The GOP frontrunner: Donald Trump?  —  Trump leads the GOP pack this week, though few think he will win the nomination  —  The Republican horserace continues to be a contest of multiple candidates - with frontrunners sometimes ahead by only a few points, and no one dominating the race.

Pelosi ambushes GOP with Confederate flag resolution  —  The House voted Thursday to refer legislation banning the Confederate flag image from the Capitol to a committee, effectively punting the issue.  —  The dramatic vote was forced by Minority Leader  —  Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) …

N.Y. Times keeps Cruz off bestseller list  —  The New York Times informed HarperCollins this week that it will not include Ted Cruz's new biography on its forthcoming bestsellers list, despite the fact that the book has sold more copies in its first week than all but two of the Times' bestselling titles, the On Media blog has learned.

OPM Announces Steps to Protect Federal Workers and Others From Cyber Threats  —  WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) announced the results of the interagency forensics investigation into a recent cyber incident involving Federal background investigation data …

This Is How Hillary Loses the Primary  —  Bernie Sanders will never be president.  But unless Clinton changes her strategy—and soon—he can still wind up toppling her.  —  Something remarkable is happening in American politics.  For the first time in our history, a socialist is running …

Judge jails kids for refusing lunch with dad  —  The children were sent to a juvenile detention facility for defying her orders — while in court — that they go to lunch with their father.  —  CONNECT  —  Three Oakland County children who refused to go to lunch with their father …

HEY LOOK THE MOST NIGHTMARISH IDEA FOR PLANE SEATING EVER  —  Flying economy is terrible.  TSA checkpoints, crap food (or no food at all, which might be better), middle seats.  But things can always get worse, thanks to airlines desperate to crank up profits by cramming as many of us into the cabin as possible.

Lost Girls … In 1974, when she was only 14, Jackie Fuchs would wake up way before her parents and catch a ride with friends from her house in the San Fernando Valley across the Santa Monica Mountains and into Malibu.  She'd hit the beach and paddle out in the quiet, pre-dawn dark.

Alan Grayson: Dems Would ‘Crawl Over Hot Coals Naked’ To Back Me  —  Rep. Alan Grayson's reputation as a progressive bomb-thrower is exactly what's made national Democrats fearful that his bid for Senate in Florida could cost them a top pickup opportunity.  —  But when he launched his bid on Thursday …

Schumer calls for ban on gun-shaped iPhone cases  —  Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) is raising alarm about the sale of iPhone cases that are made to look like the handle of a 9 mm handgun.  —  In letters to online retailers and U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the senator said the product …

Jeb Bush and longer working hours: gaffesplainer 2016  —  Jeb Bush's stated goal of 4 percent annual GDP growth, though unrealistic, in general sounds nice.  But during a New Hampshire Union Leader interview live-streamed on Periscope, Bush got granular about his plan, revealing that part …

Purple-State Republicans and the Two Electorates  —  Anybody who's read my book on the 2014 elections can surely appreciate my enthusiasm for an analysis of the GOP presidential field offered today by Bloomberg Politics' Ken Goldstein, which looks at the candidates' record of “electability” …