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) …

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.

How Republicans saved Stephanopoulos  —  Two weeks ago, conservatives were calling for George Stephanopoulos to recuse himself from all coverage of the 2016 presidential campaign, on the grounds that the ABC News anchor had failed to inform viewers of his financial donations to the Clinton Foundation.

Carly Fiorina, in an Ambush of Hillary Clinton, Gets Defensive  —  Carly Fiorina spoke during a reception and panel discussion in Spartanburg, S.C., on Wednesday.  —  COLUMBIA, S.C. — Carly Fiorina spends a lot of her time as a Republican presidential candidate attacking Hillary Rodham Clinton …

Lena Dunham, Amy Schumer and Comedy Actress A-List in Raunchy, R-Rated Roundtable  —  “So, what's your policy on ‘pussy’?” inquires a polite Amy Schumer regarding what can and can't be said during THR's annual gathering of Emmy-contending comedy actresses.  If the ensuing conversation …

Gov. Jindal: Senator Paul Unsuited to Be Commander-in-Chief  —  Today, Governor Jindal released the following statement after Senator Rand Paul commented this morning that ISIS exists because of hawkish foreign policy.  —  Governor Jindal said, “This is a perfect example of why Senator Paul is unsuited to be Commander-in-Chief.

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.

Bible verse sends former Marine back to court  —  Is posting a Bible verse on a desktop computer in a military workplace an act protected under the Constitution as a free expression of religion?  —  Or is such an open display of religiosity an affront to “good order and discipline”?

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 …

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 …

Nebraska Abolishes Death Penalty  —  LINCOLN, Neb. — Nebraska on Wednesday became the first conservative state in more than 40 years to abolish the death penalty, with lawmakers defying their Republican governor, Pete Ricketts, a staunch supporter of capital punishment who had lobbied vigorously against banning it.

Barack Obama's water war  —  Industries like agriculture, oil and home-building are lining up to attack a rule aimed at protecting wetlands and waterways.  —  The Obama administration opened its newest offensive in the water wars on Wednesday, championing protections for waterways …

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.

Federal Laws and Policies Prohibiting Marijuana Use  —  Recently, several states and the District of Columbia have decriminalized the use of marijuana, allowing the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes and/or for limited recreational use.  These changes to state law have raised questions …

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.

Is this central Denver's first 420-friendly hotel?  —  Smoke, vape and edibles on the balcony?  It's all good at Nativ Hotel, downtown Denver's first outwardly 420-friendly hotel  —  Many in Colorado's bustling cannabis industry have complained about the lack of marijuana-friendly hotels in this state and others.

Iowa aide to presidential hopeful Jim Webb resigns  —  The Democratic strategist who was running the Iowa effort for presidential hopeful Jim Webb has resigned, Iowans told The Des Moines Register Wednesday morning.  —  Rania Batrice confirmed the news in an email to the Register.

Judge orders Hillary Clinton email releases every 30 days  —  A federal judge issued an order Wednesday requiring the State Department to make public batches of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's emails every 30 days starting next month.  —  U.S. District Court Judge Rudolph Contreras …

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.”

Inside the war on coal  —  How Mike Bloomberg, red-state businesses, and a lot of Midwestern lawyers are changing American energy faster than you think.  —  Corbis  —  The war on coal is not just political rhetoric, or a paranoid fantasy concocted by rapacious polluters.  It's real and it's relentless.

Ohio Gov. Kasich looks to announce 2016 presidential bid this summer  —  Ohio Gov. John Kasich, who has been actively gauging reactions to a possible campaign for president in 2016, is now moving rapidly to assemble the staff and financial resources for such a bid and is looking to declare …