"If leadership continues to stand in the way of necessary reform, lawmakers should simply allow the Patriot Act provisions to sunset." - ACLU

Congress will convene in a rare Sunday session to consider extending portions of the Patriot Act, before they expire on June 1.

We do not get our right to vote because we are white, black, gay, straight, male, female, conservative, liberal, a member of a private organization or any other criteria other than what makes us American: citizenship.

Just over one year ago, the Obama administration had one of its most significant foreign policy breakthroughs -- and no one really noticed.

"Now we'll be stuck with Goldwater," quips  Roger Sterling of AMC's Mad Men, referring to recent news of Republican candidate Nelson Rockefeller's marriage to a divorcé 18 years his junior. Roger's statement is a reference to a popular narrative that is used to describe the demise of the former New York governor.

American military instructors are training Ukrainian forces.

It sounds surprising at first, but Vin Weber, the former Minnesota congressman and an advisor to the Jeb Bush campaign, is a strong supporter of changing the rule to open up the presidential debates to include an independent candidate in the fall of 2016.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l4lsOb-j3o0

Ellis Island's 1900s Immigration Processing Center opened the gates for many new immigrants who were seeking a new life in the United States. As the melting pot of the world, it is obvious that we have various layers of immigrant cultures from all over the world. Some people assimilate and others hold on to a piece of their homeland's pride and cultural customs.

“You didn’t see the other sign that they have? ‘We don’t like big government… until we like big government.'” - Rand Paul, May 26, 2015

U.S.

On Wednesday, Nebraska shocked the nation by being the first Republican-dominated state to abolish the death penalty in 40 years. The unicameral Legislature, unique in the United States, voted to override Governor Pete Ricketts' (R) veto 30-to-19.

The vote highlights a growing trend across the country -- Democrats and Republicans are finding common ground on criminal justice issues. Whether it is on Capitol Hill or in state legislatures, members of both parties are showing rare bipartisan cooperation on these issues -- motivated, of course, by different reasons.

Vice President Joe Biden spent the day on Tuesday scrambling to smooth things over with the Iraqi government, dealing with the fallout of Ashton Carter's remarks.