FBI: Breakdown in background check system allowed Dylann Roof to buy gun  —  Dylann Roof, who is accused of killing nine people at a church in South Carolina, should not have been able to purchase the gun used in the attack and was allowed to buy the weapon only because of breakdowns …

Katherine Archuleta, Director of Office of Personnel Management, Resigns  —  WASHINGTON — Katherine Archuleta, the director of the Office of Personnel Management, will resign effective Friday, according to a White House official, one day after it was revealed that sweeping cyberintrusions …

The Promise and Peril of “Hidden Majority” Theories  —  If you are a political party or party faction, and you find yourself in what appears to be a durable minority position with the electorate as it currently exist, you have four basic options to boost your standing: (1) …

HarperCollins Refutes New York Times Claim That Ted Cruz Tried To Game Bestseller List  —  “No evidence of bulk orders or sales through any retailer or organization,” says the publisher, in a rare rebuttal to the all-powerful Times.  —  Richard Ellis / Getty Images

Donald Trump's Appeal—and Its Limits  —  Sometimes an ill wind feels like a breath of fresh air.  —  Donald Trump is an unstable element inserted into an unsettled environment.  Sooner or later there will be a boom.  —  He has shot up like a rocket since his June announcement but likely has a low ceiling and short staying power.

Harper Lee's ‘Go Set a Watchman’: Read the First Chapter  —  Read the first chapter of Harper Lee's ‘Go Set a Watchman,’ which will be published July 14.  —  In 1957, when she was 31 years old, Harper Lee submitted her first attempt at a novel to the publisher J.B. Lippincott.

The Daily Cruz  —  How Breitbart.com, partly funded by a top Ted Cruz donor, became the Texas senator's media lifeline.  —  Ted Cruz has a media strategy.  It's called Breitbart.com.  —  The Texas senator is firmly ensconced in the middle of the Republican presidential primary pack.

Pao Out as Reddit CEO; Co-Founder Huffman Takes Over  —  Ellen Pao is stepping down as Reddit CEO, a move that comes amid mounting pressure after a series of management mishaps that has angered its very vocal online community.  Steve Huffman, Reddit co-founder and its original CEO, is taking over immediately.

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.

Florida Supreme Court orders redrawing of some U.S. congressional districts  —  The Florida Supreme Court on Thursday ordered the redrawing of some of the state's U.S. congressional districts before the 2016 elections.  —  In a 5-2 ruling, the state's high court found the legislature's redistricting plan …

Film star Omar Sharif dies aged 83  —  Omar Sharif earned an Oscar nomination for Lawrence of Arabia  —  Actor Omar Sharif, best known for his roles in classic films Lawrence of Arabia and Doctor Zhivago, has died aged 83.  —  Egypt-born Sharif won two Golden Globe awards and an Oscar nomination …

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 …

Psychologists Shielded U.S. Torture Program, Report Finds  —  WASHINGTON — The Central Intelligence Agency's health professionals repeatedly criticized the agency's post-Sept. 11 interrogation program, but their protests were rebuffed by prominent outside psychologists who lent credibility to the program …

Kenney calls archdiocese leaders ‘cowardly’ after teacher firing  —  Jim Kenney, the Democratic nominee for Philadelphia mayor, is blaming the Archdiocese of Philadelphia for the controversial firing of a Catholic school faculty member who is in a same-sex marriage.

Spotify search warrant helps nab alleged child abductors  —  There was food left on the table.  —  Dishes filled the kitchen sink.  —  It looked like 25-year-old Wellington resident Brittany Nunn, her husband Peter Barr, and her two young girls had gone out for ice cream, said Drew Weber …

President Obama to make historic visit to federal prison  —  President Barack Obama will become the first sitting chief executive to visit a federal prison when he goes to El Reno, Oklahoma, next week to meet with law enforcement officials and inmates as part of the administration's push for criminal-justice reform.

Ginsburg: Liberal Justices Make A Point To Speak With One Voice  —  Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on Thursday provided an unusual peek behind-the-scenes at how the court did its work this term.  —  It's true, she said, that the liberal justices tried to be disciplined about having …

Bill Cosby's Famous “Pound Cake” Speech, Annotated  —  A decade ago Cosby gave a speech excoriating poor blacks for not living up to the promise of the civil rights movement.  Here's a look back based on what we know now.  —  Bill Cosby speaking to the Television Critics Association on July 22, 1996.