‘Liberal’ isn't a bad word anymore  —  Democrats are moving left.  And America may be too.  —  Lead image by AP Photo.  —  Democrats have been running away from the “liberal” label for a long time, but recent polling shows that rank-and-file Democrats are increasingly happy to pin the scarlet “L” on themselves.

To Apple, Love Taylor  —  I write this to explain why I'll be holding back my album, 1989, from the new streaming service, Apple Music.  I feel this deserves an explanation because Apple has been and will continue to be one of my best partners in selling music and creating ways for me to connect with my fans.

Jason Chaffetz strips Meadows of subcommittee chairmanship  —  The House Republican crackdown on bucking the leadership reaches new levels of severity.  —  The House Republican crackdown has reached a new level of severity.  —  House Oversight and Government Reform Chairman Jason Chaffetz …

Republicans Tread Carefully in Criticism of Confederate Flag  —  WASHINGTON — The massacre of nine African-Americans in a storied Charleston church last week, which thrust the issues of race relations and gun rights into the center of the 2016 presidential campaign, has now resurfaced another familiar …

Chuck Todd on the Gun Violence Video  —  We've gotten a lot of feedback about the gun video we showed on Meet the Press today.  Some were upset it only featured African-American men talking about their regrets of pulling a trigger.  All of the men in the piece volunteered to be a part …

EXCLUSIVE: Presidential candidate Donald Trump has ignored five jury summonses in past nine years  —  Presidential candidate Donald Trump's road to the White House skipped several scheduled stops — for jury duty.  —  The Donald, who entered the sprawling GOP primary field last week …

Man, 21, dies shielding mother during South Chicago shooting  —  Get 6 months of complimentary access to chicagotribune.com

Pope Francis' Call to Action Goes Beyond the Environment  —  IN Pope Francis' sprawling new encyclical, “Laudato Si',” there are many mansions: A meditation on biblical ecology, a discussion of environmental policy, a critique of consumerism, even a reflection on the perils of social media.

1 dead after 10 people shot at birthday party on Detroit's west side  —  Detroit police are investigating a deadly shooting that happened at a child's birthday party on the city's west side.  —  Detroit Police Assistant Chief Steve Dolunt said shots were fired around 8:30 p.m. at the basketball courts …

A Bow to Charleston  —  A Northerner bows, deeply, to the South:  —  I have never seen anything like what I saw on television this afternoon.  Did you hear the statements made at the bond hearing of the alleged Charleston, S.C., shooter?  —  Nine beautiful people slaughtered Wednesday …

Ohio ISIS Recruit Was Ready to ‘Cut Off the Head of His Non-Muslim Son’  —  To show his devotion to the Islamic State terror group, and to Islam as a whole, an Ohio man arrested on Friday told an informant that he would cut off the head of his own biological son—akin to the beheadings carried …

Attack Gave Chinese Hackers Privileged Access to U.S. Systems  —  WASHINGTON — For more than five years, American intelligence agencies followed several groups of Chinese hackers who were systematically draining information from defense contractors, energy firms and electronics makers …