Birth Control Order Deepens Divide Among Justices  —  WASHINGTON — In a decision that drew an unusually fierce dissent from the three female justices, the Supreme Court sided Thursday with religiously affiliated nonprofit groups in a clash between religious freedom and women's rights.

The Case for Mitt Romney in 2016  —  I'm absolutely serious.  —  No politician wants to be compared to Richard Nixon, but Mitt Romney might like the following.  —  First, consider the similarities in their 1960 and 2012 presidential contests.  Romney and Nixon were both mighty warriors …

The Seven Senate Races Democrats Should Be Optimistic About in 2016  —  Look, I'm not going to sit here and lie to you.  I'm not going to pretend Washington — by which I mean the journalism/politics/lobbying/ evil establishment that's based in the capital — is at work today.

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?

Garbage-patch tale as flimsy as a single-use plastic bag  —  A new study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences could mean bad news for environmental doomsayers.  Forget all those warnings about the million tons of plastic debris floating in the ocean.

Conservative Journalist Declares War On ‘Reprehensible’ GOP Operative: 'It's On'  —  Charles C. Johnson, the freelance conservative journalist who's at least temporarily commandeered the toxic political battle consuming Mississippi, has spent much of the last 48 hours tirelessly and aggressively calling out his critics by name.

Video: Sleeping Man Arrested On Nearly Empty F Train  —  A YouTube video of a man being arrested on a nearly empty F train—for allegedly falling asleep during his early morning commute—has been making the rounds on the Internet.  According to the NYPD, which confirmed the arrest …

Berkeley Requires Marijuana Dispensaries To Provide Free Weed For Low-Income Patients  —  BERKELEY (CBS SF) — The city of Berkeley will require medical marijuana dispensaries to give away two percent of the amount of cannabis they sell each year free to low-income patients.

Iraq chases Baghdad sleeper cells as ‘Zero Hour’ looms over capital  —  (Reuters) - Iraqi insurgents are preparing for an assault on Baghdad, with sleeper cells planted inside the capital to rise up at “Zero Hour” and aid fighters pushing in from the outskirts, according to senior Iraqi and U.S. security officials.

Veteran Dies Waiting for Ambulance in VA Hospital  —  A veteran who collapsed in an Albuquerque Veteran Affairs hospital cafeteria, 500 yards from the emergency room, died after waiting 30 minutes for an ambulance, officials confirmed Thursday.  —  Officials at the hospital said took a half …

Sen. Brandon Smith has important things to say about climate change, Mars  —  Kentucky's Interim Joint Committee on Natural Resources and Environment met today to discuss the new EPA rules to fight climate change by limiting greenhouse gases from power plants.

Ebola ‘out of control’ in West Africa as health workers rush to trace 1,500 possible victims  —  Fear, mistrust of Western medicine and difficulties reaching remote areas mean hundreds of potentially infected people have not yet been found  —  Hundreds of West Africans could be carrying …

Senate candidate Bill Cassidy discloses that his teenage daughter is pregnant  —  Rep. Bill Cassidy reveals that his 17-year-old daughter is pregnant, in statement issued by his Senate campaign.  (Photo by Julia Kumari Drapkin, Nola.com |  The Times-Picayune)

Jay Carney: ‘A Little Perspective Is Useful’  —  Now that you're leaving your job as White House press secretary, do you know which cable news network you're going to be a pundit for?  I haven't made any decisions about what combination of things I'm going to be doing.

Murdered Arab Youth's Parents ‘Gave Contradicting Statements’  —  Riot in Shuafat after murder of Arab boy  —  In a little-noticed report on Channel Two Wednesday night, analyst and reporter Moshe Nussbaum presented information which could upend the police inquiry into the murder of Muhammad Abu Khadr …

Storm brings heavy flooding to Brooklyn as Brooklyn Bridge wall collapses  —  A strong storm system moved through the city Wednesday evening and made several streets nearly impassable.  Pedestrians by the Brooklyn Bridge were hit by stones tumbling from a ramp wall.

What it's like to be a conservative columnist at the New York Times Yahoo News Wednesday, July 2, 2014  —  ASPEN, Colo. — New York Times columnist David Brooks gets a lot of hate mail.  And he doesn't read the comments section.  —  “I used to read them, but it was just too psychologically damaging …

How to not die from fireworks, courtesy of the Clinton administration  —  In 1996, the government blew things up on the National Mall to protect your kids.  And you, really.  Anyone who might be using fireworks or be near someone using fireworks or who might go outside at all ever when someone …

NSA ‘totalitarian,’ ex-staffer tells German parliament  —  A former NSA technical chief has told Germany's parliament that the US agency has become a “totalitarian” mass collector of data.  German public broadcasters say the NSA targets individuals who use encryption services.

Faith leaders: Exempt religious groups from order barring LGBT bias in hiring  —  Fourteen prominent faith leaders — including some of President Obama's closest advisers — want the White House to create a religious exemption from his planned executive order banning federal contractors …

Hickenlooper spends down war chest — Kingston hits Perdue on 'ugly American's eyes' — Lee robocalls in Georgia — Sunlight illuminates FCC rules  —  CO-GOV MONEY RACE RESETS: Fundraising reports Tuesday set the stage for the fall contest between Democratic Gov. John Hickenlooper …