Pulse of the People: Why Polls Can Sometimes Get Things So Wrong  —  Why Polls Can Sometimes Get Things So Wrong  —  The science of polling is sound, but it's important to draw the right sample, and that can be a challenge.  —  THE JOBS REPORT |  JULY 3, 9:16 AM  —  Great Jobs Numbers, but Hold the Fireworks

When the Taliban Meets Hobby Lobby  —  Tehrik-e-Taliban, the Pakistani Taliban, is a closely held, profit-making enterprise organized on religious principles.  One of its principles, announced as public policy in July, 2012, is that children should not be inoculated against polio, because the vaccines violate God's law.

Cochran presser: Most entertaining conference call ever  —  A conference call set up by the campaign for U.S. Sen. Thad Cochran devolved into a shouting match and then ended, after which time supporters of GOP primary challenger Chris McDaniel chatted for a bit.

Point-blank shooting of Inkster toddler violated ‘the code of the streets’  —  In the hard-bitten city of Inkster, a little girl's killing appears to have crossed a line.  —  The triple shooting Tuesday night that ended the life of 2-year-old Kamiya French and left two of her relatives wounded violated the …

DEMOCRATS DECRY BEAUPREZ'S “47 PERCENT” COMMENTS RECORDED ON VIDEO  —  On Wednesday, as Republican gubernatorial nominee Bob Beauprez toured Colorado to “build unity,” a video surfaced that Democrats say shows his divisiveness.  —  The video shows Beauprez in a speech to the Denver Rotary Club …

The Two Events That Turned Putin Against the U.S.  —  Former ambassador Michael McFaul on what really motivated Russia to invade Ukraine  —  ASPEN, Colo.—One major divide in international relations, as well as in other social sciences, is between those who believe in structure and those who believe in agency.

Lawmaker fuming after HHS immigrant facility denies him entry  —  Rep. Jim Bridenstine (R-Okla.) issued a scathing press release Wednesday after he was denied access to a facility in his state housing more than 1,000 children who crossed the border illegally.

Don't Put Much Stock in That Poll Calling Obama the Worst President  —  Bush was the “worst,” too  —  There's a new Quinnipiac poll shooting around the Internet this morning that has a shocking headline: Americans think Barack Obama is the worst modern-day president.

Most disapprove of Iraq handling  —  A majority of American voters disapprove of President Barack Obama's handling of the situation in Iraq, a new poll says.  —  According to a Quinnipiac University poll released Thursday, 55 percent of U.S. voters disapprove of the Obama administration's policies in Iraq …

Obama's annoyance with Congress boils over  —  President Obama's displeasure with gridlock in Washington — and with the Republicans he blames for it — has been rising for months.  This week it has boiled over.  —  From the Rose Garden to the Cabinet Room to near Key Bridge in Georgetown …

Rand Paul to visit Iowa in August; fried Twinkies ahead?  —  As promised, Republican Rand Paul is returning to the presidential testing grounds of Iowa in August.  —  The first confirmed event of Paul's upcoming trip is to speak at a special meeting of the Westside Conservative Club at 7:15 a.m. on Aug. 6 …

WH: No change to immigrant surge strategy ‘at this point’  —  The White House is not planning to reassess its strategy for handling thousands of unaccompanied minors streaming across the border amid mass protests.  —  White House press secretary Josh Earnest said he had not spoken …

Facebook Experiments Had Few Limits  —  Data Science Lab Conducted Tests on Users With Little Oversight  —  Thousands of Facebook Inc. users received an unsettling message two years ago: They were being locked out of the social network because Facebook believed they were robots or using fake names.

A Period Is Questioned in the Declaration of Independence  —  Every Fourth of July, some Americans sit down to read the Declaration of Independence, reacquainting themselves with the nation's founding charter exactly as it was signed by the Second Continental Congress in 1776.  —  Or almost exactly?

How Israel is punishing ordinary Palestinians for three murdered Israeli students  —  Twenty days after three Israeli high school students were kidnapped in the West Bank merely for being there, two days after they were found murdered in an apparent execution by Hamas members …

US Teen Allegedly Falls in Love Online, Tries to Join ISIS Fighters in Syria … A suburban Denver teen fell in love with an ISIS fighter online, then was arrested at an airport after vowing to aid his cause in Syria, federal authorities said.  —  Shannon Maureen Conley, 19, of Arvada …

Why has Google cast me into oblivion?  —  This morning the BBC received the following notification from Google:  —  Notice of removal from Google Search: we regret to inform you that we are no longer able to show the following pages from your website in response to certain searches on European versions of Google:

Obama: Middle-class issues drive my agenda  —  Marketplace host and senior editor Kai Ryssdal sat down for an Oval Office interview with President Barack Obama on July 2, 2014.  —  Kai Ryssdal: Mr. President, good to have you with us.  —  President Barack Obama: Great to be here.