Rick Perry to President Obama: No handshake  —  Texas Gov. Rick Perry declined an official White House offer to greet President Barack Obama when he lands at Austin's airport Wednesday.  —  The Republican governor, who has repeatedly criticized Obama for his handling of the crisis along …

House Benghazi panel may cost $3 million this year  —  WASHINGTON — House Republicans are planning to spend as much as $3.3 million for this year's operations of the special committee they created in May to investigate the September 2012 Benghazi attacks, a bigger budget than the House Veterans Affairs …

Every Day is an All-Out Assault  —  RUSH: Where you been, Snerdley?  Snerdley walks in here, brings me his Stack of show prep that he wanted me to see today, and he's outraged.  Have you not been listening to this program?  “More than half of privately insured women are getting free birth …

Peace is the only path to true security for Israel and the Palestinians  —  In an exclusive article for Haaretz's Israel Conference on Peace, Barack Obama says that the only solution is a democratic, Jewish state living side-by-side in peace and security with a viable, independent Palestinian state.

Mistrust in North Carolina Over Plan to Reduce Precincts  —  SHELBY, N.C. — When Alan Langley, a Republican member of the local elections board here, explains a new proposal to consolidate five voting precincts into two, it sounds procedural and well-meaning: He speaks of convenient parking …

Sen. Robert Menendez seeks probe of alleged Cuban plot to smear him  —  Sen. Robert Menendez is asking the Justice Department to pursue evidence obtained by U.S. investigators that the Cuban government concocted an elaborate plot to smear him with allegations that he cavorted with underage prostitutes …

The Letters That Warren G. Harding's Family Didn't Want You to See  —  Warren G. Harding, right, perhaps the worst chief executive in U.S. history, and Carrie Fulton Phillips, his longtime mistress and sexy pen pal.  —  Left: the Calvin H. Topliff family.  Right: the Ohio History Connection.

Behind Harry Reid's war against the Koch brothers  —  At first, it seemed like just another example of Harry Reid being Harry Reid.  —  The Senate majority leader, whose unscripted attacks can veer into bellicosity and take liberties with facts, spoke on the Senate floor last October …

John Walsh Takes on NRA, Vows to Continue Piers Morgan's Gun-Control Campaign on CNN  —  “The Hunt” host says Vice President Joe Biden agreed with him that politicians are “scared s—less” of the NRA  —  Piers Morgan is gone from CNN, but new host John Walsh plans to continue his campaign for gun control.

For Taylor Swift, the Future of Music Is a Love Story  —  The Singer-Songwriter Says Artists and Fans Will Still Form Deep Bonds, but They Will Do It in New Ways  —  Where will the music industry be in 20 years, 30 years, 50 years?  —  Before I tell you my thoughts on the matter …

Bled dry by the New Class: Column  —  Bureaucrats push pencils at the expense of real workers  —  Life is hard.  It's harder still when an entire class of people with their hands out stands between you and success.  —  Unfortunately, that's increasingly the problem, all around the world.

IDF strikes 50 targets across Gaza as operation gets underway  —  “We are entering into a long operation.  This is only the start,” senior security source says of IDF's Operation Protective Edge.  “We are preparing to increase ground forces on Gaza border.”

Forget Red State, Blue State: Is Your State “Tight” or “Loose”?  —  A new theory about the cultures of different regions could go a long way toward explaining why the United States is so polarized.  —  It is obvious to anyone who has traveled around the United States that cultural assumptions, behaviors, and norms vary widely.

Obama's ‘imperial presidency’ doesn't rule much of anything  —  There is a certain flaw in the oft-leveled accusation that Barack Obama is running an “imperial presidency”: As imperial rulers go, this president has about as much oppressive might and raw dictatorial clout as Prince Hans-Adam II of Liechtenstein.

VA whistleblowers to detail retribution  —  House lawmakers will hear testimony on Tuesday from whistleblowers who accuse the Department of Veterans Affairs of retaliating against them for exposing shoddy medical care.  —  The VA would often force whistleblowers into administrative leave …

Holly Fisher: Public Enemy Number 310,345,204  —  This image — which features an American woman named Holly Fisher and an international terrorist named Sherafiyah Lewthwaite — has been doing the rounds on Lefty Twitter:  —  “Explain the difference”?  With pleasure.

Exclusive: CIA had role in Germany spy affair  —  (Reuters) - The Central Intelligence Agency was involved in a spying operation against Germany that led to the alleged recruitment of a German intelligence official and has prompted renewed outrage in Berlin, two U.S. officials familiar with the matter said on Monday.

Fourth of July weekend toll: 82 shot, 14 of them fatally, in Chicago  —  For 10 minutes, it seemed like the shooting was everywhere in the South Chicago neighborhood.  —  It started when someone shot and wounded a couple, then two people fired at the shooter, then there was a chase …

THE STATE REPUBLICAN PARTY IN TEXAS IS NOW THE CRAZIEST IN AMERICA  —  It seems almost pointless to mention this but there is simply no state Democratic party in any of the 50 states that is so clearly, obviously demented. … Getty Images  —  If you want to see the clearest symptoms …