To GOP, blatant bias in vetting  —  On the front page of its Sunday edition, the New York Times gave a big spread to Ann Romney spending lots of time and tons of money on an exotic genre of horse-riding.  The clear implication: The Romneys are silly rich, move in rarefied and exotic circles, and are perhaps a tad shady.

Warren says she told schools of heritage  —  Acknowledges identifying as Native American after hirings  —  Governor Deval Patrick (right) endorsed Elizabeth Warren's Senate candidacy at a campaign event on Wednesday.  (Yoon S. Byun / Globe Staff)  —  Democratic Senate candidate Elizabeth …

Bloomberg Plans a Ban on Large Sugared Drinks  —  New York City plans to enact a far-reaching ban on the sale of large sodas and other sugary drinks at restaurants, movie theaters and street carts, in the most ambitious effort yet by the Bloomberg administration to combat rising obesity.

BREAKING: Two Republican Judges Declare DOMA Unconstitutional  —  A three judge panel of The United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit just handed down a decision declaring the anti-gay Defense of Marriage Act unconstitutional.  Notably, the panel included Judges Juan Torruella and Michael Boudin …

Appeals Court Rules Against Defense of Marriage Act  —  BOSTON (AP) — A federal appeals court Thursday declared that the Defense of Marriage Act unconstitutionally denies federal benefits to married gay couples, a groundbreaking ruling all but certain to wind up before the U.S. Supreme Court.

Wisconsin Unions See Ranks Drop Ahead of Recall Vote  —  Public-employee unions in Wisconsin have experienced a dramatic drop in membership—by more than half for the second-biggest union—since a law championed by Republican Gov. Scott Walker sharply curtailed their ability to bargain over wages and working conditions.

Republican's abortion bill risks alienating Asian Americans  —  Republicans long ago lost African American voters.  They are well on their way to losing Latinos.  And if Trent Franks prevails, they may lose Asian Americans, too.  —  The Arizona Republican's latest antiabortion salvo …

World War II Vet Caught Up In Florida's Voter Purge Controversy  —  Bill Internicola, a 91-year-old veteran of World War II, was one of the voters targeted by Florida as a potential noncitizen.  Internicola was ordered to prove his citizenship or lose the right to vote.

National Income and Product Accounts Gross Domestic Product, 1st quarter 2012 (second estimate); Corporate Profits, 1st quarter 2012 (preliminary estimate)  —  Real gross domestic product — the output of goods and services produced by labor and property located in the United States …

Jail for Edwards over Bunny money?  —  As the John Edwards jury deliberates, we should focus not just on his potential incarceration, but on what a guilty verdict could mean for all campaign finance regulation.  —  If Edwards is successfully prosecuted, we may be entering an “Alice in Wonderland” …

Puts Church on Lockdown Pastor Gets Death Threats  —  Members of an Indiana church say they've been flooded with death threats since video of a 3-year-old proudly singing, “Ain't no homos gonna make it to heaven” ... was posted on the Internet.  —  Multiple members of the Apostolic Truth Tabernacle Church …

Mega-donors: Quit picking on us  —  All they wanted was to get involved.  —  But to hear some of the biggest donors of 2012 tell it, their six- and seven-figure contributions have instead bought them nothing but grief.  —  Their personal lives are fodder for news stories.

In Milwaukee Post, Cardinal Authorized Paying Abusers  —  Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan of New York authorized payments of as much as $20,000 to sexually abusive priests as an incentive for them to agree to dismissal from the priesthood when he was the archbishop of Milwaukee.

Porn actor suspected of dismembering acquaintance still on the loose  —  (CNN) — The search continued Thursday for a gay porn actor suspected of dismembering his acquaintance, posting the video of the incident online and mailing the severed limbs to different locations in Ottawa …

BREAKING: Walmart Ends Financial Support For ALEC  —  The world's largest retailer, Walmart, has become the nineteenth group to leave the American Legislative Exchange Council.  Walmart's departure from the right-wing legislation-crafting group is particularly salient because the big box chain …

Montana bucks the court  —  Montana uses an interesting argument to justify defiance of a Supreme Court decision: Because the state is particularly prone to political corruption, it should be trusted to constrict First Amendment protections of political speech.

ISIS Reports  —  Further Activity at Suspected Parchin Explosive Testing Complex: Two Small Buildings Razed  —  Satellite imagery obtained by ISIS shows what appears to be further sanitization activity at the site in the Parchin military complex where Iran is suspected …