Nine shot, multiple fatalities reported in downtown church shooting  —  Staff reports  —  Scene of church shooting at 9 p.m. at 110 Calhoun Street, site of Mother Emanuel AME Church.  —  Nine people were shot, some fatally, inside one of Charleston's oldest and most well known black churches tonight.

Donald Trump Campaign Offered Actors $50 to Cheer for Him at Presidential Announcement  —  Donald Trump's big presidential announcement Tuesday was made a little bigger with help from paid actors — at $50 a pop.  —  New York-based Extra Mile Casting sent an email last Friday to its client list …

Brian Williams expected to stay at NBC  —  Brian Williams is down, but not out.  —  NBC and Williams have come to a tentative agreement that will keep Williams at the network after his six-month suspension ends in August.  —  The decision, described by people with knowledge of the plan …

Fox News as we know it may be screwed: Roger Ailes' stunning rebuke could spell the end  —  With Rupert Murdoch stepping aside, Roger Ailes will now report to Murdoch's Fox-hating sons  —  After reports surfaced that Rupert Murdoch planned to step down as head of media giant 21st Century Fox …

Senate GOP floats 2-year Obamacare fix  —  Senate Republicans are coalescing around a plan to extend Obamacare subsidies for up to two years if the Supreme Court strikes them this month.  —  The court is due to rule within days on whether the president's health care law allows people using HealthCare.gov to get insurance subsidies.

The Last Time Conservatives Dismissed a Major Encyclical, It Ended Terribly for Them  —  Despair is ranked as one of the unforgivable sins, yet right-wing Catholics deserve some mercy in their despondency.  The bulwark of their political creed is being subverted by both the new direction Pope Francis …

N.H., Iowa Republicans fret about primary power loss  —  DERRY, N.H. — For nearly a half century, Iowa and New Hampshire have played a pivotal role in American electoral politics.  But their top place on the nominating calendar is under threat like never before.

Republican Hopefuls Will Make Their Pitch at Evangelical Summit  —  The policy conference is a chance to appeal to an important voting bloc.  —  The annual Faith & Freedom Coalition Policy Conference kicks off Thursday in Washington, giving top-tier presidential contenders as well as long shots …

What really happened at Fairfield pool?  —  Cellphone videos from bystanders show police restraining and arresting teens at Fairfield pool.  Some teens hospitalized and claim police abuse.  Provided/Edited by Glenn Hartong  —  CONNECT  —  An altercation between Fairfield police and patrons …

Benghazi panel probes Sidney Blumenthal's work for David Brock  —  Republican members of a special congressional committee spent hours on Tuesday grilling Clinton confidant Sidney Blumenthal about the inner workings of the Clinton's philanthropic and political operations …

Anniston Police Department Has Two Hate Group Members on the Force  —  In 2013, Josh Doggrell took the stage at the national conference for the neo-Confederate League of the South (LOS).  In a non-descript suit-and-tie, he spoke about gun rights, county supremacy, the state of law enforcement in Alabama and his loyalty to the League.

Hillary Clinton: Then and now  —  As I watched Hillary Clinton deliver her formal announcement speech Saturday at Roosevelt Island in New York City, I went through kind of a time warp.  What year is this?  —  I remembered the first time I met her: It was in September of 1969 …

Bernie Sanders surge forms backdrop for Hillary Clinton S.C. visit  —  Her stop in the first-in-the-South primary state is exposing her to a dose of Bernie-mentum.  —  NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. — This humid Southern city just a few miles from the Atlantic coast is far from Bernie Sanders' home turf.