I owe an apology.  On the eve of this Independence Day, I have a renewed sense of what this country stands for, and how I personally could help achieve it.  The promise of equality and freedom is one that all of us have to work for, at all times.  I know this as a survivor …

13-year-old Chimacum student charged with three counts of raping a 7-year-old  —  PORT TOWNSEND — A 13-year-old boy has been charged with three counts of first-degree rape after deputies said he attacked a 7-year-old girl on a Chimacum school bus.  —  The Chimacum Middle School student …

Sign inside Baltimore police van under investigation  —  Sign posted inside van: ‘Enjoy your ride, cuz we sure will!’  —  SHOW TRANSCRIPT  —  The Baltimore City Police Department has launched an internal investigation after a WBAL-TV 11 News viewer shared four photographs of a sign inside a city police wagon.

Staffer Told Ted Cruz He Thought a Reporter Was Nice.  The GOP Candidate Responded With Harsh Advice.  —  After a young staffer told Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz how “nice” a member of the media is, Cruz said he actually stopped the young man with a harsh reminder about the intentions of most reporters.

EXCLUSIVE: Charges possible against church shooter's associates  —  COLUMBIA, SC  —  A joint state and federal investigation into the activities of accused Charleston church shooter Dylann Roof has widened to include other persons of interest, according to multiple sources familiar with the ongoing investigation.

‘See you on the outside,’ Matt said in letter delivered to daughter in Buffalo suburb  —  Local woman received it 3 days after prison break  —  Three days after Richard W. Matt broke out of the maximum-security prison in Dannemora, his daughter living in a Buffalo suburb received a letter from him …

The worst agreement in U.S. diplomatic history  —  The devil is not in the details.  It's in the entire conception of the Iran deal, animated by President Obama's fantastical belief that he, uniquely, could achieve detente with a fanatical Islamist regime whose foundational purpose is to cleanse …

Reddit is in meltdown.  —  The hugely popular link-sharing site is in a state of virtual lockdown after the volunteers who run some of the site's biggest communities (known as “subreddits") went on the digital equivalent of a general strike.  This followed the sacking of Victoria Taylor …

Weenies burn flag to protest cops, get attacked by bikers, need cops to save their asses  —  Cops defuse a situation between a group of anti-NYPD flag-burners and a group of flag supporters.  —  Now they probably love the cops.  —  A group of flag-burning anti-NYPD protesters needed …

AFL-CIO leader tries to quell pro-Sanders revolt  —  The labor federation's rules don't allow its state and local leaders to endorse presidential candidates, Richard Trumka says as the Vermont senator surges.  —  Richard Trumka has a message for state and local AFL-CIO leaders tempted to endorse Bernie Sanders: Don't.

Romney to host the Christies, Rubios at his New Hampshire home  —  BEDFORD, N.H. — New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie's comeback journey begins here in New Hampshire, so the Republican presidential candidate is paying a visit to the last winner of the state's first-in-the-nation primary and one of its most famous summertime residents.

Koch-Backed Group Calls For No More National Parks  —  Claire Moser is the Research and Advocacy Associate with the Public Lands Project at the Center for American Progress.  You can follow her on Twitter at @Claire_Moser.  —  Just in time for the Fourth of July — when millions of people across …