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Political Capital
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Mark Silva

is deputy managing editor for government news in Washington and editor of Political Capital. He has covered the White House and national politics.

Rapper Nykeith ''Black Gold'' Batts, left, performs his song ''Da Beast Walk'' as children dance along at the 20th Annual Juneteenth Freedom & Heritage Festival in Memphis, Tennessee, on June 14, 2013.

Photograph by Mark Weber/The Commercial Appeal/Zuma Press

Rapper Nykeith ''Black Gold'' Batts, left, performs his song ''Da Beast Walk'' as children dance along at the 20th Annual Juneteenth Freedom & Heritage Festival in Memphis, Tennessee, on June 14, 2013.

Juneteenth: From Texas, with Tweets

Slavery in Texas was abolished on this day in 1865. #Juneteenth So notes George P. Bush, the “husband, father, businessman and candidate for land commissioner in Texas,” a gateway office for those pursuing bigger political prizes. He’s also a president’s...

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President Barack Obama and German Chancelor Angela Merkel on the Pariser Platz in front of the Brandenburg Gate on June 19, 2013 in Berlin.

Photograph by Timur Emek/Getty Images

President Barack Obama and German Chancelor Angela Merkel on the Pariser Platz in front of the Brandenburg Gate on June 19, 2013 in Berlin.

‘Internet Age’ Security: No ‘Rifling’ of e-mail, Obama Promises Merkel

The Internet is a battleground, German Chancellor Angela Merkel suggested today, voicing public concern yet some understanding about the once-secret U.S. cyber-surveillance that has consumed international headlines. Security in “the Internet age” is a balancing act, she and President Barack...

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Guest workers harvest the strawberry crop at a farm in China Grove, North Carolina.

Photograph by David Turner/MCT via Getty Images

Guest workers harvest the strawberry crop at a farm in China Grove, North Carolina.

Immigration Bill: $175 Bln Savings

Now they can have their immigration bill and eat their deficit, too. After warnings from some corners — such as the Heritage Foundation claiming the Senate’s immigration reform bill will cost trillions of dollars over five decades — the Congressional...

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Barack Obama leaves the stage after making a speech in front of the Victory Column in Berlin in this July 24, 2008 file photo.

Photograph by Michael Gottschalk/AFP via Getty Images

Barack Obama leaves the stage after making a speech in front of the Victory Column in Berlin in this July 24, 2008 file photo.

Obama in Berlin Encore: Ich Bin Ein ‘Citizen of the World’

Aboard Air Force One, en route from Belfast to Berlin: The traveling White House tonight explained the expected message — and “optics” — of the speech that President Barack Obama will deliver facing East from the Brandenburg Gate in the...

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A bus drives past a banner supporting Edward Snowden in Hong Kong on June 18, 2013.

Photograph by Kin Cheung/AP Photo

A bus drives past a banner supporting Edward Snowden in Hong Kong on June 18, 2013.

Snowden: Appreciation, no Sympathy

Edward Snowden did good. And Snowden should pay for it: The results of another poll on public opinion about the former national security contractor’s revelations of widespread government surveillance of telephone records and Internet traffic show appreciation for what the...

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Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush speaks at the Faith & Freedom Coalition conference, June 14, 2013 in Washington, DC.

Photograph by Mark Wilson/Getty Images

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush speaks at the Faith & Freedom Coalition conference, June 14, 2013 in Washington, DC.

Jeb Bush: ‘Fifty Plus One’

It’s about winning, Jeb Bush says. David Brody, of “The Brody File” at the Christian Broadcasting Network, may have heard what we heard at last week’s Faith and Freedom Coalition: a Jeb Bush speaking a different line from Ralph Reed’s....

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Imelda Stanton in Hatty Potter and the Oder of the Phoenix.

Photograph by Warner Bros/Everett Collection

Imelda Stanton in Hatty Potter and the Oder of the Phoenix.

Snowden Channels Harry Potter

It’s probably best to pet a phoenix as the newborn chick. It could get dicey on “burning day,” when the phoenix bursts into flames as part of its mythological regeneration. That creature of Greek mythology cyclically regenerated or reborn, arising...

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A banner supporting Edward Snowden, a former CIA employee who leaked top-secret documents about sweeping U.S. surveillance programs, on June 17, 2013 in Hong Kong.

Photograph by Kin Cheung/AP Photo

A banner supporting Edward Snowden, a former CIA employee who leaked top-secret documents about sweeping U.S. surveillance programs, on June 17, 2013 in Hong Kong.

#AskSnowden Trended Today — ‘Petting a Phoenix?’

Updated at 12:10 pm EDT #AskSnowden was trending on Twitter today. “Probably the best use of the Internet I’ve seen in a long time,” wrote one tweeter logging into the electronic conversation generated by the Guardian’s hosting of an online...

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A protester holds a sign reading, 'Rubio: Don't Oppose Family Unity', as she joins with others in front of Sen. Marco Rubio's (R-FL) office on May 22, 2013 in Doral, Florida.

Photograph by Joe Raedle/Getty Images

A protester holds a sign reading, 'Rubio: Don't Oppose Family Unity', as she joins with others in front of Sen. Marco Rubio's (R-FL) office on May 22, 2013 in Doral, Florida.

Republican ‘Death Spiral:’ Life-and-Breathless Immigration Debate

There’s a lot of death talk surrounding immigration reform. Will the bill itself, hailed as the magical medicine for the revival of the Republican Party, die in the Republican-run House? Will passage of the bill kill the chances of any...

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