BY LEBRON JAMES (AS TOLD TO LEE JENKINS)  —  Before anyone ever cared where I would play basketball, I was a kid from Northeast Ohio.  It's where I walked.  It's where I ran.  It's where I cried.  It's where I bled.  It holds a special place in my heart.  People there have seen me grow up.

Judge strikes down GOP-drawn Florida congressional lines  —  A Florida Circut County Court has struck down the state's congressional map and ordered a redrawing of district lines.  —  In his 41-page ruling issued Thursday evening, Judge Terry Lewis writes that the map drawn …

U.S. Muslims Most Approving of Obama, Mormons Least  —  Relative rank order of religious groups stable throughout his presidency  —  PRINCETON, NJ — Seventy-two percent of U.S. Muslims approved of the job President Barack Obama was doing as president during the first six months of 2014 …

Iraq conflict: Kurds seize two oil fields in north  —  Iraqi Kurds have taken over two oil fields amid a growing dispute with the government in Baghdad, Iraqi and Kurdish sources say.  —  Kurdish peshmerga forces seized control of production facilities at the Bai Hassan and Kirkuk oil fields in the north of the country on Friday.

Who Wants a Depression?  —  One unhappy lesson we've learned in recent years is that economics is a far more political subject than we liked to imagine.  Well, duh, you may say.  But, before the financial crisis, many economists — even, to some extent, yours truly — believed …

IN PRAISE OF 42-YEAR-OLD WOMEN  —  In our occasional ranking of the ages, we found that this year's most alluring is not what you'd expect.  It's not 27 (honored in 1999) or 39 (2008) or 86 (1937 and 1983).  No, this year it's 42.  Because it's not what it used to be. … Marc Hom/Trunk Archive

Pay up: House GOP cash woes prompt dues crackdown  —  House Republicans, so worried that a swelling cash deficit will keep them from making big gains this November, have begun cracking down on dozens of lawmakers who haven't paid dues crucial to the party's campaign accounts.

Merdian man dials back vote-buying claim  —  A Meridian man has recanted — sort of — his story that he helped U.S. Sen. Thad Cochran's campaign buy votes for $15 each in Lauderdale County.  —  Stevie Fielder now says he was asked to buy votes — by someone he won't identify …

The Secret War On Black Republicans  —  Why are racist attacks on black Republicans so underreported by the media?  —  There has been much written about the racial rhetoric that has permeated political discourse since President Obama took office, and the media often highlights …

Is Religion ‘Old-Fashioned’ and ‘Out of Date’?  —  The downsides of using poll data to understand the arc of history  —  In one of the most ambiguous poll questions ever, Gallup has asked Americans to once again act as a tenuous bellwether for the impending death of religion.

North Carolina Will Determine the Future of the Voting Rights Act  —  93-year-old Rosanell Eaton heading into federal court (photo by Jennifer Farmer, Advancement Project)  —  Winston-Salem—In 1940, 19-year-old Rosanell Eaton took a two-hour mule ride to the Franklin County courthouse in eastern North Carolina to register to vote.

Killing of Palestinian Youth Puts an Israeli Focus on Extremism  —  JERUSALEM — Even as the Israeli public offers strong support for airstrikes on Hamas fighters and their weapons stocks in Gaza, there is a good deal of reflection over the coldblooded killing of a Palestinian teenager …

Brace for the next round of Obamacare rate shock  —  OBAMACARE HEALTH CARE INSURANCE INDUSTRY  —  As insurance companies begin to propose premiums for 2015, it's time for Americans to brace themselves for the next round of rate shock in the wake of President Obama's health care law.

Megyn Kelly: Nancy Pelosi ‘guilty’ of sexism  —  Fox News host Megyn Kelly is charging House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) with being “guilty” of sexism after her comments on the Supreme Court's Hobby Lobby ruling.  —  “The latest installment of misleading hysteria comes …

‘The bear is loose’: Is Obama breaking free or running away?  —  President Obama visited Denver on the first leg of a three-day trip to tout economic gains, fundraise and meet with ordinary citizens.  Here are some thing to do in Denver when you're president.  (Tom LeGro and Natalie Jennings/The Washington Post)

Obama visits Franklin Barbecue, buys lunch for a couple of patrons  —  Less than 24 hours after polishing off some barbecue from John Mueller, Barack Obama hit another one of Austin's most famous men of smoked meat on his way out of town.  —  Following his speech at the Paramount …

Exclusive: George Clooney rejects ‘Mail’ apology  —  There is one constant when a person or company is caught doing something wrong.  The coverup is always worse.  —  In this case, the Daily Mail has printed an apology for insinuating religious tensions where there are none.

Militias move forward on Texas border, leader's background emerges  —  SAN ANTONIO - Groups describing themselves as militias have set up a training area near San Antonio and say there already are four “operations on the ground” along the US-Mexico border in Texas.