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 …

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.

Elaine Stritch, Tart-Tongued Broadway Actress and Singer, Is Dead at 89  —  Elaine Stritch, the brassy, tart-tongued Broadway actress and singer who became a living emblem of show business durability and perhaps the leading interpreter of Stephen Sondheim's wryly acrid musings on aging …

Todd Akin's Pathetic Attempt To Defend ‘Legitimate Rape’ Goes Down In Flames  —  Former Republican Congressman Todd Akin appeared on MSNBC on Thursday to hawk his new book and defend the now-infamous comments that doomed his 2012 Senate campaign.  During an interview in August of 2012 …

‘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 …

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.

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 …

I Don't Care If You Like It  —  Women are tired of being judged by the Esquire metric  —  Last week, I got into a fight on Twitter with New York magazine's Jonathan Chait, whose work I respect, and it wasn't about anything that either of us had written; rather, we were tussling over the merits …

The Hidden Barrier to a Republican Senate Majority  —  The GOP has had little recent success defeating Democratic incumbents  —  If Republicans are to win the Senate, they probably are going to have to do something they haven't done since 1980: beat more than two Democratic Senate incumbents in November.

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 …

Jeb Bush Raising Private Equity Funds as Campaign Weighed  —  As other Republicans travel the country laying the groundwork for 2016 presidential campaigns, former Florida Governor Jeb Bush is raising private-equity funds for oil and gas ventures.  —  Bush, 61, whose family made much of its fortune …

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.

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 …

FAQs about Affordable Care Act Implementation (Part XX)  —  Set out below is an additional Frequently Asked Question (FAQ) regarding implementation of the Affordable Care Act.  This FAQ has been prepared by the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services (HHS), and the Treasury (collectively, the Departments).

Eden Prairie GOP candidate's outspoken blogging elicits criticism from both sides of aisle  —  Sheila Kihne is a Republican activist and Eden Prairie resident who is running in an August primary for a Minnesota House seat.  —  On her website, Kihne characterizes herself as a “small-government conservative.”

The Border and Obama  —  It's time to stop running away from the nation's troubles  —  The woman from Honduras was tiny and extremely pregnant.  “When are you due?” asked Sister Norma Pimentel, the director of Catholic Charities in the Rio Grande Valley.  “Ya,” the woman replied in Spanish: “Already"-she was past due.

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.