Iraq crisis: ‘It is death valley.  Up to 70 per cent of them are dead’  —  On board Iraqi army helicopter delivering aid to the trapped Yazidis, Jonathan Krohn sees a hellish sight  —  By Jonathan Krohn, aboard an Iraqi Army helicopter on Mount Sinjar  —  Mount Sinjar stinks of death.

Midterms Give Parties Chance for Sweeping Control of States  —  LAS VEGAS — It was over 100 degrees here the other evening, but inside a buzzing office tucked away on a stretch of gun stores and pornography shops, Democrats were staring into computer screens and talking urgently into cellphones.

EXCLUSIVE: “MEET THE PRESS” plans to announce new moderator soon: CHUCK TODD is the favorite - BACKSTORY on Hillary interview with Jeffrey Goldberg - B'DAYS: Rob O'Donnell, Sam Myers Jr.  —  SIREN: Chuck Todd, a political obsessive and rabid sports fan, is the likely successor to David Gregory as moderator of …

50 Million New Reasons BuzzFeed Wants to Take Its Content Far Beyond Lists  —  Here are three completely crazy insights about BuzzFeed, the viral content start-up:  —  1. BuzzFeed is a web traffic sensation that draws 150 million average monthly viewers.  —  2. Numbered lists, like this one …

Cuomo's Slow-Mo Disaster  —  The New York governor is in deeper legal trouble than he realizes.  —  Andrew Cuomo is in serious trouble.  Preet Bharara, the hard-charging U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, has turned up the heat on his administration's alleged interference …

The New Racism  —  This is how the civil rights movement ends  —  Long before he became the most powerful man in the Alabama Senate, before he controlled billions of dollars in state money and had lobbyists, governors, and future presidents seeking his favor, Hank Sanders used newspapers and magazines as bathroom tissue.

“Liberal” Is Just A Synonym For “Smug”  —  SHARES  —  It's astonishing that an ideology which such an unbroken track record of failure has adherents who are so incredibly pleased with themselves.  It's like a soda pop executive whose proudest achievement was thinking up New Coke.

The Libertarian Fantasy  —  In the latest Times Magazine, Robert Draper profiled youngish libertarians — roughly speaking, people who combine free-market economics with permissive social views — and asked whether we might be heading for a “libertarian moment.”  Well, probably not.

Is a Hard Life Inherited?  —  YAMHILL, Ore. — ONE delusion common among America's successful people is that they triumphed just because of hard work and intelligence.  —  In fact, their big break came when they were conceived in middle-class American families who loved them, read them stories …

Carrying a gun way worse than beating your wife: Column  —  This is the loopy view of one New Jersey judge and prosecutor.  —  When Ray Rice beat his wife unconscious in an elevator, New Jersey Superior Court Judge Michael Donio and New Jersey District Attorney Jim McClain agreed to put …

Maureen Dowd Joins The New York Times Magazine as Staff Writer  —  She Will Continue to Write Sunday Opinion Column  —  NEW YORK—(BUSINESS WIRE)— The New York Times announced today that Maureen Dowd is joining The Times Magazine as a staff writer.  The move will mark Ms. Dowd's return …

Feinstein squares off with Obama  —  Sen. Dianne Feinstein is squaring off with President Obama again, this time over a long-awaited Senate report on the Central Intelligence Agency's harsh interrogation practices.  —  Feinstein, the senior senator from California and chairwoman …

Conservative voters key to Dems 2014 strategy  —  It's one thing for Democrats running in red parts of the country to sound like Republicans on the campaign trail.  It's another when Democrats running in purple or even blue territory try to do so.  —  Yet that's what's happening in race after race this season.