N.Y. Times keeps Cruz off bestseller list  —  The New York Times informed HarperCollins this week that it will not include Ted Cruz's new biography on its forthcoming bestsellers list, despite the fact that the book has sold more copies in its first week than all but two of the Times' bestselling titles, the On Media blog has learned.

Go Set A Watchman: read the first chapter - interactive  —  An exclusive extract from the new novel by Harper Lee, the author of To Kill A Mockingbird, published on 14 July  —  Since Atlanta, she had looked out the dining-car window with a delight almost physical.

Hillary Clinton's push on gun control marks a shift in presidential politics  —  In her standard stump speech, Hillary Rodham Clinton talks about fighting income inequality, celebrating court rulings on gay marriage and health care and, since the Emanuel AME church massacre, toughening the nation's gun laws.

Greece's Economy Is a Lesson for Republicans in the U.S.  —  Greece is a faraway country with an economy roughly the size of greater Miami, so America has very little direct stake in its ongoing disaster.  To the extent that Greece matters to us, it's mainly about geopolitics …

Michigan judge bullies children in open court for refusing to see their dad  —  The Internet is abuzz this morning about Michigan Circuit Judge Lisa Gorcyca, who berated three juvenile siblings in her court before sending them to juvenile detention.  Their crime?  They didn't want to have lunch with their father.

Trump: RNC chairman ‘probably’ leaked call  —  Donald Trump said in an interview airing late Thursday that Republican National Committee chairman Reince Priebus “probably” leaked details of a call between the pair this week.  —  “I just don't know how the story got out,” Trump …

The Note: Jeb Bush, The $114 Million Man  —  NOTABLES  —IN THE MONEY: Jeb Bush's super PAC, Right to Rise, will report having raised $103 million over the first half of the year.  His campaign took in $11.4 million in just two weeks, ABC's CHRIS GOOD notes.

OPM Doesn't Know Who It Will Hire to Protect the 21.5 Million Individuals Affected by Hack  —  The agency said it would notify 21.5 million people and offer at least three years of free identity-protection services, but it has not found a contractor that will do so on its behalf.

Late objections cast doubt on cures bill  —  Objections from both sides of the aisle are stirring doubts about a bipartisan medical cures bill that is slated to hit the House floor on Friday.  —  The 21st Century Cures Act was reported out of committee in May on a 51-0 vote.

U.S. Uninsured Rate at 11.4% in Second Quarter  —  Story Highlights  —  WASHINGTON, D.C. — The uninsured rate among U.S. adults aged 18 and older was 11.4% in the second quarter of 2015, down from 11.9% in the first quarter.  The uninsured rate has dropped nearly six percentage points since …

Wisconsin's Friend at the IRS  —  Emails show a common cause in restricting political speech.  —  Wisconsin's campaign to investigate conservative tax-exempt groups has always seemed like an echo of the IRS's scrutiny of conservative groups applying for tax-exempt status.

I tried to escape my privilege with low-wage work.  Instead I came face to face with it.  —  The advantages of race and class are not easily shed, even in a falafel shop.  —  I attended the Edmund Burke School, one of Northwest Washington's small private prep schools …

Illegal Defiance on Same-Sex Marriage  —  The Supreme Court could not have been clearer when it ruled late last month that states may not refuse to marry same-sex couples.  —  “The right to marry is a fundamental right inherent in the liberty of the person,” Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote for the court in Obergefell v. Hodges.

Into the Abyss  —  From the halls of academia to the cover of Vanity Fair.  —  The Caitlyn (née Bruce) Jenner case has engendered if not a new subject at least a newly publicized and sensationalized one.  For an old-timer like myself, transgenderism is reminiscent of the postmodernism …

When You Give a Tree an Email Address  —  “My dearest Ulmus,” the message began.  —  “As I was leaving St. Mary's College today I was struck, not by a branch, but by your radiant beauty.  You must get these messages all the time.  You're such an attractive tree.”

The Republican Party Is Still Trying to Decide if Minorities Matter  —  The Republican party has had well-documented difficulty making inroads with minority voters since the 2012 election.  It's probably more accurate to say that since the 2012 election Republicans have been engaged in a quiet …

Oregon allowing 15-year-olds to get state-subsidized sex-change operations  —  Oregon State Capital building in Salem.  —  The list of things 15-year-olds are not legally allowed to do in Oregon is long: Drive, smoke, donate blood, get a tattoo — even go to a tanning bed.

South Carolina Lowers Confederate Flag, and an Era Ends  —  COLUMBIA, S.C. — Closing a chapter on a symbol of the Deep South and its history of resistance and racial animus, South Carolina on Friday lowered the Confederate battle flag from outside its State House, where it had flown for more than 50 years.