First dog Bo is airlifted to Obama holiday home  —  When President Barack Obama goes on holiday to the seaside things can get complicated.  —  Bo, the US First Family's waterdog, gets off the Marine helicopter at Martha's Vineyard  —  Rooms have to be found for dozens of Secret Service agents …

Vice President Joe Biden will be in Iowa for Harkin steak fry  —  Vice President Joe Biden has accepted U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin's invitation to attend his steak fry this year, White House officials told The Des Moines Register this evening.  —  “It has been a long-standing commitment …

Tennessee Judge orders baby's name be changed from ‘Messiah’  —  Jaleesa Martin and the father of Messiah could not agree on a last name, which is how they ended up at a child support hearing in Cocke County Chancery Court on Thursday.  —  That is when the first name came into question.

Newark Mayor Cory Booker pocketed ‘confidential’ annual payouts from law firm while in office  —  Cory Booker pocketed “confidential” annual payouts from his former law firm while serving as Newark mayor.  —  Booker, the front-runner in New Jersey's Senate race, received five checks …

Trump spars with ABC reporter over Obama's birth certificate  —  Donald Trump, in the early presidential caucus state of Iowa this weekend for an event featuring many potential 2016 Republican presidential hopefuls, defended his questioning of President Barack Obama's place of birth in an interview aired Sunday on ABC's “This Week.”

Justice Dept. Seeks to Curtail Stiff Drug Sentences  —  WASHINGTON — In a major shift in criminal justice policy, the Obama administration will move on Monday to ease overcrowding in federal prisons by ordering prosecutors to omit listing quantities of illegal substances in indictments …

Man shoots and kills son, himself at Manchester YWCA  —  Muni Savyon fatally shoots 9-year-old son  —  A man shot and killed his son before taking his own life at the YWCA in Manchester on Sunday morning, police said.  —  According to the attorney general's office, Muni Savyon, 54 …

Statement Issued by Ann Heywood  —  Mother of Murdered British Businessman Breaks Her Silence  —  This is the full text of a statement issued Sunday by Ann Heywood, the mother of a British businessman whose murder triggered China's worst political crisis in more than two decades.

NBC Buying Web Service to Stream Phone Video  —  When a plane crashes or a protest turns violent, television crews speed to the scene.  But they typically do not arrive for minutes or even hours, so these days photos and videos by amateurs — what the news industry calls “user-generated content” — fill the void.

Rodeo Clown Dresses As President Obama at Mo. State Fair  —  ST. LOUIS (KMOX) - A photo showing a rodeo clown dressed as President Barack Obama at the Missouri State Fair caused a stir on social media Sunday.  —  The photo was first posted on the liberal blog Show Me Progress.

A Texan tragedy: ample oil, no water  —  Fracking boom sucks away precious water from beneath the ground, leaving cattle dead, farms bone-dry and people thirsty  —  Beverly McGuire saw the warning signs before the town well went dry: sand in the toilet bowl, the sputter of air in the tap, a pump working overtime to no effect.

Good Charity, Bad Charity  —  YOU are thinking of donating to a worthy cause.  Good.  But to which cause should you give?  —  If you seek help from professional philanthropy advisers, the chances are that they won't have much to say about this vital question.