Cover Story: Bert and Ernie's “Moment of Joy”  —  “It's amazing to witness how attitudes on gay rights have evolved in my lifetime,” said Jack Hunter, the artist behind next week's cover, “Moment of Joy.”  Hunter, who originally submitted his image, unsolicited, to a Tumblr, continued …

Hank Johnson: Clarence Thomas ‘Worse’ Than Edward Snowden For Gutting Voting Rights Act  —  WASHINGTON — Rep. Hank Johnson (D-Ga.) said Wednesday that the fact that Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas voted this week to gut the Voting Rights Act — the 1965 law aimed at protecting disenfranchised voters …

GOP Leaders Warn Pro Sports Leagues Not To Promote Obamacare  —  Senate Republican leaders have sent letters warning six professional sports leagues not to provide the Obama administration any assistance in promoting Obamacare.  —  The letters, dated June 27, warn the chiefs of the National Football League …

Witness describes Zimmerman's injuries, phone call to wife  —  A resident of the Florida community where George Zimmerman shot Trayvon Martin last year told jurors Friday afternoon how he encountered a bloodied Zimmerman immediately after the confrontation and took pictures of the murder defendant's injuries.

House GOP's immigration playbook  —  Circle July 10 with red ink: It's now the most important day for immigration reform.  —  That Wednesday is when a hobbled, divided and raucous House Republican Conference will meet in the Capitol basement to figure out how to address the Senate-passed bill.

Mayor Bloomberg: NYPD ‘Stops Whites Too Much And Minorities Too Little’  —  New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg defended the police department's controversial stop and frisk program during a radio interview on Friday morning, and complained that the NYPD was stopping too many white people.

Alec Baldwin's pregnant wife Hilaria TWEETS about Rachael Ray and anniversary gifts during James Gandolfini's funeral  — She later insisted: 'I don't believe in bringing phones into a funeral and I never did and I never would'  —  It may not be considered funeral etiquette …

The Criminal N.S.A.  —  THE twin revelations that telecom carriers have been secretly giving the National Security Agency information about Americans' phone calls, and that the N.S.A. has been capturing e-mail and other private communications from Internet companies as part of a secret program called Prism …

Krugman hits Erickson for ‘fake populism’  —  In response to Erick Erickson's latest us-versus-them screed against the Acela-corridor...  Paul Krugman drops some Bureau of Labor Statistics data to show that the price of milk and bread haven't actually gone up at all.  And asks:

Woman indicted in mailing of ricin-laced letters to Obama, Bloomberg  —  Actress arrested in ricin case  —  (CNN) — A Texas woman has been indicted and charged with mailing ricin-laced letters to President Obama and New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, a U.S. attorney's office in Texas said Friday.

Remember the Obama Scandals?  That Used to Be a Thing  —  Sifting through the Republican responses to President Obama's climate speech Tuesday, an odd omission could be found — or, at least, it would have seemed odd as recently as a week or two ago.  The various Republican statements churned …

Sarah Palin mocks GOP: ‘Great job’  —  Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin had harsh words for the GOP establishment who voted for immigration reform, saying they “disrespect Hispanics” by passing the bill.  —  “Great job, GOP establishment,” began the statement Palin posted on Facebook on Friday.

Darrell Issa's panel vote clears path for Lerner's return  —  The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee voted 22-17 on Friday that embattled IRS official Lois Lerner waived her Fifth Amendment rights during a hearing last month on the agency's tea party targeting scandal.

Tea Party Worries Colorado Town With Planned July 4 Gun March  —  A tea party group's vow to march with guns in a Fourth of July parade has caused panic in a small Colorado town.  —  The Southern Colorado Patriots Club announced that its members would march with guns in the annual Independence …

Nationalized gay marriage, now inevitable  —  Under the Defense of Marriage Act, the federal government does not recognize same-sex marriages even in states that have legalized it.  This week, the Supreme Court ruled DOMA unconstitutional.  —  There are two possible grounds, distinct and in some ways contradictory, for doing so.

What will it take for Snowden to come back?  Father has ideas  —  (CNN) — The father of Edward J. Snowden has offered federal authorities a deal that he says would likely lead the accused leaker to return voluntarily to the United States to face espionage charges.

CBO: GOP abortion bill would raise deficit  —  Nearly every single House Republican voted last week to increase government spending and push the nation further into debt — all to limit abortion access for some women.  —  The official budget scorekeeper of Congress says the Pain-Capable …