Top Items:

Baucus to retire rather than seek reelection in 2014, strategists say — View Photo Gallery —The 2014 midterm elections are just around the corner. These are the races to watch. — Baucus, 71, first elected in 1978,has been the top Democrat on the powerful committee since 2001.
RELATED:


Max Baucus retiring — Montana Sen. Max Baucus will not seek reelection in 2014, becoming the latest senior red-state Democrat to bail out of a potentially difficult reelection campaign, a senior Democratic official confirmed to POLITICO. — Baucus, the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee …
Discussion:
Fortune, Hit & Run, The Moderate Voice, The Cassandra Files, The Hinterland Gazette and Outside the Beltway


Internet Sales Tax Bill Gains Ground in Senate
Discussion:
Outside the Beltway, Wall Street Journal, Washington Monthly, Mashable, Wonkblog and Washington Post

Baucus Won't Seek Re-election to Senate
Discussion:
A plain blog about politics and Althouse

Boston Bombing Suspect Shootout Pictures — On Thursday night [Friday morning] at 12:45am EST. I was in my living room working on my computer when I heard multiple “pops” coming from outside. At that point, I had no idea that I was about to become an eye witness to the biggest news story in the country.
Discussion:
Business Insider, The Truth About Guns, Chicago Boyz, Deadspin, Weasel Zippers, CBS Boston, Outside the Beltway, Vox Popoli and Poynter


Why Boston Marathon Bombing Suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev's Autopsy Should Include A Check For CTE — Could the amateur boxing career of Tamerlan Tsarnaev, the deceased suspect in last week's Boston Marathon bombings, have had a role in the massacre? That's a question leading brain researchers …
Discussion:
FP Passport and msnbc.com
RELATED:


EXCLUSIVE: Chinese carjack victim of Boston bombers only escaped when they stopped for Red Bull... and they didn't kill him because he 'wasn't American' — Man carjacked by Boston bombing suspects says he was able to escape after Dzhokhar Tsarnaev went into a store for Red Bull and chocolate bars
Discussion:
Infowars, emptywheel, Business Insider and Riehl World News

Boston bombing suspect tells officials older brother was driving force behind attack — A U.S. government source tells CNN that in preliminary interviews with the Boston Marathon terrorist attack bombing suspect, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev has told law enforcement that no foreign terrorist groups …
Discussion:
Little Green Footballs, CNN, Gothamist, Gawker, Outside the Beltway and Riehl World News


Boston bombing suspect cites U.S. wars as motivation, officials say — The 19-year-old suspect in the Boston Marathon bombings has told interrogators that the American wars in Iraq and Afghanistan motivated him and his brother to carry out the attack, according to U.S. officials familiar with the interviews.
RELATED:


John McCain and Lindsey Graham's ludicrous, harmful campaign to get him declared one. — Sen. Lindsey Graham pushed for Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev to be declared an enemy combatant. — A group of Republican senators, led by Lindsey Graham and John McCain …
Discussion:
Hot Air, ImmigrationProf Blog, The Hinterland Gazette, Daily Kos, Wall Street Journal and msnbc.com

Napolitano: Homeland Security knew about Boston suspect's trip to Russia
Discussion:
Politico


Nevada Senate Votes To Repeal Ban On Same-Sex Couples' Marriages — During the course of the debate, Nevada Sen. Kelvin Atkinson told his colleagues — and the world — that he is gay. Monday's vote was the first step in a long process. — WASHINGTON — Late Monday …
Discussion:
Joe. My. God. and Shakesville
RELATED:


French lawmakers approve same-sex marriage bill
Discussion:
Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Advocate and Balloon Juice

In split vote, Nevada Senate passes measure to begin repeal of gay marriage ban
Discussion:
ThinkProgress, msnbc.com, Advocate, Truth Wins Out, The Raw Story, Towleroad News #gay, Post Politics and Wonkette


As Bush library opening puts his presidency back in the spotlight, his approval rating is up — George W. Bush will return to the spotlight this week for the dedication of his presidential library, an event likely to trigger fresh public debate about his eight fateful years in office.
Discussion:
The Hill, The Fix, Guardian, No More Mister Nice Blog and Weasel Zippers
RELATED:

Bush is back — It took less than 4 1/2 years of the Obama presidency …
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, Balloon Juice and Daniel W. Drezner


In Gun Bill Defeat, a President Who Hesitates to Twist Arms — WASHINGTON — Senator Mark Begich, Democrat of Alaska, asked President Obama's administration for a little favor last month. Send your new interior secretary this spring to discuss a long-simmering dispute over construction …
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, American Prospect, Spectator, The Maddow Blog, The Plum Line, Mediaite, The Caucus, Booman Tribune and American Power
RELATED:

USA TODAY Poll: Public support for gun control ebbs
Discussion:
protein wisdom, Reuters, msnbc.com, Right Wing News, NewsBusters, Twitchy, Hot Air, National Review, Weasel Zippers and Sense of Events

UN Official Justifies Boston Bombings as ‘Retribution’, Blames America & ‘Tel Aviv’ — Richard Falk warns of “worse blowbacks,” says “Those to whom evil is done, do evil in return” — In a letter sent today to UN chief Ban Ki-moon and U.S. Ambassador Susan Rice (see below) …
Discussion:
The PJ Tatler
RELATED:

A Commentary on the Marathon Murders
Discussion:
BREITBART.COM, “The Lid”, Weasel Zippers and Israel Matzav

Mitt Romney's all-star retreat in June will include David Axelrod, Chris Christie, Paul Ryan — WASHINGTON — Mitt Romney this morning announced a series of high-profile speakers who will address a retreat that the former Republican presidential nominee is putting together in June.
Discussion:
CNN, The Hill, Post Politics and Taegan Goddard's …


Most Expect ‘Occasional Acts of Terrorism’ in the Future — Six-in-Ten Say Post-9/11 Steps Have Made Country Safer — OVERVIEW — Last week's bombings at the Boston Marathon attracted broad public interest: 63% of Americans say they followed the story very closely, among the highest interest in any news story in the past decade.
Discussion:
Business Insider, CNN, ABCNEWS and Washington Post

Mississippi man released after arrest in ricin-letter probe — The Mississippi man charged with sending ricin-laced letters to President Obama has been released, the U.S. Marshals Service said Tuesday. — Jeff Woodfin, chief deputy with the U.S. Marshals Service in Oxford, Miss. …
Discussion:
The Gateway Pundit and The Right Scoop


Army Removes Bible Reference from Scopes — The U.S. Army is directing troops to remove a Bible inscription that a vendor etched into the serial numbers of weapon scopes, Fox News has learned. — Soldiers at Fort Wainwright in Alaska told Fox News they received a directive to turn …
Discussion:
The Jawa Report, The Right Scoop, Conservatives4Palin, The Gateway Pundit and Weasel Zippers


Injury toll from Marathon bombings rises to 282 — Only two patients wounded in the Boston Marathon bombings remained in critical condition Monday, but the count of injured people who were treated in area hospitals has risen sharply to 282, according to the Boston Public Health Commission.
Discussion:
The Lede and Weasel Zippers
RELATED:

Injury Toll From Boston Marathon Bombings Rises To Nearly 300 People
Discussion:
Wired, Shakesville and New York Times


Time for Growth: Austerity Has ‘Reached its Limits,’ Barroso Says — European Commission President José Manuel Barroso has said that Europe has reached the political limits of its austerity measures, suggesting that crisis countries should get more time to consolidate their budgets.
Discussion:
Hullabaloo


Marco Rubio's Immigration Plan Sparks Conservative Civil War — “It's a circular firing squad that Republicans are famous for, we're eating our young,” Gabriel says. Rubio versus the Breitbartians. — Rubio, flanked by Sen. Charles Schumer, left, and Sen. John McCain, right.
Discussion:
Booman Tribune


What BP Doesn't Want You to Know About the 2010 Gulf Spill — The 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill was even worse than BP wanted us to know. — “It's as safe as Dawn dishwashing liquid.” That's what Jamie Griffin says the BP man told her about the smelly, rainbow-streaked gunk coating the floor of the …
Discussion:
ThinkProgress