What Roommate Said About Charleston Shooting Suspect  —  Dylann Roof, the alleged gunman authorities say is responsible for killing nine people in a predominantly black Charleston, South Carolina, church Wednesday night, had been “planning something like that for six months,” according to his roommate.

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 …

Democrats in the U.S. Shift to the Left  —  Story Highlights  —  PRINCETON, N.J. — Democratic candidates for the 2016 presidential nomination face a significantly more left-leaning party base than their predecessors did over the last 15 years.  Forty-seven percent of Democrats …

Brian Williams breaks silence in Matt Lauer interview  —  Suspended NBC news anchor Brian Williams has broken his silence in an interview with his colleague Matt Lauer.  —  The sit-down with Lauer, the co-host of the “Today” show, was taped earlier this week, according to two people at NBC.

Rand Paul on Charleston Shooting: 'There's A Sickness in Our Country'  —  Kentucky Senator Rand Paul told a crowd of social conservatives that a “sickness” in the country was responsible for the mass shootings in South Carolina, adding that the problem “isn't going to be fixed by your government.”

Supreme Court Says Texas Can Reject Confederate Flag License Plate  —  In a 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court ruled that Texas' speciality license plates are government speech, and the state can reject a proposal featuring the Confederate flag.  —  Mark Wilson / Getty Images

The ancestry and affiliations of Kennewick Man … Kennewick Man, referred to as the Ancient One by Native Americans, is a male human skeleton discovered in Washington state (USA) in 1996 and initially radiocarbon-dated to 8,340-9,200 calibrated years before present (BP)1.

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 …

Ben Carson Says He Wants to Seal the Border to Keep Out People ‘That Want to Bomb Us’  —  The presidential contender spoke at the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials' annual conference in Las Vegas on Wednesday night.  —  There is only one Republican presidential candidate …

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 …

Apple Watch 2: Apple plans FaceTime camera, iPhone-free Wi-Fi, $1000+ models, similar battery  —  Two months after the initial launch of the Apple Watch, and only a day following the device's debut at Apple Stores, sources have revealed Apple's considerations for the 2016 release of a second-generation model.

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