The 2014 Midterms Don't Mean Anything  —  Pundits and pols say the stakes couldn't be higher.  Quite the opposite.  —  The political media's handicapping of the November 4 midterm election has contributed to the impression, fostered by many partisans and commentators, that the stakes have never been higher.

Malaysian Plane ‘Shot Down With 295 On Board’  —  A passenger plane with 295 people on board has been shot down as it flew above eastern Ukraine, according to aviation sources.  —  The Malaysia Airlines plane, which was flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, was travelling at an altitude of 10km …

UNRWA STRONGLY CONDEMNS PLACEMENT OF ROCKETS IN SCHOOL  —  Yesterday, in the course of the regular inspection of its premises, UNRWA discovered approximately 20 rockets hidden in a vacant school in the Gaza Strip.  UNRWA strongly condemns the group or groups responsible for placing the weapons in one of its installations.

Federal judge rules California death penalty is unconstitutional  —  A federal judge in Orange County ruled Wednesday that California's death penalty violates the U.S. Constitution's ban on cruel and unusual punishment.  —  U.S. District Judge Cormac J. Carney, ruled on a petition …

Fake screener probes passengers at SFO  —  (07-16) 17:46 PDT SAN FRANCISCO — A man suspected of being drunk posed as a security screener at San Francisco International Airport long enough to direct a couple of women into a private booth for pat downs before real security staffers caught on to him, authorities said Wednesday.

Dag Vega, Obama's TV whisperer, leaving White House  —  Dag Vega — the White House liaison to the TV networks, and one of the few original Obama staffers who moved into 1600 Pennsylvania 5½ years ago — will leave for a soon-to-be-announced job in the private sector on July 25.

‘If I end up in chains in Guantánamo I can live with that’ - video interview  —  Edward Snowden, the NSA whistleblower, talks exclusively to Alan Rusbridger, editor-in-chief of the Guardian, and reporter Ewen MacAskill in Moscow.  The 31-year-old former intelligence analyst discusses whether …

Lessons from LeBron — How the GOP can use crisis management  —  LeBron James's surprise announcement last Friday that he planned to return to the Cleveland Cavaliers from the Miami Heat offers important lessons for effective crisis management.  Indeed, the most important lesson might …

Exclusive: Feds Struggling to Cope With Medical ‘Breakdown’ at the Border  —  The federal government is so overwhelmed by the current tide of migrants crossing the border it can't provide basic medical screening to all of the children before transporting them - often by air …

Chick-fil-A Is Like Gay Sex: Don't Knock It Till You Try It  —  Hats off, Chick-fil-A!  You've overtaken KFC, and you're aiming to sell healthier fare.  But pssst!  Don't you know 'skinny'='gay'?  —  Chick-fil-A is like gay sex: Don't knock it till you try it.

The Easiest Fix for Dark Money: Disclose Less Often  —  “Politics has got so expensive that it takes lots of money to even get beat with nowadays.”  —Will Rogers  —  Super PACs are unquestionably a scandal: The lightly regulated committees mean wealthy donors can funnel unlimited amounts of money into elections anonymously.

Stephen Elop's email to employees  —  Microsoft's strategy is focused on productivity and our desire to help people “do more.”  As the Microsoft Devices Group, our role is to light up this strategy for people.  We are the team creating the hardware that showcases the finest of Microsoft's digital work …

Clinton Is Best Known, Best Liked Potential 2016 Candidate  —  Huckabee's image is slightly better than other GOP contenders  —  PRINCETON, NJ — Hillary Clinton is currently the best known and best liked of 16 potential 2016 presidential candidates tested in a July 7-10 Gallup poll …

Towns Fight to Avoid Taking In Migrant Minors  —  OYSTER CREEK, Tex. — A shelter for Central American children who crossed the border illegally opened behind Gregg Griffith's house here a few months ago.  The children are quiet.  No one has hopped over the fence that separates his backyard from the shelter, a once-vacant youth home.

Hobby Lobby: A new tool for crushing workplace unionization?  —  A little-known religious exemption to United States labor law may have just become extremely important, thanks to the Supreme Court's ruling in Hobby Lobby.  —  By declaring that “closely held” corporations may hold religious beliefs …

Time to annex?  If Palestinians can't govern ...  Israeli military vehicles patrol near Israel's border with the Gaza Strip.  —  The collapse of a ceasefire plan for Israel and Hamas would be a moment to test the Jewish state's super-weapon — Caroline Glick.

Pentagon told lawmakers that it plans to move six Guantanamo detainees to Uruguay  —  The Pentagon recently notified members of Congress that it intends to transfer six low-level detainees at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to Uruguay soon, including a Syrian man who is legally challenging the manner …

In Post-Recession Era, Young Adults Drive Continuing Rise in Multi-Generational Living  —  A record 57 million Americans, or 18.1% of the population of the United States, lived in multi-generational family households in 2012, double the number who lived in such households in 1980.1

We Don't Need a Corporate Income Tax  —  You can think of corporate taxation as a sort of long chess match: The government makes a move.  Corporations move in response — sometimes literally, to another country where the tax burden is less onerous.  This upsets the government greatly, and the Barack Obama administration in particular.

Websites Like Thought Catalog and Upworthy Aim to Uplift  —  On a bright afternoon, Alex Magnin, chief revenue officer of the website Thought Catalog, strolled through Dolores Park in San Francisco, sipping a cup of green tea.  Mr. Magnin, 29 and clad in a rumpled plaid shirt …