Why Romney could be a transformational president  —  One thing my presidential election model can't tell you is what sort of Congress the next president is likely to end up with.  But we can speculate.  —  If Obama wins the election, the odds are that he's facing a Republican House, and perhaps even a Republican Senate.

Newt Gingrich to look ‘realistically’ at campaign  —  Following his five-state shutout Tuesday night, Newt Gingrich sent the strongest signal yet that he's nearing the end of his tottering campaign.  —  “We're going to look realistically at where we're at,” Gingrich said at an election -night rally in North Carolina.

If You Don't Look Like Obama's Son, No One Cares  —  The news story is horrifying: after a trivial encounter with a group of youths who were playing basketball, a man in Mobile, Alabama, was set upon by a gang of twenty men armed with brass knuckles, chairs, pipes and paint cans.

Obama emphasizes new aspects of life story  —  His talk of his humble beginnings now focuses on the stresses of debt and his grandmother hitting the glass ceiling.  Aides to Republican Mitt Romney say the president is trying to sow division.  —  President Obama at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill.

Marco Rubio biography says grandfather was ordered deported  —  A forthcoming biography of Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), who is described by author Manuel Roig-Franzia as a “politician who built a political identity on his family story,” reveals an immigration hell for Rubio's Cuban-born maternal grandfather …

Woman Spills Yogurt on President in Boulder  —  The president is in Boulder, Colorado giving a campaign-style speech at the University of Colorado.  Reportedly, on his way to the speech, he decided to stop for a bite at “The Sink ... a divey kind of place that seems more about the beer than the food,” according to the the pool report.

Rural kids, parents angry about Labor Dept. rule banning farm chores  —  A proposal from the Obama administration to prevent children from doing farm chores has drawn plenty of criticism from rural-district member of Congress.  But now it's attracting barbs from farm kids themselves.

Obama Campaign Asks Unions to Help Cover Convention Costs  —  President Barack Obama's political advisers are pressing labor unions to contribute to the Democratic convention in September to cover a fundraising shortfall resulting from their self-imposed ban on corporate donations, according to two people familiar with the matter.

Senate Votes to Abandon Budget Control Act  —  Last summer, Republicans in Congress agreed to increase the federal debt limit in exchange for the Democrats' pledge to cap future spending at agreed-upon levels.  The compromise was embodied in the Budget Control Act; discretionary spending …

An Exclusive Statement from Bo Guagua to The Harvard Crimson  —  Harvard Kennedy School student Bo Guagua corresponded with Crimson staff writers Hana N. Rouse and Justin C. Worland on Tuesday via his Kennedy School and Google email accounts and sent The Crimson a statement, which is published verbatim below.

Morning Jay: 90 Percent of the Electorate Is Probably Locked In  —  An emerging genre in popular commentary on politics is the use of statistical models to predict election results.  Once the domain of academics writing for the scholarly journal P.S., it has become very widespread in recent years.

North Korea Boasts of Ability to Destroy US Military in ‘Single Blow’  —  North Korea's army marked its 80th anniversary Wednesday with a vow to retaliate against what its chief of staff terms the traitors in the South.  The remarks are the latest in a series of harsh threats directed at Seoul in recent weeks.

Religiousness a Key Factor for Romney and Obama Support  —  Romney does best among the very religious and among Protestants  —  PRINCETON, NJ — Mitt Romney leads Barack Obama by 17 percentage points, 54% to 37%, among very religious voters in Gallup's latest five-day presidential election tracking average.

Romney Sets Unwanted Record in Sweep of Northeastern Primaries  —  Prior to Romney, no presumptive GOP nominee has failed to win 60 percent of the vote playing out the primary string after his last major challenger exited the race  —  While there was no doubt Mitt Romney would rack …

Second N.J. trooper suspended amid high-speed caravan investigation  —  TRENTON — The State Police today suspended two troopers without pay and reassigned a station commander as the investigation into an unauthorized, high-speed escort of sports cars to Atlantic City last month kicked into high gear.