critics who dismissed him as a low-level hacker — saying he was “trained as a spy” and offered technical expertise to high levels of government.

Maya Angelou, Lyrical Witness of the Jim Crow South, Dies at 86  —  Maya Angelou, the memoirist and poet whose landmark book of 1969, “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” — which describes in lyrical, unsparing prose her childhood in the Jim Crow South — was among the first autobiographies …

Krauthammer Calls Obama's Troop Withdrawal Plan “An Act Of Personal Narcissism”  —  Charles Krauthammer needs some English classes so he can understand that keeping a promise is not an act of narcissism.  —  Predictably, conservatives have their panties in a bunch over President Obama's announcement …

The Real Origins of the Religious Right  —  They'll tell you it was abortion.  Sorry, the historical record's clear: It was segregation.  —  One of the most durable myths in recent history is that the religious right, the coalition of conservative evangelicals and fundamentalists …

Climate Change Doomed the Ancients  —  THIS month, a report issued by a prominent military advisory board concluded that climate change posed a serious threat to America's national security.  —  The authors, 16 retired high-ranking officers, warned that droughts, rising seas and extreme weather events …

Say again, Senator, ACA unkynected?  —  Sen. Mitch McConnell has some explaining to do.  —  What in the world did he mean last week when he told reporters that repeal of the Affordable Care Act — “root and branch,” as he has demanded many times — is “unconnected” to the future of Kynect, Kentucky's health insurance exchange?

Obama jabs foreign policy critics  —  The White House is mounting a concerted defense of President Obama's foreign policy against criticism that he has weakened U.S. influence around the globe.  —  The full-court press hinges on a speech Obama will give Wednesday at West Point's commencement …

Conservative Lead on Social and Economic Ideology Shrinking  —  On social issues, 34% identify as conservative and 30% as liberal  —  PRINCETON, NJ — More Americans continue to identify themselves as conservatives than as liberals on economic and social matters.

‘This Is How Wars End in the 21st Century’  —  The new unsettling normal of victory.  —  SGT John Pacarello rests along a ridgeline following a patrol up a mountainside near Forward Operating Base (FOB) Shank on March 31, 2014 near Pul-e Alam, Afghanistan.  (Scott Olson/Getty Images)

First on CNN: First major TV ad on VA scandal  —  Washington (CNN) — The Veterans Affairs scandal's been a major issue on the campaign trail the past couple of weeks.  Now it's front and center in the campaign ad wars.  —  Crossroads GPS, the non-profit sister organization to American Crossroads …

Beverly Young: I'm running against David Jolly in '16  —  Democrats failed to find a candidate to challenge Republican David Jolly for the congressional seat long held by the late C.W. Bill Young, but they may have one lined up for 2016: Beverly Young, the congressman's widow who campaigned for Jolly earlier this year.

Bosworth attacks misogyny, media in chaotic news conference  —  Standing in front of a profane backdrop created by her own campaign, an emotional Annette Bosworth condemned criticism of her, blasted the media, addressed her alleged scandals and even issued a book recommendation in a free-wheeling news conference Tuesday.

Americans overwhelmingly side with Hillary Clinton over Karl Rove in brain flap  —  Republican strategist Karl Rove may need a different strategy to slow Hillary Clinton's 2016 candidacy.  —  Two-thirds of Americans in a new Washington Post-ABC News poll disapprove of the Republican strategist …

Pro-gay marriage professor under fire from gay marriage speech police  —  It's clear by now that if you publicly oppose gay marriage or give money to those who oppose it, the gay speech police will try to ruin you (and may succeed).  But it turns out that even supporting gay marriage …

Holder Hints Reporter May Be Spared Jail in Leak  —  WASHINGTON — Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. hinted Tuesday that the Justice Department might choose not to jail a New York Times reporter for defying a subpoena forcing him to discuss his confidential sources — even as the Obama …

Exclusive: Defiant Michael Grimm lashes out at media  —  NEW YORK — A defiant Rep. Michael Grimm, in his most extensive interview since federal prosecutors accused him of rampant fraud, accused the media on Tuesday of trying to destroy him and vowed to campaign hard for reelection …