Former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer to buy Clippers for $2 billion  —  Former Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer won a frenetic bidding war for ownership of the Los Angeles Clippers, with his $2-billion offer setting a record price for an NBA team, The Times has learned.

Edward J. Snowden email inquiry to the NSA Office of General Counsel  —  May 29, 2014  —  NSA has now explained that they have found one email inquiry by Edward Snowden to the Office of General Counsel asking for an explanation of some material that was in a training course he had just completed.

Students at Utah school upset to discover yearbook photos were altered before publication  —  WASATCH COUNTY, Utah — Female students at a Utah high school want to know why their yearbook photos were altered to show less skin without them knowing about it.  —  The students who were surprised …

The Transgender Tipping Point  —  Nearly a year after the Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage, another social movement is poised to challenge deeply held cultural beliefs  —  In the beaux-arts lobby of the Nourse Theater in San Francisco, men in deep V-necks and necklaces walk by women …

Cheney: Obama ‘weakest’ president of my lifetime  —  Former Vice President Dick Cheney blasted President Obama as the weakest president of his lifetime on Wednesday, following the president's speech defending his foreign policy approach at the West Point commencement ceremony.

NBC's Richard Engel: U.S. Relations Have Not Improved With a Single Nation During Obama Presidency  —  On the May 29 edition of CNBC's Squawk Box, Richard Engel, NBC's chief foreign correspondent, conceded that he could not name a single nation where relations have improved …

Paul Ryan on being mistaken for Anthony Weiner: 'I don't know how this keeps happening'  —  MOUNT PLEASANT, MI — During his address to a group of Republicans gathered for an event at Bucks Run Golf Club Wednesday, May 28, in Isabella County, U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan's main message was that of praise …

Despite Enrollment Success, Healthcare Law Still Unpopular  —  Affordable Care Act is most popular among blacks, least among whites  —  WASHINGTON, D.C. — Although the Obama administration is boasting higher-than-expected enrollment for the Affordable Care Act, Americans' attitudes toward …

Pryor: Shinseki Shouldn't Resign  —  Seven Democratic senators up for reelection in November have said they believe Veterans Affairs secretary Eric Shinseki should resign over revelations that his department severely mismanaged treatment of veterans at VA hospitals that may have resulted …

When Bushies blew a CIA cover, it was ‘treason’; now, it's a mistake  —  BELTWAY CONFIDENTIAL CIA NATIONAL SECURITY GEORGE W. BUSH SPYING  —  Valerie Plame doesn't deny that blowing the cover of the CIA station chief in Afghanistan is a serious matter.  It's just that, discussing the issue …

Vergara v. California: The Most Important Court Case You've Never Heard Of  —  You didn't know that nine California kids were suing their state over substandard teaching at their public schools?  You should—it's an example to all who want equal access to education.

Measles cases in the United States reach 20-year high  —  CDC urges vaccination as summer travel season approaches  —  Two hundred and eighty-eight cases of measles were reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the United States between Jan. 1 and May 23, 2014.

Joe The Plumber: ‘Guns Are Mostly For Hunting Down Politicians’  —  Samuel Wurzelbacher — better known as Joe the Plumber — likes guns.  And he wants everyone to know why.  —  “Guns are mostly for hunting down politicians who would actively seek to take your freedoms and liberty away from you …

9/11 Museum Takes Action on Criticisms  —  After Complaints, Gift-Shop Items to Get Closer Scrutiny From Victims' Relatives  —  NEW YORK—The National September 11 Memorial Museum has won accolades for its exhibitions depicting the terrorist attacks and their aftermath …

John Boehner: “I'm Not Qualified To Debate Science Over Climate Change”  —  John Boehner says he's not a scientist.  —  View Video ›  —  House Speaker John Boehner said Thursday that he's “not qualified to debate the science over climate change” while slamming the Obama Administration proposed plans …

In New Orleans, major school district closes traditional public schools for good  —  NEW ORLEANS — The second-graders paraded to the Dumpster in the rear parking lot, where they chucked boxes of old worksheets, notebooks and other detritus into the trash, emptying their school for good.

Silicon Valley Firms are Even Whiter And More Male Than You Thought  —  Our exclusive data shows that Google, which just released diversity numbers, lags further behind than other major tech firms.  —  After stalling for years, Google finally released data on the diversity of its workforce Wednesday …

Conservative Scholar Blames UCSB Shooting On Marriage Equality  —  Blackwell blamed the “attack on natural marriage and the family” for the shooting.  Ken Blackwell is a former Republican official.  He was the mayor of Cincinnati, Ohio State Treasurer, Ohio Secretary of State, and failed-U.S. Senate candidate.

Don't Major in Intolerance  —  Universities lie at the heart of the American experiment in democracy.  They are places where people of all backgrounds and beliefs can come to study and debate their ideas freely and openly.  I'd like to talk with you about how important it is for that freedom …

Thomas Piketty Responds to Criticism of His Data  —  Six days after The Financial Times launched an attack on the data behind Thomas Piketty's much-debated tome on inequality, “Capital in the Twenty-First Century,” Mr. Piketty has offered his first detailed response to the newspaper's criticism.

LCR National & LCR Texas Join To Denounce Exclusionary Policy of TX GOP  —  Washington, D.C. & Fort Worth, TX — Today Log Cabin Republicans announced that in the wake of denial of formal participation by gay Republicans at this year's Texas State Republican Convention, they would be joining …

Ignoring the path to recovery  —  It is said that the problem with the younger generation — any younger generation — is that it has not read the minutes of the last meeting.  Barack Obama, forever young, has convenient memory loss: It serves his ideology.

A Liberal Moderate's Critique of Snowden and Greenwald  —  In a review of Glenn Greenwald's No Place to Hide: Edward Snowden, the NSA, and the U.S. Surveillance State, George Packer, whose best work is superb, makes a number of dubious claims.  They are typical of liberal moderates who acknowledge …

The Economy: Don't Look Now, But . . .  News has just crossed the wire this morning that the economy contracted at an annual rate of 1 percent during the first quarter of this year.  Many people will probably point to the brutal winter weather as a factor, though the Dept. of Commerce fingers …

Myanmar's Appalling Apartheid  —  SITTWE, Myanmar — Minura Begum has been in labor for almost 24 hours, and the baby is stuck.  Worse, it's turned around, one tiny foot already emerging into the world in a difficult breech delivery that threatens the lives of mother and child alike.