White House braced for Bowe Bergdahl backlash  —  President Barack Obama's Rose Garden appearance Saturday afternoon with Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl's parents was an attempt to humanize the prisoner swap to deflect potential criticism of letting five Taliban leaders out of Guantanamo Bay, White House aides say.

McDaniel rep, others locked in courthouse  —  An official investigation has been opened into three people who were found locked in the Hinds County Courthouse hours after it was closed by election officials Tuesday after returns had been counted in the Republican primary for U.S. Senate.  —  CONNECT

The Message of D-Day  —  Twenty years ago, as a speechwriter for President Clinton, I traveled to Normandy for the 50th anniversary of D-Day.  This week I'm returning for the first time, with my fellow former speechwriter Jeremy Rosner and our spouses, to be present for the 70th-anniversary commemoration.

Three in Four in U.S. Still See the Bible as Word of God  —  But 21%, near the 40-year high, consider it fables and history  —  PRINCETON, NJ — Twenty-eight percent of Americans believe the Bible is the actual word of God and that it should be taken literally.

Senate Democrats go back to student loans in populist push  —  Senate Democrats are preparing a populist push next week, when they bring up legislation that would enable borrowers to refinance their student loans.  —  The bill would help the pocketbooks of those Americans struggling …

Obama the Velcro President  —  They said that Ronald Reagan was the Teflon President.  Nothing, not even Iran-Contra, could stick to him.  —  Barack Obama is the Velcro President.  Everything is sticking to him.  —  He probably thought he could get some major political mileage …

Gunman kills 3 officers, remains at large in Canadian subdivision, police say  —  So what happened here Wednesday seems unimaginable to residents.  —  A man dressed in fatigues and carrying a rifle went on a rampage, killing three police officers and wounding two others.  —  3 officers wounded in Canada shooting

Don Zimmer, Who Spent 60 Eventful Years in Baseball, Dies at 83  —  Don Zimmer, the stubby, Popeye-muscled baseball lifer with the unforgettable jowls whose passion for the game endured through more than 60 years as a player, manager, coach and adviser, died on Wednesday in Dunedin, Fla. He was 83.

Hillary to New York Times: Back Off  —  Some of Hillary Clinton's closest aides blasted the New York Times for what they said was unfair coverage of the former first lady during a recent secret meeting with the paper's Washington bureau, the Washington Free Beacon has learned.

The VICE Reader: The Con-Artist Wing of the Democratic Party  —  Former US Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner (left) yucking it up at a meeting of global elites in 2009.  Photo via Flickr user IMF  —  The most consequential event of this young century has been the financial crisis.

Poll: Obama administration less competent than Bush's or Clinton's, more Americans say  —  A majority of voters say the Obama administration is less competent than Bill Clinton's and a plurality say it is less competent than George W. Bush's according to a new Fox News poll released Wednesday.

2014 Senate landscape tilts in GOP's favor  —  WASHINGTON — Contests are set in nearly half the states for November's elections, and with few contested primary elections remaining on the calendar, Republicans are enjoying clear advantages in their quest for a Senate takeover.

City Council members rip Walmart's charity of ‘dangerous dollars’  —  More than half the members of the City Council have fired off a letter to Walmart demanding that it stop making millions in charitable contributions to local groups here.  —  Twenty-six of the 51 members of the Council charged …

Wilson High principal comes out as gay at school's Pride Day  —  Wilson High School Principal Pete Cahall came out to his students as gay at a school-wide Pride Day event Wednesday, shaking as he said that he had “hid in the shadows for the last 50 years” but was inspired by his students to declare his sexual orientation openly.