Rick Perry to President Obama: No handshake  —  Texas Gov. Rick Perry declined an official White House offer to greet President Barack Obama when he lands at Austin's airport Wednesday.  —  The Republican governor, who has repeatedly criticized Obama for his handling of the crisis along …

Bled dry by the New Class: Column  —  Bureaucrats push pencils at the expense of real workers  —  Life is hard.  It's harder still when an entire class of people with their hands out stands between you and success.  —  Unfortunately, that's increasingly the problem, all around the world.

Cruz: Investigate Cochran primary  —  Sen. Ted Cruz is calling for an official investigation into the Republican Senate primary runoff in Mississippi between Sen. Thad Cochran and the challenger, state Sen. Chris McDaniel.  —  The Texas Republican on Monday evening called the runoff contest …

Release Detail  —  July 8, 2014 - Clinton Owns Dem 2016 Nod; Tops Top Republicans, Quinnipiac University National Poll Finds; 2014 Generic House Race Tied, But Voters Hate Dems Less  —  Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton sweeps the Democratic primary field for the 2016 presidential race …

The Letters That Warren G. Harding's Family Didn't Want You to See  —  Warren G. Harding, right, perhaps the worst chief executive in U.S. history, and Carrie Fulton Phillips, his longtime mistress and sexy pen pal.  —  Left: the Calvin H. Topliff family.  Right: the Ohio History Connection.

Peace is the only path to true security for Israel and the Palestinians  —  In an exclusive article for Haaretz's Israel Conference on Peace, Barack Obama says that the only solution is a democratic, Jewish state living side-by-side in peace and security with a viable, independent Palestinian state.

Dems plot legislative offensive on high court's birth control decision  —  Democrats want to lure Republicans into a fight over birth control with legislation to reverse the Supreme Court's decision that ObamaCare may not require certain businesses to include contraception in their employee health coverage.

Every Day is an All-Out Assault  —  RUSH: Where you been, Snerdley?  Snerdley walks in here, brings me his Stack of show prep that he wanted me to see today, and he's outraged.  Have you not been listening to this program?  “More than half of privately insured women are getting free birth …

IDF strikes 50 targets across Gaza as operation gets underway  —  “We are entering into a long operation.  This is only the start,” senior security source says of IDF's Operation Protective Edge.  “We are preparing to increase ground forces on Gaza border.”

Behind Harry Reid's war against the Koch brothers  —  At first, it seemed like just another example of Harry Reid being Harry Reid.  —  The Senate majority leader, whose unscripted attacks can veer into bellicosity and take liberties with facts, spoke on the Senate floor last October …

House Benghazi panel may cost $3 million this year  —  WASHINGTON — House Republicans are planning to spend as much as $3.3 million for this year's operations of the special committee they created in May to investigate the September 2012 Benghazi attacks, a bigger budget than the House Veterans Affairs …

For Taylor Swift, the Future of Music Is a Love Story  —  The Singer-Songwriter Says Artists and Fans Will Still Form Deep Bonds, but They Will Do It in New Ways  —  Where will the music industry be in 20 years, 30 years, 50 years?  —  Before I tell you my thoughts on the matter …

Mistrust in North Carolina Over Plan to Reduce Precincts  —  SHELBY, N.C. — When Alan Langley, a Republican member of the local elections board here, explains a new proposal to consolidate five voting precincts into two, it sounds procedural and well-meaning: He speaks of convenient parking …

Sen. Robert Menendez seeks probe of alleged Cuban plot to smear him  —  Sen. Robert Menendez is asking the Justice Department to pursue evidence obtained by U.S. investigators that the Cuban government concocted an elaborate plot to smear him with allegations that he cavorted with underage prostitutes …

Is Paul Ryan Breaking Up with His Wonk Buddies?  —  Paul Ryan will get a new job next year.  When he does, he'll also find himself in the middle of an emerging fight within the conservative movement—one that pits hard-core, traditional supply-siders against so-called “reform conservatives” …

Obama's ‘imperial presidency’ doesn't rule much of anything  —  There is a certain flaw in the oft-leveled accusation that Barack Obama is running an “imperial presidency”: As imperial rulers go, this president has about as much oppressive might and raw dictatorial clout as Prince Hans-Adam II of Liechtenstein.

Why Teenagers Today May Grow Up Conservative  —  There was a time not so long ago when the young seemed destined to be liberal forever.  Americans in their teens and 20s were to the left of their elders on social issues.  They worried more about poverty.  They voted strongly Democratic.

John Walsh Takes on NRA, Vows to Continue Piers Morgan's Gun-Control Campaign on CNN  —  “The Hunt” host says Vice President Joe Biden agreed with him that politicians are “scared s—less” of the NRA  —  Piers Morgan is gone from CNN, but new host John Walsh plans to continue his campaign for gun control.