Charleston Church Shooting Suspect Is Captured  —  CHARLESTON, S.C. — Law enforcement officers have captured the man suspected of killing nine people at a prayer meeting at a historic black church in this city's downtown area, the mayor of Charleston said Thursday.

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 …

Alexander Hamilton: Immigrant, Bastard, Patriot  —  Alexander Hamilton was a bastard.  Indeed, John Adams and Thomas Jefferson never tired of calling him that - the ‘Bastard Brat of a Scots Pedlar’ who infuriated them time and again.  They called him this for one reason above all …

First on CNN: GOP presidential hopefuls urged to reject same sex marriage  —  Washington (CNN)Candidates seeking the Republican presidential nomination will be urged Thursday to sign a pledge promising to support a constitutional amendment defining marriage as being between one man and one woman.

Scott Walker's latest target: College professors  —  As Republican Gov. Scott Walker prepares to campaign for president as the man who tamed Wisconsin's unions, he's targeting tenure protections for professors at public colleges and universities.  —  Getty

Pope Francis, in Sweeping Encyclical, Calls for Swift Action on Climate Change  —  VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis on Thursday called for a radical transformation of politics, economics and individual lifestyles to confront environmental degradation and climate change, as his much-awaited papal encyclical blended …

Blow Up the Tax Code and Start Over  —  Apply a 14.5% flat tax to personal income and to businesses.  Cut deductions.  Watch the economy roar.  —  Some of my fellow Republican candidates for the presidency have proposed plans to fix the tax system.  These proposals are a step in the right direction …

Hillary Clinton crafts defense on tenure at State Department  —  Hillary Clinton has started to formulate a strategy on one of the thorniest issues she will face on the campaign trail: her tenure as President Obama's secretary of State.  —  Republicans have ripped Clinton's reign …

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.

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 …