COCHRAN CAMPAIGN STAFFER ARRESTED FOR STEALING CAMPAIGN SIGNS  —  BILOXI, Mississippi — A staffer for Sen. Thad Cochran's (R-MS) re-election campaign was fired after he was arrested and accused by police of stealing campaign signs for Cochran's primary opponent, state senator Chris McDaniel.

Inside the vast liberal conspiracy  —  Picture this: millionaires and billionaires gathering under tight security in fancy hotels with powerful politicians and operatives to plot how their network of secret-money groups can engineer a permanent realignment of American politics.  —  Only, it's not the Koch brothers.

Iraqi military facing ‘psychological collapse’ after losses, desertions  —  Iraqis prepare to fight militants  —  After militants from the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria took Mosul and other Iraqi cities, the government issued a call for volunteers to join the army.  Many Iraqis answered.

Supreme Court: EPA can regulate greenhouse gas emissions, with some limits  —  The Supreme Court on Monday mostly validated the Environmental Protection Agency's plans to regulate power plant and factory emissions of greenhouse gases blamed for global warming, while imposing some limits on the agency's reach.

Responsible Gun Owner Of The Day Was Showing Off His Gun When He Shot Himself In The Head  —  Remember when we used to play shoot 'em up, shoot 'em up, bang bang, baby?  —  No charges filed in North Carolina after two grown men were carelessly playing with guns.

Sudanese mom sentenced to die for Christian faith is freed  —  Meriam Ibrahim and Daniel Wani married in a formal church ceremony in 2011.  —  Meriam Ibrahim, the Sudanese woman who gave birth in a Khartoum prison after being sentenced to death in May for allegedly converting from Islam to Christianity …

Conservatives and Climate Change  —  On Sunday Henry Paulson, the former Treasury secretary and a lifelong Republican, had an Op-Ed article about climate policy in The New York Times.  In the article, he declared that man-made climate change is “the challenge of our time,” …

US student is rescued from giant vagina sculpture in Germany  —  More than 20 firefighters free exchange student from the artwork Chacán-Pi (Making Love) by Fernando de la Jara in Tübingen  —  In the space of 24 hours last week, two spectacular rescue operations were carried out in southern Germany.

Send back troops to Iraq, Cheney says  —  Former Vice President Dick Cheney said he wants U.S. troops back in Iraq to halt Sunni militants now conquering large parts of the country and support resistance fighters in Syria.  —  “When we're arguing over 300 advisors, when the request …

Poll: Many Americans wary of U.S. role in Iraq  —  Shares -  —  NEW YORK — Fifty percent of Americans think the U.S. doesn't have a responsibility to do something about the recent violence in Iraq, while fewer - 42 percent — think the U.S. does, a CBS News/New York Times poll reveals.

THE ABSOLUTIST … - ARCHIVE - WORLD CUP - DAILY COMMENT - AMY DAVIDSON - ANDY BOROWITZ - JOHN CASSIDY - MARIA KONNIKOVA - RICHARD BRODY - SHOP

The Consequences of Syria  —  The Syrian civil war is no longer the Syrian civil war.  It's a regional war that started in Syria, has expanded into Lebanon and Iraq, and has drawn in the Iranians and to a lesser extent the Kurds and the Israelis.  —  Wars in North Africa tend to stay local …

We Just Don't Need Section 5 Anymore  —  The Senate Judiciary Committee will hold hearings on Wednesday about legislation to negate the Supreme Court's decision a year ago in Shelby County v. Holder, which struck down the coverage formula for Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act (VRA) of 1965.

While Hillary Decides, Martin O'Malley's Embracing Latinos And Immigrants  —  He says he doesn't want to talk about it, but 2016 is coming.  Prominent Latinos and immigration advocates see a record they like.  —  CASA de Maryland.  Composite by Chris Ritter/BuzzFeed

Bill Clinton Adds Voice to Wife's Support of Gay Rights  —  Former President Bill Clinton, in a video message to be broadcast this week, says he was “honored and grateful to be among the voices urging” the overturning of the Defense of Marriage Act, the measure he signed into law in 1996 …

Obama Flips on Immunity for U.S. Troops in Iraq  —  American forces could be prosecuted by Iraq's famously compromised courts as they defend Baghdad.  No wonder the Pentagon is so reluctant to send 'em.  —  President Obama pulled U.S. forces out of Iraq in 2011 because he couldn't get Iraq's parliament …