Harry Reid's Joke to Asians: You're Not Smarter Than Everyone Else  —  “One problem that I've had today is keeping my Wongs straight”  —  Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid drew laughter from an Asian audience Thursday with a pair of Asian-themed jokes.  —  “I don't think you're smarter …

Obama vs. ISIS: This Time It's Personal  —  When ISIS beheaded an American journalist, it meant to intimidate—and provoke—the United States.  It should be careful what it wishes for.  The gloves just came off.  —  The Obama administration signaled Thursday that the United States has begun …

Washington Post editorials will no longer use ‘Redskins’ for the local NFL team  —  THIS PAGE has for many years urged the local football team to change its name.  The term “Redskins,” we wrote in 1992, “is really pretty offensive.”  The team owner then, Jack Kent Cooke, disagreed, and the owner now, Daniel M. Snyder, disagrees, too.

Full text of the last email the Islamic State sent to the Foley family  —  The last time James Foley's parents heard from their son's captors was on Aug. 12.  They received this message.  —  BOSTON, Mass. — American journalist James Foley was murdered by Islamic State militants …

Revved Up  —  How Al Sharpton became Obama's go-to man on race.  —  A few days after 18-year-old Mike Brown was gunned down in Ferguson, Missouri, White House officials enlisted an unusual source for on-the-ground intelligence amid the chaos and tear gas: the Rev. Al Sharpton …

Russia Moves Artillery Units Into Ukraine, NATO Says  —  WASHINGTON — The Russian military has moved artillery units manned by Russian personnel inside Ukrainian territory in recent days and is using them to fire at Ukrainian forces, NATO officials said on Friday.

I will not be returning to Ferguson  —  I had been on the ground helping Al Jazeera America** cover the protests and unrest in Ferguson, Mo., since this all started last week.  After what I saw last night, I will not be returning.  The behavior and number of journalists there is so appalling …

More victims are possible in Oklahoma City police sex crime case  —  Oklahoma City police officer Daniel Holtzclaw was arrested about 3 p.m. Thursday.  He is accused of sexually assaulting at least six women while on patrol in the Springlake division.  —  An Oklahoma City police officer …

The U.S. government's creeping war on journalists  —  A new poll reveals that three quarters of reporters agree the public isn't getting the information it needs  —  As states move to hide details of government deals with Wall Street, and as politicians come up with new arguments to defend secrecy …

Breaking: Obama Admin Offers Hobby Lobby Workaround On Birth Control  —  The Obama administration rolled out a plan on Friday to protect access to copay-free birth control for women in response to the Supreme Court's Hobby Lobby ruling.  —  A new “proposed rule” by the Department of Health …

A Terrorist Horror, Then Golf: Incongruity Fuels Obama Critics  —  WASHINGTON — He had just hung up the telephone with the devastated parents before heading in front of the cameras.  Unusually emotional, President Obama declared himself “heartbroken” by the brutal murder of an American journalist …

Obamacare rates are rising once again  —  WHITE HOUSE OBAMACARE HEALTH CARE ENTITLEMENTS BUDGETS AND DEFICITS  —  Supporters of President Obama's health care law have been touting proposed insurance rates for 2015 — arguing that they aren't as high as some of the dire warnings of the law's critics.

A Gun Distinction Without a Difference  —  It seems to be hugely important to gun rights supporters that people understand the difference between fully automatic and semiautomatic weapons.  And it appears to greatly irritate them when they hear people fail to accurately distinguish between the two.