Obama to leave 9,800 U.S. troops in Afghanistan  —  The United States will leave 9,800 troops in Afghanistan after the final withdrawal of U.S. combat forces in December, and will gradually reduce that number to zero by the end of 2016, President Obama announced Tuesday.

White guy killer syndrome: Elliot Rodger's deadly, privileged rage  —  It's time for America to admit what it's long resisted: White male privilege kills  —  Welp.  Another young white guy has decided that his disillusionment with his life should become somebody else's problem.

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.

Kinsley, Greenwald and Government Secrets  —  Michael Kinsley's review of Glenn Greenwald's new book, “No Place to Hide” hasn't even appeared in the printed Book Review yet - that won't happen until June 8 - but it's already infuriated a lot of people.  After the review was published online last week …

SUMMING UP THE FIRING OF JILL ABRAMSON  —  The story of Jill Abramson's abrupt termination as the executive editor of the Times is one of those running stories in which reporters peel away one layer only to be presented with another.  The earlier layers are still a part of the truth …

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.

Feds seek extra redactions in drone memo  —  The Justice Department plans to ask a federal appeals court to delete additional material from a drone-related legal opinion before it's made public—redactions that would go beyond those the court approved last month, a government lawyer said in a legal filing Tuesday night.

‘Duck Dynasty’ star Phil Robertson to address Republican Leadership Conference  —  Phil Robertson, the controversial star of the hit TV show “Duck Dynasty” will address the upcoming Republican Leadership Conference on Thursday.  —  Robertson will talk to the annual confab in the evening of its opening day …

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.

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 …

EXCLUSIVE - Wife set to hang for marrying Christian U.S. citizen gives birth to baby girl in squalid jail  —  A doctor who is facing execution in Sudan for marrying a Christian gave birth to a baby girl in prison today.  —  Meriam Ibrahim, who has spent the past four months shackled …

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 …

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 …

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 …

Once Allies, Ex-Obama Aides Face Off in British Campaign  —  LONDON — David Axelrod stood on a stage in the Buckingham Room of the Labour Party headquarters this month, rallying British progressives who are hoping, and paying, for Barack Obama's message maven to help lead them back into power.

Soda tax defeated at Capitol  —  Would have added nearly $3 to case of pop  —  A panel of Illinois House lawmakers today voted down a proposal to impose a tax of one penny per ounce of sugar-sweetened beverages, saying it would have cost consumers an extra $2.88 per case of soda.  —  Clout Street