The News: Republican lawmakers are jockeying to succeed Rep. Eric Cantor as House majority leader following his embarrassing primary defeat Tuesday, with a vote scheduled for June 19 that could push the GOP further to the ideological right. The apparent leading candidate is Cantor’s longtime lieutenant, Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), who represents the Republican…

Alabama Plays Both Sides of Voting Rights, With Blacks in the Middle The News: The Supreme Court will consider whether Alabama illegally redrew its legislative districts in a way that weakens minorities’ voting power, taking up the first such case since striking down a section of the Voting Rights Act last year. Black state lawmakers…

The News: The House Appropriations Committee passed a measure to roll back school-nutrition guidelines central to Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move! campaign against the epidemic of overweight and obese children. As part of a Republican-authored $21 billion agriculture-spending bill, schools would be allowed to opt out of requirements for food served in the federal free or reduced-lunch…

The News: Mark Cuban, owner of the National Basketball Association’s Dallas Mavericks, has issued an apology to Trayvon Martin’s family after telling an interviewer at a conference, “If I see a black kid in a hoodie on my side of the street, I’ll move to the other side of the street.” The often outspoken Cuban has received criticism for…

The News: Longtime Michigan Rep. John Conyers is expected to ask a federal judge in Detroit on Wednesday to put his name back on the Democratic primary ballot. Conyers, the longest-serving African American in Congress, is challenging the decision of the Wayne County, Mich., clerk that he didn’t submit enough signatures for his name to appear…

The News: Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) on Wednesday stood against one of President Barack Obama’s nominees to a federal court in Georgia, citing the candidate’s past support of the Confederate flag and opposition to abortion and same-sex marriage. “Unless I have a better explanation, I can’t vote for him,” Reid told BuzzFeed. “This…

The News: The National Football League’s first openly gay player has drawn a wide range of reactions, from the admiration of President Barack Obama to the disgust of at least one other player. On Sunday Obama congratulated University of Missouri defensive lineman Michael Sam on his selection by the St. Louis Rams in the seventh and final…

The News: House Republicans are expected to vote Thursday to impanel a special committee to investigate the 2012 attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya, that killed four Americans, including the ambassador to Libya. Republicans would hold seven seats on the committee, and Democrats would be allowed five members. The imbalance on the panel is…

The News: Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has declined to deliver the commencement address at Rutgers University after protests by some students and faculty, as The Root has reported. “Rutgers’ invitation to me to speak has become a distraction for the university community at this very special time,” Rice said in a statement explaining…

The News: As the National Basketball Association prepares to try to force out Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling, the embattled owner says he will not sell his team. The NBA requires 75 percent of its team owners, or 23 of the total 30, to vote in favor of terminating Sterling’s ownership. NBA Commissioner Adam…