GOP internal debate: Is party repeating mistakes of 1998?  —  BARACK OBAMA BILL CLINTON JOHN BOEHNER 2014 ELECTIONS  —  For anyone who was around, it's hard to compare 1998 — the year of the Monica Lewinsky scandal, the Starr Report, and Bill Clinton's impeachment — with any other year.

LAWMAKERS TRY TO SEAL $225M AID PACKAGE FOR ISRAEL  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — Democratic and Republican members of Congress scrambled Tuesday to seal a $225 million boost to Israel's Iron Dome missile defense system before they break this week for a month-long recess.

Inside the Kerry-Israel Meltdown  —  The secretary of state has been furiously working on a Mideast ceasefire, but his ad hoc efforts were dealt another blow Monday when Israel rejected his latest peacemaking plan.  —  On Monday, Secretary of State Kerry took to the podium at the State Department …

Why I Have Become Less Pro-Israel  —  A bad run for liberal Zionism.  —  A half-dozen years ago, I attended the first conference of J Street, a liberal pro-Israel organization, to debate the meaning of the term pro-Israel itself.  Pitted against Matthew Yglesias, I maintained that …

George Zimmerman ‘patrolling’ Central Florida shop after gun theft  —  Owner of Pompano Pat's in DeLand says Zimmerman not working for him  —  DeLAND, Fla. -  —  Although he's not a hired security officer, George Zimmerman has been “patrolling” outside a Volusia County gun shop …

Downscale  —  I recently had a conversation with an intensely conservative businessman whose first foray into politics was fighting for a tax hike on his business and others like it.  The little town where he lived as a young man had no paved roads, waterworks, or sewage facilities …

“You damned Polack, you step one foot out of that door and I'll kill you,” Dowlut said the cop growled as he patted his gun. … The Webley Mark VI revolver that police said Dowlut dug up in the South Bend City Cemetery Indiana Supreme Court … Dowlut was already known to police …

A NYT Lede That Duplicates Wikipedia  —  Exhibit A is the fourth paragraph from the biography section of Wikipedia's entry for Italian Renaissance painter Piero di Cosimo (all underlining is ours):  —  During his lifetime, Cosimo acquired a reputation for eccentricity …

Appeals Court Strikes Down Law, Saves Mississippi's Only Abortion Clinic  —  JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — A federal appeals court panel has ruled that a Mississippi law that would close the state's only abortion clinic is unconstitutional.  —  The three-judge panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court …

Break up the states!  The case for the United Statelets of America  —  Here's how Wyoming, Vermont and North Dakota are exercising tyranny over the rest of us — and how to stop them  —  A ballot initiative that would support breaking California into six smaller and more coherent states …

McDonald's: Regulator Says It's a ‘Joint Employer’  —  McDonald's says it has been notified by a labor regulator that it can be named a “joint employer” for workers in its franchisee-owned restaurants.  —  The decision by the National Labor Relations Board was being closely watched …

No Labels, no respect: The bipartisan “solutions” group embodies the worst of D.C.  —  No Labels is raising money largely for itself, and its attempts to break gridlock are silly and self-defeating  —  No Labels was once the embodiment of a dream.  It was the dream of a bunch of wealthy …

Pray God blocks EPA plan, chief regulator of Alabama utilities tells consumers  —  BIRMINGHAM, Alabama - Alabama's coal industry will lose jobs and consumers will see their utility bills increase should the EPA implement proposed regulations on coal-fired power plants, Alabama regulators …

Tunnels Lead Right to the Heart of Israeli Fear  —  NEAR THE ISRAEL-GAZA BORDER — The curved concrete top of the tunnel grazes the dark-brown buzz cut of Lt. Col. Oshik Azulai, putting it 5 feet and 7 inches above the sand floor.  The walls are about 30 inches apart …

Judge puts D.C. handgun ruling on hold  —  A federal judge on Tuesday put on hold his decision invalidating the District's long-standing ban on carrying handguns in public places.  —  The judge's stay, in effect for 90 days, gives city officials and D.C. police officers some breathing room …

Obama Thanks Muslims for ‘Building the Very Fabric of Our Nation’  —  WASHINGTON, D.C. (Worthy News)- As Ramadan came to a close, President Obama thanked the Muslim community “for its many achievements and contributions” and “building the very fabric of our nation” and “strengthening the core of our democracy.”