AP - Gunmen killed a former top government minister in Ingushetia as he stood outside his home in the violent southern Russian region Saturday, law enforcement officials said.

Reuters - If Michelle Obama ever needs a place to stay in London, she could do worse than call on Queen Elizabeth.

McClatchy Newspapers - WASHINGTON — Unlike the labor market collapse that killed millions of U.S. jobs in a matter of months, the nation's return to peak employment will not be nearly as uniform nor as swift.

AP - Ta'Shon Rain Little Light, a happy little girl who loved to dance and dress up in traditional American Indian clothes, had stopped eating and walking. She complained constantly to her mother that her stomach hurt.

Politico - Firefighter Frank Ricci has the stuff to emerge from nowhere as an icon in conservative circles.

Politico - This is the anniversary weekend of when 'Meet the Press' host and NBC Washington Bureau Chief Tim Russert passed away.

AP - If the Republican Party is in danger of being marginalized as a conservative, white male Southern enclave, is Haley Barbour — the longtime Washington power broker and current Mississippi governor — the best person to turn things around?

Reuters - U.S. Senate Republicans are in a quandary over the Supreme Court nomination of Sonia Sotomayor, aiming to raise pointed questions about her record without angering increasingly influential Hispanic voters.

AP - Vice President Joe Biden said Sunday he had doubts about whether Iran's presidential election was free and fair, though the U.S. must accept 'for the time being' Tehran's claim that Mahmoud Ahmadinejad won a resounding re-election.

AP - Vice President Joe Biden says it's important that the U.S. and other nations make sure that the latest U.N. penalties stick against North Korea.

AP - Vice President Joe Biden isn't ruling out his own presidential aspirations.

Politico - Firefighter Frank Ricci has the stuff to emerge from nowhere as an icon in conservative circles.

AP - A leading Democratic senator says the idea of taxing health benefits is a bad one and unnecessary.

AP - Vice President Joe Biden says the administration remains committed to a government health insurance option and doesn't want to tax health care benefits even though the idea should be considered.

AP - Former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher is recovering well from a fall that left her with a broken arm, her son said Saturday.

AP - Health secretary Kathleen Sebelius says production of a vaccine for swine flu is being set up in case a vaccine program is recommended.

AP - The Democrat who heads the Senate Budget Committee says he doubts there are enough votes in the Senate to support President Barack Obama's plan for a government health insurance option.

AP - The European Union's foreign affairs chief held talks Saturday with a Hezbollah legislator in the first meeting between a senior EU diplomat and the Iranian-backed militant Shiite group.

Reuters - President Barack Obama's health secretary on Sunday pushed for a new government-run healthcare program, an idea facing skepticism even in his own party, and a senior Senate Democrat flatly said votes are lacking in Congress for the proposal.

AP - Lawmakers and administration officials on Sunday distanced themselves from the idea of taxing health benefits to help pay President Barack Obama's health care overhaul and bickered over whether government insurance would strengthen the market.

AP - Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell says it's too early to talk about supporting or opposing Sonia Sotomayor. But he says blocking her nomination to the Supreme Court with a filibuster is an option.

AP - U.S. defense officials said Friday that Pakistan is planning a new assault into South Waziristan aimed at key al-Qaida strongholds, a move tied to the Obama administration's broader strategy for the Afghanistan war.

AP - Tens of thousands of gay rights activists demanding rights for same-sex couples marched through the streets of Rome on Saturday in a gay pride parade.

AP - Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi on Saturday invited the Italians he expelled in 1970 to come back to visit or work in his country.

AP - The White House is welcoming Israeli Prime Minster Benjamin Netanyahu's call for the creation of a Palestinian state.

AP - As Congress begins work on putting President Barack Obama's goal of universal health coverage into law, administration officials and allies sought to sidestep an unpopular tax on existing benefits and Republicans' objection to a government competitor to private plans.

Politico - The vice president questions results of Iran's elections but says it is too soon to pass judgment.

McClatchy Newspapers - WASHINGTON — Congress is expected to approve later this week spending $106 billion to help pay for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and control the spread of flu — but not before debating a ban on releasing of terrorism detainee abuse photos, aiding the International Monetary Fund and plotting an exit from Afghanistan.

McClatchy Newspapers - ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — Pakistan announced late Sunday that it would fight warlord Baitullah Mehsud in Waziristan in a gamble that will see the Pakistani troops confront the fountainhead of Taliban and al Qaida extremism.

Bloomberg - June 14 (Bloomberg) -- A mandate that individuals buy health insurance is more likely to gain bipartisan support than a requirement that companies offer plans as lawmakers work for a consensus on health-care legislation, said Senator Charles Grassley, the ranking Republican on the Finance Committee.

Politico - Obama’s political sway within his own party is about to be tested.

AFP - Former vice president Dick Cheney's criticism of the Obama administration's handling of security matters suggests he wants the United States to be attacked, CIA chief Leon Panetta said.