Shinseki resigns amid VA scandal over veterans' health care  —  Eric K. Shinseki resigned Friday as secretary of veterans affairs, taking responsibility for a scandal in the VA health-care system over excessive waiting times and coverups of what he called “systemic” problems.

Exclusive: Hillary Clinton's Benghazi chapter  —  Hillary Clinton offers a detailed account of the deadly attack on the American embassy in Benghazi — and a pointed rebuttal to Republican critics who've laced into her over the incident — in a much-anticipated chapter of her forthcoming book, “Hard Choices,” obtained by POLITICO.

Toddler critically burned during SWAT raid  —  ATLANTA —  A family says a SWAT team raided their home in the middle of the night and seriously injured a 19-month-old boy with a stun grenade.  —  Alecia Phonesavanh told Channel 2's Ryan Young her child is at the Grady Memorial Hospital burn unit …

Edward Snowden responds to release of e-mail by U.S. officials  —  Former intelligence contractor Edward Snowden responded to questions from The Washington Post following the release of an e-mail he had sent while working for the National Security Agency.  —  Q: How do you respond …

GOP Senate Candidate: UCSB Shooting An ‘Unfortunate Accident’  —  Iowa state Sen. Joni Ernst (R), a candidate for U.S. Senate, said Thursday that the recent mass shooting near the University of California, Santa Barbara was an “unfortunate accident.”  —  During a televised primary debate …

The Affordable Care Act in Kentucky: It's Working  —  For months, critics of the Affordable Care Act boldly vowed to eradicate what they insisted was a failed health reform plan — vows they repeated even as thousands, then tens of thousands and now hundreds of thousands of Kentuckians began …

House takes action on gun checks  —  The House on Thursday approved a funding increase for the national background check system in response to last week's mass shooting in Santa Barbara, Calif.  —  Adopted 260-145, the amendment to a 2015 appropriations bill provides an additional $19.5 million …

House Votes To End DEA Raids On Legal Medical Marijuana Operations  —  “Marijuana does not make people commit crime.  It makes them overeat,” Rep. Steve Cohen said.  The amendment passed 219-189.  —  WASHINGTON — The House passed an amendment late Thursday night to restrict …

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.

Libertarianism 3.0; Koch And A Smile  —  The visionary brothers' new paradigm will frustrate the left and alter the right by fusing social tolerance with fiscal responsibility.  —  As a libertarian, I'm always slow to tell people what they should do.  But if you care about politics …

‘Period Of Turmoil’ Preceded Abramson Firing, Says Top Editor At ‘Times’  —  Dean Baquet sat in his new office in midtown Manhattan, the very picture of composure and precision, as he described the top-level dysfunction that led to the firing of Jill Abramson as executive editor of The New York Times …