Nine FIFA Officials and Five Corporate Executives Indicted for Racketeering Conspiracy and Corruption  —  The Defendants Include Two Current FIFA Vice Presidents and the Current and Former Presidents of the Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) …

The decline of Rand Paul  —  Rand Paul took a left turn on his journey to the Republican nomination, and now his hopes seem to be headed south.  —  The libertarian Kentucky senator's new book, “Taking a Stand,” came out Tuesday, and it is chock-full of lines that would position Paul well …

A tiny string of text can disable iPhone Messages  —  Apple device owners have discovered a string of text characters that, when received on an iPhone in Messages, can lock people out of the app and — reportedly in some cases — crash the phone.  Users who receive the string with Messages open …

Have Democrats Pulled Too Far Left?  —  AMONG liberals, it's almost universally assumed that of the two major parties, it's the Republicans who have become more extreme over the years.  That's a self-flattering but false narrative.  —  This is not to say the Republican Party hasn't become a more conservative party.

Rick Santorum Announcing Run for President … Rick Santorum, the former Republican senator from Pennsylvania, will announce today that he will seek the GOP nomination for president in 2016, ABC News has learned.  ABC News' Chief Anchor George Stephanopoulos will sit down for an exclusive interview with Santorum this afternoon.

President Obama asserts power over small waterways  —  The Obama administration on Wednesday asserted its authority over the nation's streams, wetlands and other smaller waterways, moving forward with one of the most controversial environmental regulations in recent years.

Elizabeth Warren Bought Foreclosed Homes to Make a Quick Profit  —  Before the crash that she blamed on speculators, Senator Elizabeth Warren made a bundle by flipping houses.  —  Nearly two years after Veo Vessels died, her daughter, 70-year-old Mary Frances Hickman, decided to sell the home her mother had left to her.

Give the ‘bigot’ bomb a break  —  Reducing human beings to their worst idea or comment diminishes us all.  —  A lesbian couple purchased engagement rings from a Christian jeweler.They were so pleased with the service, they referred a friend to the shop to purchase a ring for his girlfriend.

CPD cops posed for photo standing over black man dressed in antlers  —  It's a racially charged photo the Chicago Police Department didn't want the public to see: two white cops posing with rifles as they stand over a black man lying on his belly with deer antlers on his head.

L.A. labor leaders seek minimum wage exemption for firms with union workers  —  Labor leaders, who were among the strongest supporters of the citywide minimum wage increase approved last week by the Los Angeles City Council, are advocating last-minute changes to the law that could create …

The White Protestant Roots of American Racism  —  he Apotheosis of Washington," painted in 1865 by Constantino Brumidi, is a fresco of the first president of the United States ascending to the heavens.  The goddesses of Victory and Liberty, along with 13 maidens who represent America's original colonies …

Police officer charged in Waldorf McDonald's homicide ID'd  —  A Prince George's County police officer is charged in a murder at the Waldorf McDonald's and detective say his service weapon may have been used by his mother in the crime WUSA  —  WALDORF, Md. (WUSA9) — A Prince George's County police officer …

Americans Continue to Shift Left on Key Moral Issues  —  Story Highlights  —  PRINCETON, N.J. — Americans are more likely now than in the early 2000s to find a variety of behaviors morally acceptable, including gay and lesbian relations, having a baby outside of marriage and sex between an unmarried man and woman.

Military bans Big Macs, other treats at Guantánamo legal meetings  —  In this image reviewed by the U.S. military, Guantánamo detainees look out from fenced-in areas as a guard closes a door in Camp Echo detention facility on the U.S. Navy Base in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, Wednesday, Nov. 19, 2008.

A Growth Spurt  —  It's happened again: this dictionary has gotten bigger.  —  As of last week, it's grown by more than 1,700 entries, and existing entries have expanded by more than 700 new senses.  We've added 3,200 examples that provide contextual information, and another 200 entries …

Immigration Activists Vow Voter Repercussions Over Ruling  —  Immigration activists vowed Republicans will pay a political price after a federal appeals court kept President Barack Obama's action to defer deportation on hold.  —  The 2-1 decision by a panel of the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court …

Scott Walker: Mandatory Ultrasounds Are ‘Just A Cool Thing’ For Women  —  Potential 2016 Republican presidential candidate and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) said in an interview on Friday that mandatory ultrasounds for women hoping to get an abortion was “just a cool thing.”

The World's Most Powerful Women 2015  —  The world's most powerful woman, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, has a lot on her mind these days: Mediterranean migrants, Russian sanctions, homegrown spying scandals, Eurozone stability and the Germanwings crash, to name a few pressing issues.

Why Biden is (almost) King of the Internet  —  President Obama may be the first digital president, but on the Web, his number-two plays second fiddle to no one.  —  Vice President Biden is simultaneously the most intentionally, and unintentionally, funny politician on social media.