No one has understood Valerie Jarrett's role, until now  —  Even at this late date in the Obama presidency, there is no surer way to elicit paranoid whispers or armchair psychoanalysis from Democrats than to mention the name Valerie Jarrett.  Party operatives, administration officials …

Rand's grand plan  —  An inside look at the senator's presidential rollout.  —  Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul has made key decisions about how to launch his presidential campaign for the 2016 Republican nomination, including a plan to headquarter his effort in Louisville and opting to run …

Obama doesn't rule out more troops in Iraq  —  President Obama in an interview broadcast on Sunday did not rule out the possibility of sending additional troops into Iraq.  —  The president said, however, the increase in coalition partners might mean that U.S. troop numbers begin to drop.

Billionaires Adelson and Saban, at odds in campaigns, unite on Israel and hit Obama  —  The billionaire political kingmakers planning to bankroll much of the 2016 presidential campaign spoke out together on Sunday with blunt warnings on key issues for their respective parties.

OBAMA'S ATTORNEY GENERAL NOMINEE LORETTA LYNCH REPRESENTED CLINTONS DURING WHITEWATER (CORRECTED)  —  New York federal prosecutor Loretta Lynch, the new nominee for attorney general, has a career filled with high profile cases — and she was a member of Bill Clinton's defense team during the 1992 Whitewater corruption probe.

Examining a racial slur entrenched in American vernacular that is more prevalent than ever.  —  This season, the National Football League is attempting the impossible, a reasoned but dubious mission that has already tripped up an institution as venerable as the National Association …

The Inevitability Trap  —  Hillary Clinton and the drawbacks of being the front-runner. … “I'm sorry—you tapped into something no one cares about.”  —  BUY OR LICENSE »

Reagan's apology to Thatcher over Grenada revealed  —  A recorded conversation between an apologetic Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher over the invasion of Grenada has been published for the first time.  —  “We regret very much the embarrassment that's been caused to you,” the US leader said during the call.

G.O.P. Is Making Progress Toward Presidency but Is Still Playing Catch-Up  —  After five of six presidential elections in which the Republicans have lost the popular vote, this year's midterm elections point toward a plausible Republican path to winning the White House.

Link Shows How Lobby Firm Cultivates Influence  —  Attorney General Pam Bondi of Florida, after taking a free ride on a chartered jet last year to a resort island far from her home state, made an unusual offer to one of the corporate lawyers from Washington who helped foot the bill …

Mom Says Spirit Of Former Marine Could Have Possessed Her Young Son's Body  —  A Virginia Beach mother says she is concerned for her son and believes that he may be possessed by the ghost of a Marine that died in a terrorist attack.  —  Michelle Lucas says her four-year-old son Andrew constantly talks …

Lichtgrenze 2014: Commemorating the Fall of the Berlin Wall  —  Numerous events were held this weekend across Berlin, Germany, remembering the November 9, 1989 fall of the Berlin Wall that once divided the city.  A project called “Lichtgrenze 2014” (literally “Lightborder 2014") was erected …