Cruz made 2016 announcement speech without a teleprompter  —  Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) made his speech announcing that he would run for the presidency without the assistance of a teleprompter, his spokesman said Monday.  —  Cruz delivered his roughly half-hour announcement speech at evangelical Liberty University in Virginia.

Netanyahu pollster: Obama role in election larger than reported  —  President Obama's role during the Israeli elections was larger than reported, according to a pollster for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party.  —  “What was not well reported in the American media …

In Clinton Emails on Benghazi, a Rare Glimpse at Her Concerns  —  WASHINGTON — It was a grueling hearing.  A month after the September 2012 attack on the United States diplomatic compound in Benghazi, Libya, House Republicans grilled a top State Department official about security lapses at the outpost.

Wisconsin Voter-ID Law Stands as Supreme Court Rejects Appeal  —  (Bloomberg) — The U.S. Supreme Court cleared the way for Wisconsin to implement a voter-identification law that opponents say is one of the strictest in the nation.  —  Rejecting without comment an appeal by civil rights groups …

Reconsidering My August Post on Ferguson and ‘Conflicting Accounts’  —  In the heat of a very hot news moment last summer, I criticized a Times story about the shooting death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo.  —  Now, with the benefit of hindsight, I want to acknowledge that I misjudged an important element of that story.

Obamacare is 5 years old, and Americans are still worried about death panels  —  When Democrats passed the Affordable Care Act in 2010, they knew it wasn't popular — poll after poll showed pluralities, if not majorities, opposed to the legislation after the bruising national fight that led to its passage.

A Letter from Howard Schultz to Starbucks Partners Regarding Race Together  —  I want to offer my heartfelt thanks to every one of you for your fearless and energetic support of the Race Together initiative.  Our objective from the very start of this effort — dating back to our first open forum …

PHOTOS  —  ... and other souvenirs.  Nearby are exhibits about ramen in Europe , regional ramen around Japan and historic ramen-making ..... search of ramen's origins.  " The food stands include Italian pasta, Vietnamese pho, and dishes from Kazakhstan , China ...

High school accused of massive grade-fixing scheme  —  Teaching kids takes so much effort, staffers at John Dewey HS in Brooklyn have found a quicker way to fix persistent failure rates, sources said: Just let them pass.  —  Investigators are probing accusations of a massive grade-fixing scheme …

Any Republicans who vote against higher defense spending should be fired  —  Let's talk a bit about which House Republican incumbents are going to draw primary opponents in 2016.  Make a note: Those GOP representatives who vote against upping Pentagon spending this week are at the top of a list …

Florida's Patrick Murphy running for Marco Rubio's Senate seat  —  Florida Rep. Patrick Murphy formally announced his campaign for Senate on Monday, saying he's ready to fight for the highly competitive seat regardless of whether or not Marco Rubio runs for reelection.

Clinton urges non-partisan attack on economic inequality  —  Washington (AFP) - Hillary Clinton made an appearance with labor leaders Monday, calling for a non-partisan struggle against economic inequality in one of her last speeches before formally launching her expected bid for the White House.