David Gregory: Dead Head Talking?  —  NBC News' chief White House correspondent, Chuck Todd, and Morning Joe's Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski are jockeying to replace the moderator of Meet the Press.  —  Whenever he got around to reading the unpleasant item in the Page Six column on Wednesday …

Video: Woman in Labor ‘Not Allowed’ to Cross Street to Hospital Over Obama's Impending Motorcade  —  Witnesses say a pregnant woman in labor was prevented by authorities from crossing a Los Angeles street to a hospital Wednesday because the road had been closed for President Barack Obama's impending motorcade.

Signs of donor fatigue at Obama's Bay Area fundraisers  —  President Obama hit the Bay Area for a fast cash-and-grab fundraising drive Wednesday, but there were signs that even in one of the nation's most reliable Democratic ATMs, donor fatigue is setting in.

Isis ‘ordering female genital mutilation’ in Iraq - UN  —  A top UN official in Iraq has said the Sunni Islamist group Isis controlling the city of Mosul is seeking to impose female genital mutilation.  —  All females aged 11 and 46 in the northern city must undergo the procedure …

Why the DC Circuit's interpretation of the ACA in Halbig v. Burwell is far from “absurd”  —  In its recent controversial decision in Halbig v. Burwell, the US Court of appeals for the DC Circuit ruled that people purchasing health insurance under the Affordable Care Act are only eligible …

Why Am I Moving Left?  —  I used to be right down the middle.  But America's changed, and so have I.  —  In my late 50s, at a time of life when most people are supposed to be drifting into a cautious conservatism, I am surprised to find myself moving steadily leftward.  —  This is unexpected.

Hillary Clinton: I need to ‘work on’ press relations  —  Hillary Clinton, who has long had a tempestuous relationship with the media, on Thursday said she may need to “work on” her “expectations” of the press.  —  Her comments, which came on NPR's “On Point” program, follow criticism …

GOP Has Midterm Engagement Advantage  —  But ‘Enthusiasm Gap’ Narrower than in 2010  —  The Republican Party holds a clear advantage in voter engagement in this fall's midterm elections, according to a new national survey by the Pew Research Center.  Yet GOP voters are not as enthused …

The Solution to Border Disorder  —  The best antidote to illegal immigration is a functioning system of legal immigration.

Missing Air Algerie plane from Burkina Faso has crashed: Algerian official  —  (Reuters) - An Air Algerie flight crashed on Thursday en route from Ouagadougou in Burkina Faso to Algiers with 110 passengers on board, an Algerian aviation official said.  —  There were few clear indications …

Near Miss: The Solar Superstorm of July 2012  —  If an asteroid big enough to knock modern civilization back to the 18th century appeared out of deep space and buzzed the Earth-Moon system, the near-miss would be instant worldwide headline news.  —  Two years ago, Earth experienced a close shave …

Grim Details Emerge in FSU Professor's Shooting Death … A criminal law professor at Florida State University gunned down at his home was shot in the side of the head at relatively close range, ABC News has exclusively learned.  —  Professor Dan Markel, 41, was fatally shot Saturday …

Obama Campaign Vets: Pay Us $5,000 To Learn — And Work On A Campaign  —  Started by top Obama campaign vets, 270 Strategies' new training program has drawn skepticism from Democrats and progressives on the campaign trail.  —  Darren Hauck / Reuters  —  WASHINGTON — Two top veterans …

One Hour and 57 Minutes in Arizona  —  Arizona had never tried the two-drug cocktail of midazolam and hydromorphone before it injected an unknown dose into Joseph Wood's veins Wednesday afternoon.  Most executions by lethal injection take between 10 and 20 minutes once the drugs are injected, if performed properly.

An opportunity to cut poverty  —  Let's re-conceive the federal government's role in providing a safety net for the poor.  —  This week, our economy received some bad news: The International Monetary Fund revised its projection for U.S. economic growth this year to just 1.7%.  Working families will pay the price.

Ted Cruz hits back at State Department  —  Sen. Ted Cruz is slamming the State Department after a spokeswoman called his claim that the Federal Aviation Administration made a politically motivated decision to halt U.S. airlines' flights to Israel “ridiculous and offensive.”

IRS Lawlessness: 20 Hard Drives, Six Unanswered Questions  —  Scandal: An internationally accredited information-technology asset-management firm says the IRS has some explaining to do as our patience is taxed with tales of even more convenient computer crashes.

Texas gun nuts' scary ritual: How hatred of a president turned profane  —  The “open carry” crew is now spouting right-wing conspiracy theories and waving guns in the worst place imaginable  —  Three weeks before the assassination of John F. Kennedy, a concerned citizen from Dallas named …

Senate: 2014 a Year All Its Own  —  Republicans' takeover odds remain decent, but this isn't 2006 or 2010  —  Analysts always strain to generalize about elections.  We want to “model” them, find the common elements, and project them as early as possible based on the commonalities.