More people will die from gunshots due to the decision of five right-wing Supreme Court justices to overturn the District of Columbia law banning handguns in the district.

Floods ravage the Midwest, as the hodgepodge system of levees is overwhelmed. Twenty-four are dead; damage is estimated at $15 billion and counting. The cost to food supplies has yet to be felt.

We are witnessing a staggering failure of leadership. Housing foreclosures in May were up 48 percent over last year, and rising. One in six homes is worth less than its mortgage. Homeowners have lost, according to the Federal Reserve, nearly $1 trillion in the value of their homes, for most their greatest asset by far. Housing prices are down about 14 percent since last year, with many projecting the fall will go down 25 percent. Those who came into the housing market in the last few years -- disproportionately black and Latino families -- are getting hurt the most. Yet neither Congress nor the president has acted to stem the fall.

With Hillary Clinton's stirring endorsement, Barack Obama now turns to the general election. John McCain is already taking potshots at Obama. The pundits are speculating on what states are in play, what constituencies are in reach. This stunning triumph -- Obama's winning the nomination of his party for the presidency of the United States -- is beginning to get the traditional press coverage.