Security Lapses Let Bomb Suspect Board Plane  —  WASHINGTON — Why was Faisal Shahzad permitted to board a flight for Dubai some 24 hours after investigators of the Times Square terrorism case learned he might be connected to the attempted bombing?  —  Though Mr. Shahzad was stopped …

Christian right leader George Rekers takes vacation with “rent boy”  —  The pictures on the Rentboy.com profile show a shirtless young man with delicate features, guileless eyes, and sun-kissed, hairless skin.  The profile touts his “smooth, sweet, tight ass” and “perfectly built 8 inch cock …

Black Hopefuls Pick This Year in G.O.P. Races  —  Among the many reverberations of President Obama's election, here is one he probably never anticipated: at least 32 African-Americans are running for Congress this year as Republicans, the biggest surge since Reconstruction, according to party officials.

Primaries bruise establishment picks  —  Tuesday's primaries didn't offer any cause for panic.  But the elections in Indiana, North Carolina and Ohio confirmed what both parties suspected going in: it's going to be a very rough year for incumbents and for the Washington establishment.

Why Charter Schools Fail the Test  —  THE latest evaluation of the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program, the oldest and most extensive system of vouchers and charter schools in America, came out last month, and most advocates of school choice were disheartened by the results.

Amount of Spill Could Escalate, Company Admits  —  WASHINGTON — In a closed-door briefing for members of Congress, a senior BP executive conceded Tuesday that the ruptured oil well in the Gulf of Mexico could conceivably spill as much as 60,000 barrels a day of oil, more than 10 times the estimate of the current flow.

Wash Post shifts leftward online  —  The once-cautious Washington Post has begun to invest heavily in the liberal blogosphere, transforming its online presence - a combination of accident and design - into a competitor of the Huffington Post and TalkingPointsMemo as much as the New York Times.

Taliban lackey's twisted mission  —  It was payback.  —  The Connecticut man charged yesterday with the botched Times Square car bombing confessed to trying to slaughter innocent people in retaliation for US drone attacks that wiped out the leadership of his beloved Taliban, The Post has learned.

Fox refuses climate ad  —  Fox News last week refused to carry an advertisement from the liberal group VoteVets on the grounds that it was “too confusing,” a spokesman for the group said.  —  The ad, above, seeks to make the familiar case that climate legislation would have national security benefits …

To replace John Paul Stevens, an atheist  —  It's something Thomas Jefferson might have done: nominate a nonbeliever to the Supreme Court  —  As President Obama considers nominees to replace retiring Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens, a debate bubbles as to whether religion should play a role in his choice.

3 dead during Greek riots  —  ATHENS, Greece — Greek fire officials say three people have died in a blaze that broke out at an Athens bank during rioting over government austerity measures.  —  An estimated 100,000 people took to the streets Wednesday during a nationwide wave of strikes …

Lieberman wants to strip citizenship of Americans who join foreign terror orgs.  —  Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) is planning to introduce a bill that would allow the government to take away citizenship from Americans who join foreign terrorist organizations.

Time for some oil spill perspective  —  Eleven people died when BP's Deepwater Horizon oil drilling platform exploded nearly two weeks ago in the Gulf of Mexico, 53 miles southwest of the Louisiana coast.  It's a sad measure of how much of the subsequent commentary on this disaster …

Marshall favored in runoff  —  Elaine Marshall will begin the runoff election against Cal Cunningham strongly favored.  On our final pre-primary poll, which proved to be pretty accurate in predicting tonight's results, we also asked about a potential runoff election.  Marshall led Cunningham 43-32.

Obama administration says Emirates Airlines Dropped the Ball; 9/11 Commission Vice-Chair Says U.S. Govt Is Dropping the Ball  —  Senior administration officials say that Faisal Shahzad was put on the no fly list on Monday at 12:30 pm ET.  —  So how was he able to board the Emirates Airlines flight to Dubai?

US takes early lumps in case against Mich. militia  —  DETROIT (AP) — Federal authorities touted the arrests of nine members of a Michigan militia as a pre-emptive strike against homegrown terrorists, declaring at an initial court hearing that the suspects with “dark hearts and evil intent” wanted to go to war against the government.

Yalamanchili wins 2nd Dist.  Dem primary  —  Newcomer Surya Yalamanchili won the Democratic nomination in the 2nd Congressional District and will meet incumbent Republican U.S. Rep. Jean Schmidt in the fall.  —  With nearly all precincts reporting in the sprawling district …