AFTER THE CRASH  —  Geography, motive, communications intercepts, and all manner of circumstantial evidence suggest that the likeliest suspect in the horrific deaths of two hundred and ninety-eight people aboard Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 was the curiously well-armed and well-coördinated …

Moral clarity in Gaza  —  Israel accepts an Egyptian-proposed Gaza cease-fire; Hamas keeps firing.  Hamas deliberately aims rockets at civilians; Israel painstakingly tries to avoid them, actually telephoning civilians in the area and dropping warning charges, so-called roof knocking.

Staten Island man dies after NYPD cop puts him in chokehold — SEE THE VIDEO  —  VIDEO EXCLUSIVE: A 400-pound asthmatic Staten Island dad died Thursday after a cop put him in a chokehold and other officers appeared to slam his head against the sidewalk, video of the incident shows.

Run, Elizabeth, Run!  —  Why an Elizabeth Warren presidential bid would be good for all Americans.  —  Imagine there were a political movement that was against pablum in the public square, that promoted tough debates on pressing issues, that was suspicious of coronations …

Hillary Clinton's Bizarre Critique of U.S. Foreign Policy  —  Tuesday night on The Daily Show, Hillary Clinton showed why she gives a great interview.  When Stewart mocked the pretense that she's not yet decided to run for president, Hillary didn't stiffen or get flustered.

Senate Mischief  —  On the topic of Burwell v. Hobby Lobby, the contraceptive mandate case decided on the last day of the recent Supreme Court term, the Democrats are fighting mad.  They don't like the decision.  No, they despise it.  Indeed, their rhetoric on Hobby Lobby has become so misleading …

Poll has Martha Coakley, Charlie Baker in dead heat  —  Democrat Martha Coakley has seen her edge over Republican Charlie Baker nearly erased in the last several weeks and is now virtually tied with Baker in a potential general-election matchup, according to a new Boston Globe poll.

NBC News Pulls Veteran Reporter from Gaza After Witnessing Israeli Attack on Children  —  Ayman Mohyeldin reports from Gaza City on killing of four Palestinian boys by Israel (credit: NBC News)  —  Ayman Mohyeldin, the NBC News correspondent who personally witnessed yesterday's killing …

Gov. Christie Would Help Immigrant Children  —  Gov. Chris Christie said Thursday during a visit to Iowa that he would consider requests to help unaccompanied immigrant children who come to New Jersey, but would not encourage families to send them to his home state.

Addicted to Inflation  —  The first step toward recovery is admitting that you have a problem.  That goes for political movements as well as individuals.  So I have some advice for so-called reform conservatives trying to rebuild the intellectual vitality of the right …

Israeli Crowd Cheers As Missile Hits Gaza Live On CNN  —  “I think you can probably see there are lots of Israelis gathered around who are cheering when they see these kinds of Israeli strikes.”  —  View Video ›  —  A few minutes later, the reporter, CNN's Diana Magnay, tweeted this and then deleted it about 20 minutes later: