Kevin McCarthy makes his move  —  On June 19, Kevin McCarthy was scheduled to headline a birthday fundraiser for his friend Eric Cantor on the rooftop of 101 Constitution, a swank office building with sweeping views of the Capitol.  —  Instead, that day will be all about McCarthy.

Iraq Said to Seek U.S. Strikes on Militants  —  WASHINGTON — As the threat from Sunni militants in western Iraq escalated last month, Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki secretly asked the Obama administration to consider carrying out airstrikes against extremist staging areas, according to Iraqi and American officials.

David Brat campaign manager scrubs Facebook page after election  —  The campaign manager for the tea party-backed Republican who ousted House Majority Leader Eric Cantor in one of the biggest upsets in congressional history is a 23-year-old class of 2013 Haverford College graduate who posted …

Oklahoma GOP Candidate OK With Stoning Gay People To Death  —  A Republican candidate for the Oklahoma state House who boasts that he's looking forward to “applying Biblical principles to Oklahoma law” is okay with gay people being stoned to death — even if he won't legislate the practice himself.

Solar Flares Disrupt Communications on Earth, Could Send Shockwave on Friday the 13th  —  The sun has had three major solar flares on its surface in the past two days that have affected communications on Earth and could send a shockwave through Earth this Friday, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Bergdahl's writings reveal a fragile young man  —  Before he became a Taliban prisoner, before he wrote in his journal “I am the lone wolf of deadly nothingness,” before he ever joined the Army, Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl was discharged from the U.S. Coast Guard for psychological reasons …

US spy agencies heard Benghazi attackers using State Dept. cell phones to call terrorist leaders  —  Sept. 11, 2012: The U.S. Consulate in Benghazi is seen in flames during a terrorist attack.Reuters  —  The terrorists who attacked the U.S. consulate and CIA annex in Benghazi on September 11 …

A Missouri Juror Tries To Save Man She Helped Send to Death Row  —  Americans are generally supportive of the death penalty, although slightly less now than 20 years ago.  But capital juries are especially partial to the death penalty, largely by design: only people who support capital punishment are allowed to serve on them.

A Few Scattered and Preliminary Notes on Comparative Economic Theology: Wednesday Focus: June 11, 2014  —  Lars P. Syll sends us to Joseph Stiglitz's 2009 Minsky Lecture: The 'Neoclassical Synthesis'-A Religious Belief: “The advocates of free markets in all their versions...