Tamerlan Tsarnaev got Mass. welfare benefits  —  By:  —  Marathon bombings mastermind Tamerlan Tsarnaev was living on taxpayer-funded state welfare benefits even as he was delving deep into the world of radical anti-American Islamism, the Herald has learned.

Former Romney campaign intern busted in nude-pics blackmail scheme  —  Adam Savader, who also interned for Newt Gingrich and Paul Ryan, is charged with illegally obtaining nude photos of 15 women and threatening to make them public unless they sent more.  He is currently being held pending his bail hearing.

Turbulence at The Times  —  One Monday morning in April, Jill Abramson called Dean Baquet into her office to complain.  The executive editor of The New York Times was upset about the paper's recent news coverage — she felt it wasn't “buzzy” enough, a source there said — and placed blame on Baquet, her managing editor.

Budget Cuts, Minus the Inconvenience  —  On Monday, after the sequester cuts forced the Federal Aviation Administration to begin furloughs for air traffic controllers, delays began to build up at airports around the country.  Travelers had to wait, but nothing delayed Republicans from scurrying away from all responsibility.

Mixed Reactions to Senate Gun Vote  —  Democrats More Disappointed than Angry  —  OVERVIEW  —  The key Senate vote that halted gun control legislation last week is drawing a mixed reaction from the American public: 47% express negative feelings about the vote while 39% have a positive reaction …

Hillary Clinton hits the speaking circuit  —  Hillary Clinton's next chapter — the paid speaking circuit — begins today.  —  The former first lady, senator and secretary of state has overnight become one of the most in-demand speakers in the world — as a a reported $200,000-a-pop fee attests …

Bush on Cheney: 'It's been cordial'  —  Former President George W. Bush is in the midst of a media blitz to promote the Thursday opening of his presidential library and has generally projected a jaunty, at-peace air as he takes questions about his tumultuous eight years in the White House.

Former GOP Candidate Reacts After Man He Allegedly Framed For Ricin Poisoning Is Released  —  A former Republican candidate for Mississippi's House of Representatives named J. Everett Dutschke expressed disbelief and dismay Tuesday shortly after a man he was accused of framing for mailing letters …

Will Wyden's Rise Create More Democratic Headaches?  —  Liberals may have cheered when Montana Sen. Max Baucus announced he would retire in 2014 and give up his stranglehold on the Senate Finance Committee gavel.  But the likely ascent of Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden to the top of the committee creates its own problems for Democrats.

Why the American public isn't mad as hell about the failure of the gun bill (in numbers)  —  Not so much, according to a new Washington Post-Pew Research Center poll.  Yes, a plurality (47 percent) describe themselves as either “angry” or “disappointed” about the failure of the gun legislation …

Ron Paul fans furious over Rand Paul's drone flip-flop  —  Ron Paul's vibrant fan base is in open rebellion today over Rand Paul's perceived reversal on domestic drone strikes.  The Kentucky senator, whose famous 13-hour Senate floor filibuster did much to strengthen his ties …

Russia contacted US government ‘multiple’ times  —  WASHINGTON — Russian authorities alerted the US government not once but “multiple” times over their concerns about Tamerlan Tsarnaev — including a second time nearly a year after he was first interviewed by FBI agents in Boston …

Obama's tattoo threat  —  President Barack Obama revealed he and first lady Michelle Obama have a master plan to prevent their two daughters from getting tattoos.  —  “What we've said to the girls is that 'If you guys ever decide to get a tattoo, then Mommy and me will get the exact same tattoo …

Twitter Now Has a Two-Step Solution  —  Twitter has a working two-step security solution undergoing internal testing before incrementally rolling it out to users, something it hopes to begin doing shortly, Wired has learned.  —  Such a system will drastically reduce the risk of Twitter users having …

Mosque that Boston suspects attended has radical ties  —  Terror suspects, fugitives and radical speakers have passed through the Cambridge mosque that the Tsarnaev brothers are known to have visited.  —  BOSTON — The mosque attended by the two brothers accused in the Boston Marathon bombing …

Hundreds of service workers strike in Chicago  —  Hundreds of fast food and retail workers went on strike in Chicago Wednesday morning in a labor action consciously modeled on New York City's fast food workers campaign and the nationwide Walmart strike which occurred last Thanksgiving.

WH knew electric car maker Fisker was faltering: AP  —  Newly obtained documents show the Obama administration was warned as early as 2010 that electric car maker Fisker Automotive Inc. was not meeting milestones set up for a half-billion dollar government loan, nearly a year before U.S. officials froze …

House GOP Seeks To Trap Dems On Preexisting Conditions  —  House Republicans have set up a Wednesday vote on legislation designed to simultaneously undermine a piece of Obamacare and give themselves a pretext to say they're interested in helping people with preexisting conditions.

Democratic Sen. Baucus rules out 7th term  —  HELENA — U.S. Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., confirmed Tuesday morning that he won't be running for re-election in 2014, bringing to an end a 40-year career in Congress, including the last 36 years in the U.S. Senate.

Stacey Campfield in hot water over joke about assault pressure cookers  —  State Sen. Stacey Campfield joked on his personal blog Monday about “assault pressure cookers” in the wake of last week's bombing in Boston.  Then, the Knoxville Republican said a few hours later that he had been contacted by …