Same-Sex Marriages Proceed in Alabama as State Judge's Order Is Defied  —  BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Alabama became on Monday the latest state to allow same-sex marriage, as many probate judges defied an order by the chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court and began issuing licenses and performing weddings.

NBC's Brian Williams told varying versions of rocket fire in Israel-Hezbollah war  —  NBC News anchor Brian Williams certainly has placed himself in dangerous situations in covering wars and natural disasters over the years.  But how much danger?  With Williams, the answer varies.

Obama on American politics and economy: the Vox conversation  —  In his 2007 book The Audacity of Hope, then-Sen. Barack Obama laid out his theory of America's political and policy problems as it stood on the eve of his first presidential campaign.  He worried, he said, about …

Huckabee Tears into Obama's Prayer Speech: His High Horse Is the TelePrompTer  —  Former Arkansas Governor and current Marge Simpson Mike Huckabee took to Fox & Friends Monday morning to declare that this Barack Obama guy has notions.  —  “This president has a high horse himself — it's his teleprompter,” Huckabee said.

Jeb Bush In Iowa: Still A Long Way To Go  —  The family network has faded, he's unpopular on policy, and his trip next month will be Bush's first in three years.  “The first thing he needs to do is show up.”  —  Tom Williams / CQ Roll Call  —  Columbus Junction is a town in Eastern Iowa …

Professor Marco Rubio  —  Inside the classroom, the Florida Republican gives clues about his political future.  —  MIAMI — Without notes and seemingly without taking a breath, Marco Rubio tears through a data-heavy speech about the “fault lines” in America's politics and what he calls “the middle-class trap.”

TV host asks Holder to quack like a duck  —  Attorney General Eric Holder on Sunday refused an unusual request during an interview, declining to quack like a duck.  —  At the end of an interview that touched on the Voting Rights Act and use of force by police, MSNBC host Melissa Harris-Perry asked …

11 Democrats who could help themselves by challenging Hillary  —  As far as the Democratic primaries are concerned, Hillary Clinton is assembling a huge campaign organization to run against ... nobody.  A presidential contender needs an opponent, a workout, a challenge to be in shape …

Kerry won't rule out 2016 bid  —  Secretary of State John Kerry said in an interview broadcast on Sunday that he has not ruled out launching a presidential bid in 2016, maintaining he's been too busy to give the prospect any thought.  —  Asked by “Meet the Press” host Chuck Todd …

Is Texas ‘Crazy’ or Is It the Real America?  —  Last week, everywhere I went in Washington it seemed as if the country's cultural and ideological divisions came down to a debate over the state of Texas and whether or not it was “a crazy state” or the “place that is still most like America.”

ISIS recruiter, once freed from Gitmo by U.S., killed in drone strike in Afghanistan  —  Story highlights  —  (CNN)He was a Taliban commander captured by the United States and held at Guantanamo Bay.  But he was let go and returned to Afghanistan.  Mullah Abdul Rauf went on to become a recruiter for ISIS in Afghanistan.