Barack Obama's early VA response: Executive inaction  —  President Barack Obama wants to talk about flexing his administrative and executive power to do more.  Instead, he got stuck talking about a clear administrative and executive failure that, at least so far, he hasn't done much about.

Mark Cuban discusses his own prejudices in startling terms  —  It turns out, regarding race-related views among NBA owners, Donald Sterling may have company.  —  Less than a month after Sterling rocked the sports world with racist remarks, Mark Cuban, owner of the Dallas Mavericks, has openly acknowledged his own prejudices.

Morning Plum: Obama slams ‘false equivalence’ media  —  At a fundraiser last night, President Obama unleashed a surprisingly spirited and comprehensive attack on both-sides-to-blame media coverage.  While he has taken issue with Beltway coverage before, what was particularly noteworthy …

How right-wingers are amping up their war on science  —  From climate change to reproduction, Republicans are increasingly deciding “science” is whatever they say it is  —  No longer content just to claim to be “skeptical” of scientific findings they find disagreeable …

Scarborough: I've Never Heard Anyone Object To Obamacare Over Race (VIDEO)  —  Joe Scarborough said Friday that he doesn't understand what evidence Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) has to back up his claim that opposition to President Barack Obama's signature health care law is driven by his race.

The Hard Sell on Climate Change  —  Jeff Zucker, the president of CNN, was very forthright about his media priorities at a Society of Professional Journalists dinner in New York City on Monday.  —  He told Bill Carter of the New York Times: “Climate change is one of those stories that deserves more attention, that we all talk about.

Georgia Senate: Nunn (D) Holds Slight Edge Over GOP Finalists  —  Georgia Republicans won't have a specific nominee for a couple more months, but the final two contenders are running slightly behind Democrat Michelle Nunn in Rasmussen Reports' first look at the U.S. Senate race in Georgia.

Tennessee brings back electric chair  —  Editor's note: CNN's original series “Death Row Stories” explores America's capital punishment system at 9 p.m. ET/PT Sundays, beginning July 13.  Join the conversation about the death penalty at facebook.com/cnn or Twitter @CNNorigSeries using #DeathRowStories.

A Surveillance Bill That Falls Short  —  A year ago, it would have been unimaginable for the House to pass a bill to curtail the government's abusive surveillance practices.  The documents leaked by Edward Snowden, however, finally shocked lawmakers from both parties into action …

Did a Pennsylvania Republican Lose Because He's Openly Gay?  —  Mike Fleck ran unopposed three times, but appears to have been beaten by a write-in candidate after coming out in 2012.  —  Pennsylvania may have become the 19th state to allow same-sex couples to marry Tuesday but did it also vote …

The One Thing Each Party Needs to Overcome by 2016  —  So far, neither side has made much progress toward solving its lingering challenge.  —  Each party emerged from the 2012 presidential election facing one key electoral challenge before the next contest in 2016.

They Had a Dream  —  Rule by experts comes a cropper  —  They had a dream.  For almost a hundred years now, the famed academic-artistic-and-punditry industrial complex has dreamed of a government run by their kind of people (i.e., nature's noblemen), whose intelligence, wit, and refined sensibilities would bring us a heaven on earth.

A Response to Michael Kinsley  —  In 2006, Charlie Savage won the Pulitzer Prize for his series of articles in The Boston Globe exposing the Bush administration's use of “signing statements” as a means of ignoring the law.  In response to those revelations, Michael Kinsley …

IRS Will Revise Proposal on Political Nonprofit Groups  —  The U.S. Internal Revenue Service said today that it will revise proposed rules governing nonprofit groups' involvement in politics.  —  The rules, released last year, were an attempt to provide guidance for how much political …

Connecting the dots: Mayfield, Sager, Mary and McDaniel  —  Mark Mayfield is an attorney, Madison County Republican Party leader and officer in multiple tea party organizations.  —  Richard Sager is an elementary school physical education teacher and high school soccer coach.

Who made the pivot to Asia?  Putin.  —  On Wednesday, it finally happened — the pivot to Asia.  No, not the United States.  It was Russia that turned East.  —  In Shanghai, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping signed a spectacular energy deal …