Why Obama's 'we don't have a strategy' gaffe stings  —  By now, President Obama's remark that “we don't have a strategy yet” has made the rounds.  Republicans were quick to pounce on it, as well they should have.  —  But while the White House went into damage-control mode …

GOP douses shutdown threats  —  Another government shutdown isn't going to happen next month — at least if you ask Republican leaders.  —  Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), who's facing a tough reelection challenge this fall, said turning the lights out in Washington is a “failed policy.”

Chelsea Clinton Is Leaving NBC News  —  Chelsea Clinton says she's stepping out of her correspondent job as she looks forward to taking on mom duties  —  After not quite three years as a special correspondent for NBC News - and with just a little while until she and husband Marc Mezvinsky …

Found: The Islamic State's Terror Laptop of Doom  —  Buried in a Dell computer captured in Syria are lessons for making bubonic plague bombs and missives on using weapons of mass destruction.  —  GOOGLE +

Imminent Terrorist Attack Warning By Feds on US Border  —  Islamic terrorist groups are operating in the Mexican border city of Ciudad Juarez and planning to attack the United States with car bombs or other vehicle born improvised explosive devices (VBIED).  High-level federal law enforcement …

Ukraine to seek Nato membership, says PM Yatsenyuk  —  Ukraine's prime minister has said he will ask parliament to put the country on a path towards Nato membership.  —  Arseny Yatsenyuk said the government was sending a bill to MPs urging that Ukraine's non-bloc status be cancelled.

Burmese beauty queen ‘vanishes with tiara’ from pageant  —  May Myat Noe alleged to have run off with crown after contest organisers said she should have breast enhancement operation  —  A Burmese beauty queen who was stripped of her title for allegedly being rude and dishonest has run off …

The Subsidy Show  —  Colbert, Fallon and the crony capitalism of the creative class  —  Modern “progressives” are not, as some economic conservatives would say, socialists.  In fact, today's so-called progressives are not even particularly progressive, at least in the usual sense of seeking to redistribute wealth from rich to poor.

Charlie Baker catches Martha Coakley, new poll shows  —  Slim lead is first in possible matchup  —  Republican Charlie Baker has edged ahead of Democrat Martha Coakley in the race for governor, taking the lead by the slimmest of margins for the first time in the Globe's weekly poll.

Haslam may submit Medicaid expansion plan in fall  —  In a move that could mean health coverage for thousands of Tennesseans, Gov. Bill Haslam said Thursday that the state may soon submit a proposal to Washington to expand Tennessee's Medicaid program but did not release any new details on how it might work.

Obama's “Strong Disapproval” Double His “Strong Approval”  —  Republicans are more likely to strongly disapprove now than in 2010  —  WASHINGTON, D.C. — Americans are more than twice as likely to say they “strongly disapprove” (39%) of President Barack Obama's job performance as they are to say they “strongly approve” (17%).

Actually, Obama Does Have a Strategy in the Middle East  —  The president is neither a dove nor a hawk.  He's a fierce minimalist.  —  President Obama's critics often claim he doesn't have a strategy in the greater Middle East.  That's wrong.  Like it or loathe it, he does, and he's beginning to implement it against ISIS.

Police lobby fights to keep gear  —  Police associations are beginning a major lobbying push to protect their access to the military equipment that was used against demonstrators in Ferguson, Mo.  —  Law enforcement groups argue a Pentagon program that provides surplus military gear helps protect …

The one fight to have before your wedding  —  Betrothed women of the world, unite!  You have nothing to lose but your husbands' names.  —  I'm getting married in a few days, and — as I'm told happens with most weddings — lots of exhausting fights over minuscule details have broken out along the long, treacherous road to the altar.