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“No evidence of bulk orders or sales through any retailer or organization,” says the publisher, in a rare rebuttal to the all-powerful Times. Publishing giant HarperCollins is publicly pushing back against the New York Times’ claim that Ted Cruz’s new book, A Time For Truth, was disqualified from its bestseller list because sales were limited to “strategic bulk purchases.” In a statement provided to BuzzFeed News, HarperCollins publicity director Tina Andreadis said the company looked into the matter and “found no evidence of bulk orders or sales through any retailer or organization.”

More than 70 years after dying in a World War II battle, the bodies of 36 U.S. Marines have finally been found on Betio Island in the remote Pacific. The remains were discovered after a four-month excavation on the island, which is a part of the Republic of Kiribati, AFP reported. ((snip)) "(They) had an expectation that if they were to die in the line of duty defending their country they would be brought home ... that was a promise made 70 years ago that we felt should be kept," Noah said Tuesday, according to AFP.

Donald Trump is an unstable element inserted into an unsettled environment. Sooner or later there will be a boom. He has shot up like a rocket since his June announcement but likely has a low ceiling and short staying power. He is not as popular with Republicans as Bernie Sanders is with Democrats. Does Mr. Trump ruin the Republican brand? That tends to be the eager question of those who hope he will ruin the Republican brand. But he’s his own brand. He doesn’t call his hotels “Republican Plaza.” He spends much of his time knocking Republicans, setting himself apart...

South Carolina’s governor signed a bill Thursday that will send the Confederate flag to the state’s “relic room.” The decision was made more than 50 years after the rebel banner began flying at the statehouse in Columbia to protest the civil rights movement. Governor Nikki Haley praised lawmakers for realizing that the long-celebrated symbol is too painful to keep promoting. “The Confederate flag is coming off the grounds of the South Carolina Statehouse,” Haley said. “We will bring it down with dignity, and we will make sure it is stored in its rightful place.”

Fireworks took on a second meaning in Chicago this 4th of July weekend. Dozens of people were shot, including a 7-year-old boy who died while celebrating with his family. It was one of many incidents that police Superintendent Garry McCarthy called the result of a broken system. The city saw a total of 34 shooting incidents this past weekend, the Chicago Police Department told ABC News. There were 48 victims, including 7 murder victims, according to the police. Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel was "saddened and sickened" by the weekend's violence, he said at a news conference Monday on an unrelated...

WASHINGTON --President Obama said Tuesday that despite differences between the United States and Vietnam over "political philosophy," the two countries are deepening cooperation on health, climate and other issues. Obama spoke following an Oval Office meeting with Nguyen Phu Trong, the head of Vietnam's Communist Party. Trong is the de facto leader of Vietnam despite holding no official government post.

Editor's note: This story contains graphic content and will be disturbing to some readers. A 27-year-old man was left bloodied and unconscious after being brutally assaulted by an unruly mob in the streets of Cincinnati on Saturday night. Though the official police incident report referred to the July Fourth attack as “anti-white,” Capt. Mike Neville backed off the claim on Monday and said it’s not yet clear if race was a factor. Neville said the officer who filed the incident report felt the attack was racially motivated because the victim, Christopher McKnight, was beaten by a group of people from...

Former Attorney General Eric Holder said today that a “possibility exists” for the Justice Department to cut a deal with former NSA contractor Edward Snowden that would allow him to return to the United States from Moscow. In an interview with Yahoo News, Holder said “we are in a different place as a result of the Snowden disclosures” and that “his actions spurred a necessary debate” that prompted President Obama and Congress to change policies on the bulk collection of phone records of American citizens.

<p>A Civil War-era soldier who received the Medal of Honor will be buried with full military honors after his ashes were discovered in an unmarked, communal crypt.</p> <p>Sgt. Charles Schroeter will be buried at Miramar National Center in July, nearly a century after he died, the San Diego Union-Tribune reports.</p>

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Washington (CNN)American public opinion on the Confederate flag remains about where it was 15 years ago, with most describing the flag as a symbol of Southern pride more than one of racism, according to a new CNN/ORC poll. And questions about how far to go to remove references to the Confederacy from public life prompt broad racial divides. The poll shows that 57% of Americans see the flag more as a symbol of Southern pride than as a symbol of racism, about the same as in 2000 when 59% said they viewed it as a symbol of pride. Opinions of...

Donald Trump admitted that his presidential campaign is hurting him financially. In an interview on Fox on Saturday, the real estate mogul hit back at critics who allege that he's just running for president for publicity, saying that his campaign has damaged his image and his businesses. "This isn't good for my brand, I think it's bad for my brand," Trump said. "Maybe I'm leading in polls, but this is certainly not good. I lose customers, I lose people." Still, Trump maintained that his businesses are "very strong," and haven't been too hurt by the bad publicity yet.

Right now, Donald Trump is like a black hole whose stupendous gravitational pull is attracting a lot of media attention and some of the voters associated with the Republican 2016 presidential race. Which of his rivals in particular is this hurting? After all, Mr. Trump’s poll numbers have risen sharply since he said that this time, he’s actually, positively running. Polling is a zero-sum game: His rise means other folks have fallen. Let’s look at the numbers and see which of Trump’s fellow candidates they are. ((snip)) Nationally, Trump’s jump into the fray has affected Marco Rubio the most, according...

Donald Trump must disclose how much money he made from his so-called Trump University, San Diego U.S. District Judge Gonzalo Curiel ruled this week. The judge ruled that one of several plaintiffs that had signed up for Trump U is allowed to question the current GOP presidential candidate about the profit he made, whether directly or indirectly, from Trump University. ((snip)) In his ruling, Curiel added that Trump failed to show "that a broad federal right to financial privacy exists that bars discovery regarding any financial transactions of a defendant accused of defrauding large numbers of people." "Thus, Trump's payments...

Washington (CNN)Bombastic GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump offered a rare spot of praise for President Barack Obama on Wednesday, in an interview with CNN's Don Lemon. He also said improving race relations would be a priority for him if elected president. The hotel developer shared his views on CNN Tonight with Don Lemon while reflecting on the Charleston Massacre, where nine African-Americans were killed in a church earlier this month by a white man who said he wanted to start a race war. Trump, a staunch critic of Obama, spoke highly of the eulogy the President gave at the funeral...

“I’m calling on NBC to fire Al Sharpton, whose words & actions for decades have been hateful & demeaning,” Mark Levin tweeted Conservatives took to social media to blast NBC for a perceived double standard in cutting ties with Donald Trump Monday for his comments about Mexican immigrants while keeping Al Sharpton despite the pastor-turned-MSNBC host’s numerous controversial remarks over the years.

NEW YORK (AP) — Miss USA has lost its all of its co-hosts. "Dancing with the Stars'" Cheryl Burke and MSNBC anchor Thomas Roberts said Tuesday they won't take part in the July 12 pageant after Donald Trump made remarks about Mexicans while announcing his run for president. On Monday, NBC said it would cancel its Miss USA coverage and part ways with Trump, with whom it owns the pageant.

CNN will no longer use freelance international correspondent Karl Penhaul, after a series of tweets to Donald Trump and members of his family calling the Republican presidential candidate a racist.

(WASHINGTON EXAMINER) DENVER, Colo. — Ted Cruz’s 76-year-old father Pastor Rafael Cruz is a force to be reckoned with on the campaign trail. ((snip)) “We are seeing today a president that operates by executive order, by fear, not much different than that bearded dictator I left in Cuba almost 60 years ago,” Cruz said.

The Democratic Party of Virginia is currently giving away free tickets to an event featuring Hillary Clinton later tonight. Clinton is headlining the party's annual Jefferson-Jackson dinner on Friday evening. Though the event is raising money for the Virginia Democrats rather than her presidential bid, it is considered an important campaign appearance for Clinton. The dinner is Clinton's first campaign stop in Virginia, a crucial swing state. It's also one of her first stops outside of the early primary states. Tickets for the event are being sold for $30 and $125. However, on Friday afternoon, some Virginia Democrats received an...