Cruz center of Senate meltdown  —  Sen. Ted Cruz, the firebrand conservative freshman from Texas, has blown up the Senate leadership's plans to have a peaceful weekend by forcing round-the-clock votes on President Obama's nominees and the $1.1 trillion omnibus.

Cops tell de Blasio: Stay away from our funerals  —  Not over their dead bodies.  —  Cops are warning Mayor de Blasio and Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito to stay away from their funerals should they be killed in the line of duty.  —  The Patrolmen's Benevolent Association distributed …

G.O.P. Angst Over 2016 Led to Provision on Funding  —  The secret negotiations that led to one of the most significant expansions of campaign contributions in recent years began with what Republican leaders regarded as an urgent problem: How would they pay for their presidential nominating convention in Cleveland in two years?

Police Arrest Suspect in Shooting Near High School  —  PORTLAND, Ore. — Police in Portland have arrested a suspect in the shooting that injured three people outside an alternative high school.  —  Authorities said they stopped a vehicle around 1:30 a.m. Saturday at North Interstate Avenue …

Why America's middle class is lost  —  The middle class took America to the moon.  Then something went horribly wrong.  —  DOWNEY, CALIF. — One day in 1967, Bob Thompson sprayed foam on a hunk of metal in a cavernous factory south of Los Angeles.  And then another day, not too long after …

Another Baseless Attack on Health Law  —  The opponents of the Affordable Care Act have filed another long-shot lawsuit that could undermine health care reform and force many consumers to pay more for health insurance if the suit succeeds.  —  The Supreme Court has already agreed to hear a separate case …

Early federal sentencing recommendation for McDonnell: At least 10 years in prison … The federal agency that will play a pivotal role in guiding the sentence of former Virginia governor Robert F. McDonnell has recommended that the onetime Republican rising star spend at least 10 years and a month in prison …

Pastor Dresses Horse in Wedding Dress to Protest Same-Sex Marriage  —  It's not something you see every day, a horse in a wedding dress standing outside the federal courthouse.  —  “I thought it was laughable and I believe he was going for a ridiculous protest and he certainly got one,” says Eddie Outlaw, LGBT advocate.

Americans find some tortures more acceptable than others  —  Most Americans think torture can be justified, but hardly anyone thinks “rectal feeding” is acceptable  —  This week saw the release of a long-awaited Senate report detailing the post-9/11 CIA detention and interrogation program …

Cruel Reality: Obama Paying for Illegal Amnesty With Fees Paid by Legal Immigrants  —  As the debate rages on Capitol Hill about how to defund President Obama's executive action that gives legal status to 5 million illegal immigrants, it's important to take a look at where the funding for his new amnesty program is coming from.