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 …

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.

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) …

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 …

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.

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

Review: Harper Lee's ‘Go Set a Watchman’ Gives Atticus Finch a Dark Side  —  We remember Atticus Finch in Harper Lee's 1960 classic, “To Kill a Mockingbird,” as that novel's moral conscience: kind, wise, honorable, an avatar of integrity who used his gifts as a lawyer to defend …

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 …

Washington Post Writer Who Accused Amy Schumer Of Racism Never Saw Her Standup or TV Show … The Washington Post, one of our nation's most venerable guardians of free speech took a step in a surprising direction earlier this week, publishing an article by Dr. Stacey Patton and David Leonard …

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.

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.

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 …

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 …

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.

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 …

Court upholds former Virginia governor's corruption conviction  —  A federal appeals court upheld a guilty verdict on Friday in the corruption case against former Virginia governor Robert McDonnell, according to court documents.  —  The 4th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals let stand a jury verdict …

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.