Taking a post down  —  Yesterday evening, Gawker.com published a story about the CFO of Conde Nast texting an escort.  It was an editorial call, a close call around which there were more internal disagreements than usual.  And it is a decision I regret.  —  The story involves extortion …

A Note About Our Coverage Of Donald Trump's ‘Campaign’  —  Washington bureau chief for The Huffington Post  —  Editorial Director, The Huffington Post  —  After watching and listening to Donald Trump since he announced his candidacy for president, we have decided we won't report …

Listening to Ta-Nehisi Coates While White  —  The last year has been an education for white people.  There has been a depth, power and richness to the African-American conversation about Ferguson, Baltimore, Charleston and the other killings that has been humbling and instructive.

Chattanooga Shooting Suspect's Trip to Jordan Scrutinized by Authorities  —  Officials looking at whether he had contact with extremists or traveled to other countries  —  Counterterrorism investigators are looking closely at a monthslong trip the Chattanooga shooting suspect took to Jordan …

Insiders: Ted Cruz hurt most by Trump candidacy  —  Insiders say Donald Trump is a candidate who is as uncompromising as Cruz on hot-button issues like immigration — and can deliver the message with even more fiery rhetoric.  —  Donald Trump's turn in the national spotlight is mainly taking …

Trump: McCain will lose his primary  —  GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump on Friday defended his supporters from Sen. John McCain (Ariz.), saying his attacks on the right will cost him in his campaign for reelection next year.  —  McCain said in an interview published Thursday …

Winners and Losers in the First Big Cash Grab of the 2016 Presidential Race  —  Money talks.  —  t michaelcbender  —  Taken together, the thousands of pages of campaign finance reports filed by presidential candidates this week are a significant marker in the race for the White House.

Liberals and Wages  —  Hillary Clinton gave her first big economic speech on Monday, and progressives were by and large gratified.  For Mrs. Clinton's core message was that the federal government can and should use its influence to push for higher wages.  —  Conservatives, however — at least those who could stop chanting “Benghazi!

Hillary Clinton's No Good, (Record-Breaking, Poll-Winning), Very Bad Week  —  If you believe the mood and headlines from some of the press, it's been a pretty rough week for Hillary Clinton.  While there was widespread and substantive coverage of the rollout of her economic agenda, politically, it's a different story.

FBI joins investigation into death of inmate Sandra Bland  —  The FBI is investigating the death of Sandra Bland.  She was arrested in Waller County, Texas after a routine traffic stop but was found hanging in her jail cell days later.  VPC  —  HOUSTON — The FBI has joined the Texas Rangers …

CNN Analyst Unsure If Mass Shooter Muhammad Youssef Abdulazeez's Name is Muslim  —  Share it Tweet it  —  On Thursday's The Lead, CNN analyst Tom Fuentes was unwilling to conclude that the perpetrator of a mass shooting against servicemen in Chattanooga, Tennessee was Muslim.

Republicans criticize Confederate flags at Obama visit  —  Two Oklahoma Republican congressmen ripped protesters in their state who greeted President Obama in Oklahoma City by waving Confederate flags, calling their actions “disrespectful,” “embarrassing” and “inappropriate.”

I have my doubts Bill Cosby's a rapist  —  Bill Cosby is a lousy husband and a possible sex addict.  But is he a rapist?  —  I have my doubts.  —  Is Cosby, 78, so diabolically creepy that he secretly slipped Quaaludes into the mouths of his alleged victims, as even President Obama suggests?

Obama to Send Off Stewart in Seventh Daily Show Appearance  —  President Barack Obama and Jon Stewart will share one last moment of zen.  —  Obama will appear for the seventh time on the “Daily Show” on July 21, three weeks before Stewart hands off hosting duties to Trevor Noah, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said.

Washington plane crash survivor desperately tried to save grandparents  —  Story highlights  —  Bellingham, Washington (CNN)A 16-year-old girl agonizingly tried to save her step-grandparents after a fiery small plane crash into a Washington mountain last weekend, she told CNN.

How the American South Drives the Low-Wage Economy  —  Just as in the 1850s (with the Dred Scott decision and the Fugitive Slave Act), the Southern labor system (with low pay and no unions) is wending its way north.  —  Santayana had it wrong: Even if we remember the past, we may be condemned to repeat it.

Nexen pipeline leak in Alberta spills 5 million litres  —  Nexen Energy spill south of Fort McMurray covers about 16,000 square metres  —  One of the largest leaks in Alberta history has spilled about five million litres of emulsion from a Nexen Energy pipeline at the company's Long Lake oilsands facility south of Fort McMurray.

Petition: Add Outkast to Confederate carving at Stone Mountain  —  Story highlights  —  (CNN)A Brooklyn-based artist and animator has devised a way to hush that fuss over the Confederate icons striding across Georgia's Stone Mountain.  —  Rather than trying to wash away the South's history …

Lloyd Blankfein Is Now a Billionaire … Goldman Sachs Group Inc. made hundreds of partners rich when it went public in 1999.  Its performance since then has turned Lloyd Blankfein into a billionaire.  —  The chief executive officer of the Wall Street bank for the past nine years …