For Obama, loss of the Senate could be freeing  —  The walls seem to be closing in on the Obama presidency.  —  Iraq and Syria are overrun with terrorists.  Violence is flaring in Ukraine and on Israel's borders.  A humanitarian crisis is developing on our own southern border …

The Summer's Most Unread Book Is...  A simple index drawn from e-books shows which best sellers are going unread (we're looking at you, Piketty).  —  It's beach time, and you've probably already scanned a hundred lists of summer reads.  Sadly overlooked is that other crucial literary category …

Obama Weighs Steps to Cover Contraception  —  WASHINGTON — The Obama administration, reeling from back-to-back blows from the Supreme Court this week, is weighing options that would provide contraceptive coverage to thousands of women who are about to lose it or never had it because of their employers' religious objections.

Wimbledon 2014: Petra Kvitova Routs Eugenie Bouchard for Title  —  WIMBLEDON, England — Eugenie Bouchard arrived at Centre Court with cool confidence and a ruthless tennis game to match.  Bouchard, a 20-year-old Canadian, had captured the affection of her country and of the British tabloids …

The Daily Show President: Obama's Edgy Humor  —  Obama's approval numbers may be not so great, but his funny bone is well-honed, and different from his predecessors'.  —  While President Obama's approval ratings may be in the tank, there's still one arena in which he's riding high …

Shut Out of White House, G.O.P. Looks to Democrats of 1992  —  WASHINGTON — It took 24 years for Democrats to end the last period of Republican presidential advantage, in which issues and the makeup of the Electoral College helped Republicans win five of six elections, and to start their own behind Bill Clinton.

Palestinian teen burned alive, autopsy shows  —  Jerusalem (CNN) — Mohammed Abu Khedair, a Palestinian teenager who was abducted and killed in Jerusalem this week, died from being burned alive and hit with a blunt object to the head, according to Palestinian General Prosecutor Mohammed al-Auwewy, sourcing the medical autopsy.

CRACKS APPEARING IN DEMOCRATIC COALITION  —  The population of Mogadishu is moving to Minneapolis, through the miracle of chain immigration.  I don't know whether there is any limiting principle to this or whether all of Mogadishu will one day reside along the Mississippi, but in any event …

What If America Had Lost the Revolutionary War?  —  The Fourth of July—a time we Americans set aside to celebrate our independence and mark the war we waged to achieve it, along with the battles that followed.  There was the War of 1812, the War of 1833, the First Ohio-Virginia War …

ISIS Already in Gaza Strip … Despite denials by Hamas, there is growing evidence that the terrorist group Islamic State of Iraq and Syria [ISIS] — also known as “The Islamic State” — has begun operating in the Gaza Strip.  —  Palestinian Authority [PA] and Israeli security sources …

Going Without Water in Detroit  —  DETROIT — A FAMILY of five with no water for two weeks who were embarrassed to ask friends if they could bathe at their house.  A woman excited about purchasing a home who learned she would be held responsible for the previous owner's delinquent water bill: all $8,000 of it.

CHP Answers Excessive Force Charge In Beating Of Woman On Side Of Freeway  —  LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — The California Highway Patrol responded Thursday to a YouTube video showing an officer punching a woman along the side of the freeway.  —  The CHP officer is shown punching the woman on the ground more than 11 times in the face.

Richard Mellon Scaife, Influential U.S. Conservative, Dies at 82  —  Richard Mellon Scaife, the Pittsburgh philanthropist and reclusive heir to the Mellon banking fortune, whose support for right-wing causes laid the foundations for America's modern conservative movement and fueled …