Bomb North Korea, Before It's Too Late  —  SINCE February, the North Korean government has followed one threatening move with another.  The spiral began with an underground nuclear test.  Then the North declared the armistice that ended the Korean War invalid.

Republican Senator Collins of Maine to vote yes on background checks  —  Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, is the first GOP senator to say publicly she will vote for the bipartisan compromise on expanded background checks for the sale of guns online and at gun shows.  NBC's Kelly O'Donnell reports.

The Terrifying Reality of Long-Term Unemployment  —  It's an awful catch-22: employers won't hire you if you've been out of work for more than six months  —  Close your eyes and picture the scariest thing you can think of.  Maybe it's a giant spider or a giant Stay Puft marshmellow man or something that's not even giant at all.

The Anthony Weiner-Mark Sanford comeback playbook  —  What do Anthony Weiner and Mark Sanford have in common?  A comeback playbook.  —  The two are the latest examples of the accelerated post-sex scandal cycle, in which public rehabilitation can be attempted with a straight face just a few short years after the original sin.

Balance and Bias  —  THE traditional American mass media — the crumbling, Internet-besieged edifice of newspapers and news shows, magazines and roundtables and journalism schools — evolved to believe with equal vigor in two not entirely compatible ideals.  —  One is an ideal of balance …

RUBIO ON IMMIGRATION DEAL: ‘not take-it-or-leave-it’ — NYT FLOATS ELIZABETH WARREN as possible 2016 liberal challenger to Hillary, Biden — WRIGLEY FIELD may get left-field Jumbotron  —  THE FULL MARCO: Sen. Marco Rubio pre-tapes seven Sunday-show two-ways from the Biltmore Hotel in Miami this a.m. …

Scott Brown mum on N.H. Senate run  —  Former Massachusetts Sen. Scott Brown wasn't giving any previews about a possible Senate run in New Hampshire Sunday.  —  “I'm not going to comment on that, obviously,” the Republican said on “Fox News Sunday,” “Nothing is off the table, and nothing is on the table.

Dazzling Northern Lights Anticipated Tonight  —  A solar flare that occurred around 2 a.m. Thursday morning may create a spectacular display of northern lights Saturday evening.  The midlevel flare had a long duration and was directed at Earth.  According to AccuWeather.com Astronomer Hunter Outten …

Dad Furious After Finding This Crayon-Written Paper in Florida 4th-Grader's Backpack: ‘I Am Willing to Give Up Some of My Constitutional Rights...to Be Safer’  —  The words are written in crayon, in the haphazard bumpiness of a child's scrawl.  —  “I am willing to give up some of my constitutional rights …

By Phone or by Text, Golf Entertains Second-Guessers  —  AUGUSTA, Ga. — In golf, and almost no other sport, interactive, real-time communication between armchair television viewers and referees supervising the competition routinely changes rulings and alters the outcomes of tournaments.