Is the proposed journalist shield law anything more than a political shield? Read More
As victims multiply, military laments ‘no silver bullet’ to sexual assault

Despite decades of promises, military leaders have repeatedly leaned on a single cliché to explain why they've failed survivors of sexual assault. Read More
In the South, a love of guns and a loss of life
Louisiana has the highest gun-murder rate in the country. Yet state lawmakers have pushed an aggressive campaign to loosen the state’s already lax gun laws. A coalition of Republicans and white Democrats has banded together to fight gun control efforts of a small minority of mostly black legislators. Read More
Voices
Melissa Harris-Perry12:04 PM on 05/18/2013
Slashing benefits for the hungry? Try focusing on jobs instead
Try taking the Food Stamp challenge, Congress—that means eating on a budget of about one dollar per person, per meal. Then maybe you'll have different feelings about cutting billions of dollars in funding to programs that feed the hungry. … Read More
Dominic Perella12:20 PM on 05/16/2013
The health care wars, take 2
An obscure technicality on the Affordable Care Act has the potential to cause major problems for President Obama's signature piece of legislation. … Read More
Editor's Picks
Sharpton announces MSNBC’s free clinic in New Orleans – we need your help
Morgan Whitaker, Politics Nation
Despite Bangladesh horror, US retailers won’t sign safety accord
Nancy Cooper, All In
Military rape survivor: ‘I had to lose my career’
One survivor of military sexual assault shares her story. Read More
Tech, labor at odds in immigration fight
Labor is brandishing research that says the scarcity of workers is a myth while the tech industry is pointing to other studies that say the shortage is very real and is a threat to U.S. competitiveness. Read More
Fighting for gold in the Wounded Warrior Games
The Department of Defense and the U.S. Olympic Committee Paralympic Military Program have been teaming up since 2010 for the games. Service members from all branches of the military participate. Read More
‘Scourge’ of sexual assault hurts military effectiveness, says Obama
Women leaders have put a spotlight on the epidemic of military sexual assault. "This is not a sideshow," said Obama in a meeting with his top military and national security team. "This goes to the heart and the core of who we are and how effective we're going to be." Read More
Video: Obama visits schoolkids, talks animals and addition
Seriously cute: Barack Obama had a tough week, but he walked into a room of people happy to see him Friday morning when he visited children at Moravia Park Elementary School in Baltimore. Read More
Two Dems in top races voted with GOP on health care repeal
Reps. Mike McIntyre, D-N.C., and Jim Matheson, D-Utah, had the two closest House races in the country in 2012, and they're top GOP targets looking ahead to 2014 once again. Read More
House Committee OKs massive cuts to food stamps in farm bill
The 2013 House farm bill would cut more than $20 billion from food stamps funding and cause up to two million people to lose eligibility. Read More
#ObamacareInThreeWords: GOP vs. White House edition
Republicans took to Twitter in advance of the House vote to appeal the Affordable Care Act Thursday, asking followers to slam #ObamacareInThreeWords. But the White House fought back with three words of its own. Read More
Bloomberg anti-gun group features Aurora family in targeting Sen. Flake
In a TV ad, Caren and Tom Teves, whose son Alex was killed in the Colorado movie theater shooting last summer, say Arizona Sen. Jeff Flake didn’t keep his promise to support tougher background checks. Read More
Heritage warns GOP leadership to focus on scandal, while Obama focuses on jobs
With their latest marching orders, House Republicans could make the 113th Congress even less productive than the 112th, quite an achievement. Read More
Ex-IRS chief: Targeting Tea Party was ‘mistake, not an act of partisanship’
Steven Miller, who stepped down this week as acting commissioner of the IRS amid revelations that the agency targeted Tea Party groups for special scrutiny, apologized to Congress Friday, but said the effort wasn't deliberately partisan. Read More
Poll: Americans lack attention to IRS, Benghazi hearings
A new poll shows the majority of Americans' focus is below average on the IRS scandal and Benghazi congressional hearings. Read More
Watch live: Fired IRS chief testifies at House hearing
Steven Miller, who was ousted this week from his position as acting IRS commissioner, will testify before the House Ways and Means Committee Friday amid revelations the agency had improperly targeted conservative groups. Read More
Too Young to Die: Sincere Tymere Smith
Sincere could count forward and backward, and already knew his colors. "He was just a playful little boy," the family's pastor told MSNBC. Read More
Obama and Syria: What happened to the ‘red line?’
"Assad lost legitimacy when he started firing on his own people and killing his own people," said Obama in a press conference with the Turkish prime minister. But, he added, there's "no magic formula" for stopping the bloodshed in Syria. Read More
Army sexual assault prevention officer arrested for stalking ex-wife
An Army officer in the Fort Campbell, Kentucky, sexual assault prevention office has been arrested for violating a restraining order that his ex-wife filed against him. Read More
‘Entirely appropriate’ that Obama didn’t know about AP probe, says Carney
When it comes to investigations, what should the president know and when should the president know it? Jay Carney and Michael Steele--not surprisingly--have opposing views. Read More
New study suggests pot smokers are skinnier
A new study found that pot smokers tend to be skinnier and a better ability to regulate insulin levels. Already, 18 states and D.C. allow medical marijuana, and on Friday, Illinois approved legislation permitting doctors to prescribe medical marijuana. Read More
Cause of Texas plant blast still uncertain, criminality is possibility
Investigators concluded their scene excavation of the area damaged by last month's fertilizer plant explosion West, Texas. However, the broader investigation continues. Read More






