Tamerlan Tsarnaev vowed to die for Islam; judge may have prematurely stopped brother's interrogation, sources say  —  EXCLUSIVE: Boston Marathon bomber Tamerlan Tsarnaev sent text messages to his mother as early as 2011 suggesting he was willing to die for Islam, the FBI told lawmakers …

Barbara Bush on Jeb run: 'We've had enough Bushes'  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — Amid the celebration surrounding the opening of son George W. Bush's presidential library Thursday, former first lady Barbara Bush brushed aside talk of a Jeb Bush run for the White House in 2016.

Lawmakers, aides may get Obamacare exemption  —  Congressional leaders in both parties are engaged in high-level, confidential talks about exempting lawmakers and Capitol Hill aides from the insurance exchanges they are mandated to join as part of President Barack Obama's health care overhaul, sources in both parties said.

Secret Tape: Top GOP Consultant Luntz Calls Limbaugh “Problematic”  —  At a talk to college students, Republican pollster Frank Luntz would only chastise Rush Limbaugh and right-wing radio off the record.  —  Frank Luntz, the media-friendly Republican consultant and word wiz …

Mars Rover ‘Draws’ Penis On Red Planet & NASA Picture Goes Viral (PHOTO, VIDEO)  —  NASA's high-tech Curiosity rover may be getting a little cheeky over there on Mars.  —  In a photo of Curiosity's track patterns, published on the robotics section of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory site …

What we've learned about Bush since he left town  —  DALLAS — The one duty we owe to history, said Oscar Wilde, is to rewrite it.  —  Four years after leaving office, the history of George W. Bush's presidency is being rewritten — ever-so-slowly, and not yet in ways that fundamentally …

Mom wore a burka to go undercover in Egypt and take back her son, 12, who was kidnapped by his father and forced to live as a Muslim  —  A mother dressed up in a burka and flew to Egypt to take back her son who had been kidnapped by his father and forced to live as a Muslim.

Body pulled from water in Providence ID'd as missing Brown student  —  PROVIDENCE, R.I. — A body pulled from the water Tuesday at India Point Park has been identified as that of Sunil Tripathi, a Brown University student last seen March 15.  —  A forensic dental examination confirmed the identification …

Wikipedia's Sexism Toward Female Novelists  —  I JUST noticed something strange on Wikipedia.  It appears that gradually, over time, editors have begun the process of moving women, one by one, alphabetically, from the “American Novelists” category to the “American Women Novelists” subcategory.

Fourth explosion in fuel barge fire  —  MFRD: More explosions a concern  —  MOBILE, Ala (WALA) - UPDATE: 10:07 p.m. - Mobile Mayor Sam Jones said Mobile Fire-Rescue will let the fire burn out on its own to prevent further injuries.  —  9:50 p.m. - A fourth explosion just occurred around 9:50 p.m …

GE Capital Cuts Off Lending to Gun Shops  —  General Electric Co. is quietly cutting off lending to gun shops, as the company rethinks its relationship to firearms amid the fallout from the school shooting in Newtown, Conn.  —  This month, Glenn Duncan, owner of Duncan's Outdoor Store in Bay City …

McCain, Schumer warn House: Bill lacking path to citizenship a ‘nonstarter’  —  The Senate authors of comprehensive immigration reform legislation have a blunt message for their House colleagues: the final package must include a path to citizenship for the 11 million illegal immigrants.

Escapee from psychiatric hospital slashes rabbi, son with box-cutter outside Paris synagogue  —  PARIS — An escapee from a psychiatric institution slashed a rabbi and his son with a box-cutter on Tuesday, prompting witnesses to tackle and subdue the attacker after a chase through a Paris synagogue, officials said.

Boehner-led cost-cutting saving millions in the House  —  WASHINGTON — The House of Representatives will spend 15% less on its own operations this year than it did three years ago under a cost-cutting effort launched by Speaker John Boehner that is on pace to save taxpayers more than $400 million by the end of this year