Half of Americans Support Legal Gay Marriage  —  Democrats and independents in favor; Republicans opposed  —  PRINCETON, NJ — Fifty percent of Americans believe same-sex marriages should be recognized by law as valid, with the same rights as traditional marriages — down slightly from 53% last year …

TPMDC  —  Awkward!  Republicans Who Opposed Auto Bailout Stumped By Romney Claiming Credit For It  —  As long as Mitt Romney publicly claims credit for the auto industry's recovery, he's going to put his fellow Republicans on Capitol Hill in an awkward position.

Maurice Sendak, Children's Author Who Upended Tradition, Dies at 83  —  Maurice Sendak, widely considered the most important children's book artist of the 20th century, who wrenched the picture book out of the safe, sanitized world of the nursery and plunged it into the dark …

Cruel irony in Elizabeth Warren's Cherokee saga  —  Throughout her career and political campaign, Elizabeth Warren has found victims everywhere she looked, including when she looked in the mirror and saw an alleged descendant of one of the most historically victimized groups, Native Americans.

RNC official: Romney still deciding position on immigration reform  —  The Republican National Committee attempted to walk back a potentially bruising botched response Tuesday after an official said Mitt Romney is still making up his mind on immigration.  —  “As a candidate, to my understanding …

Obama up 7 in Ohio  —  Barack Obama continues to have the upper hand in Ohio, even if Mitt Romney puts one of the Buckeye State's leading politicians on his ticket.  —  Obama leads Romney 50-43.  That 7 point margin is unchanged from late January when he was ahead by a 49-42 spread.

Low student loan interest rates in limbo after Democrats' bill stalls in Senate  —  In a 52-45 vote, the Senate on Tuesday rejected a motion to proceed to legislation that would keep interest rates on federal student loans from doubling.  —  Sixty votes were needed to move to a debate on the legislation …

Presidential Perks: Paying for Carter's postage, Bush's bills, and Clinton's rent  —  Spinners and Winners  —  You could call it welfare for former Presidents.  —  It's a little-noticed part of the federal budget: Each year U.S. taxpayers pick up the tab for the expenses of our former Presidents.

Bank of America Starts Mortgage Reduction Effort  —  Bank of America has started sending letters to thousands of homeowners in the United States, offering to forgive a portion of the principal balance on their mortgages by an average of $150,000 each.  —  The reduction for qualifying homeowners …

Three-Way Race: Romney 44%, Obama 39%, Ron Paul 13%  —  Texas Congressman Ron Paul appears more interested in influencing the direction of the Republican Party than in running as an independent presidential candidate.  But perhaps Democrats should be careful what they wish for …

Dick Lugar is going to lose.  Did he have to?  —  Indiana Republican Sen. Dick Lugar will almost certainly lose his bid for a seventh term Tuesday at the hands of state Treasurer Richard Mourdock.  —  FILE - In this April 24, 2012, file photo, Sen. Richard Lugar, R-Ind. speaks to reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington.

Larry Summers vs. the long-termers  —  In August 2005, Raghuram Rajan, an economist at the University of Chicago's Booth School of Business, predicted the financial crisis.  And he did it at possibly the least friendly of venues: a conference of high-powered economists who had convened in part …

Stephens: To the Class of 2012  —  Attention graduates: Tone down your egos, shape up your minds.  —  Dear Class of 2012:  —  Allow me to be the first one not to congratulate you.  Through exertions that—let's be honest—were probably less than heroic, most of you have spent …

Mob on the Quad  —  Late last night, in a shameful example of editorial cowardice, the Chronicle of Higher Education fired Naomi Schaefer Riley.  Naomi is a good friend of mine, a sometimes contributor to THE WEEKLY STANDARD, and a fine writer.  And the story of what happened to her is highly instructive.

Clinton addresses ‘au naturale’ moment  —  (CNN) - Hillary Clinton laughed off the perpetual conversation over her appearance that landed in the spotlight once again Monday when a picture of her sporting glasses sans make-up made the rounds on the internet.  —  “I feel so relieved …

VIDEO: Sacha Baron Cohen's dictator likes Mitt Romney  —  Sacha Baron Cohen, who plays a dictator in his upcoming movie, dressed in character yesterday and told reporters at a press conference that he liked “Mitchell Romney.” … If Santorum were running, though, Cohen …

Liberals Steer Outside Money to Grass-Roots Organizing  —  After months on the sidelines, major liberal donors including the financier George Soros are preparing to inject up to $100 million into independent groups to aid Democrats' chances this fall.  But instead of going head to head …

Shocking Video Of Kelly Thomas Beating Death Released.  Watch With Caution.  —  The city surveillance video that shows a group of Fullerton police officers beating a homeless mentally ill man to death last year was finally released today, laying to rest any argument that Kelly Thomas was a threat to officers.

Romney To Fundraise With Plan B Maker Despite Denouncing Emergency Contraception As ‘Abortive Pills’  —  Earlier this year, presumptive GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney came out strongly against the Obama administration policy that will require health insurance plans to offer birth control coverage …