This Is a Terrible Way to Commemorate a Major Civil Rights Victory  —  The cover of next week's New Yorker, drawn by Jack Hunter and titled “Moment of Joy,” celebrates the fall of DOMA by showing Sesame Street favorites Bert and Ernie snuggled on the sofa of their sparsely appointed living room.

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 …

GOP chief: ‘We need comprehensive immigration reform’  —  Washington (CNN) - One day after the Senate passed a full-spectrum immigration bill with overwhelming support, the chairman of the Republican National Committee re-emphasized the need for reform but said the final contours of the legislation are far from settled.

A New Review Policy For Pages and Groups  —  Facebook is a place for people to connect and share.  It's also a place where businesses can connect and share content with the people who love their brands.  Our goal is to both preserve the freedoms of sharing on Facebook but also protect people and brands from certain types of content.

Paula Deen's upcoming book nixed by publisher  —  Paula Deen's upcoming cookbook, currently the No. 1 seller on Amazon.com, has been dropped by its publisher.  —  In a brief statement Friday, Ballantine Books announced it had canceled publication of “Paula Deen's New Testament: 250 Favorite Recipes, All Lightened Up.”

Bottled-water purchase leads to night in jail for UVa student  —  When a half-dozen men and a woman in street clothes closed in on University of Virginia student Elizabeth Daly, 20, she and two roommates panicked.  —  That led to Daly spending a night and an afternoon in the Albemarle-Charlottesville Regional Jail.

Rare bird last seen in Britain 22 years ago reappears - only to be killed by wind turbine in front of a horrified crowd of birdwatchers  —  There had been only eight recorded sightings of the white-throated needletail in the UK since 1846.  So when one popped up again on British shores this week, twitchers were understandably excited.

Alec Baldwin speaks out in support of the gay community  —  Yesterday, actor Alec Baldwin took to Twitter using anti-gay slurs in response to a Daily Mail piece regarding his wife.  —  Following outreach earlier today, Alec Baldwin wrote the following to GLAAD:

Bloomberg: ‘We disproportionately stop whites too much and minorities too little’ in stop-frisk checks  —  Mayor Michael Bloomberg wants cops to conduct more stop-and-frisk checks on minorities, not less, and believes whites are disproportionately targeted by the controversial measure.

Federal Government Begins Extending Employee Benefits To Same-Sex Spouses  —  “[F]or the first time in history, we will be making important federal employee benefits, including healthcare and retirement benefits, available to eligible married gay and lesbian couples and their families,” Obama said in a statement Friday afternoon.

Court Lifts Stay, Same-Sex Couples Marrying Again In California  —  “The stay in the above matter is dissolved effective immediately,” appeals court judges write.  The lead plaintiffs in the Prop 8 challenge, Kris Perry and Sandy Stier, are getting married at San Francisco City Hall.

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:

Christie: Obama 'can't figure out how to lead'  —  VERNON TWP.  — Gov. Chris Christie veered to the right this morning, twice touting himself as a “conservative Republican” and taking a shot at President Obama within the first 10 minutes of a town hall meeting in Sussex County.

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 …

Out of precaution, Marines on ready to go to Egypt to protect U.S. Embassy, citizens  —  U.S. Marines stationed in southern Europe have been put on alert as a precaution in advance of expected large demonstrations and potential unrest in Egypt this weekend, CNN has learned.

Feds seek to seize homes of Jesse Jackson Jr. and wife  —  Federal prosecutors are now moving to seize the homes of former congressman Jesse Jackson Jr. and his wife former Chicago alderman Sandi Jackson.  (CLTV)  —  Federal prosecutors asked a judge today to let the government seize …

NC poised to become 1st state to drop federal jobless funds  —  RALEIGH, N.C. — With changes to its unemployment law taking effect this weekend, North Carolina not only is cutting benefits for those who file new claims, it will become the first state disqualified from a federal compensation program for the long-term jobless.