The 20-lb. swag bag from People/Time's White House Correspondent's party  —  Pictured below: a disgorged swag bag from the Time/People pre-WHCD cocktail party.  It weighed in at 20.6 lbs on an Post bathroom scale (very technical stuff, here).  —  Whoa, isn't the media industry struggling with hard times?

The Great Degrader  —  I've been focused on economic policy lately, so I sort of missed the big push to rehabilitate Bush's image; also, as a premature anti-Bushist who pointed out how terrible a president he was back when everyone else was praising him as a Great Leader, I'm kind of worn out on the subject.

Hand back your benefits, Iain Duncan Smith urges wealthier pensioners  —  Better-off pensioners should voluntarily pay back their taxpayer-funded benefits, the Work and Pensions Secretary declares.  —  Iain Duncan Smith says he “would encourage” elderly people who can well afford to pay …

Rep. Schiff defends reading Boston attack suspect Miranda rights  —  Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) on Sunday defended the decision to read the Boston bombings suspect his Miranda rights, saying that there was no basis for law enforcement to continue questioning him under the public safety exemption.

Black Voter Turnout Passed White Turnout For The First Time In 2012  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — America's blacks voted at a higher rate than other minority groups in 2012 and by most measures surpassed the white turnout for the first time, reflecting a deeply polarized presidential election …

APNewsBreak: Russia caught bomb suspect on wiretap  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — Russian authorities secretly recorded a telephone conversation in 2011 in which one of the Boston bombing suspects vaguely discussed jihad with his mother, officials said Saturday, days after the U.S. government finally received details about the call.

Kentucky woman ordained as priest in defiance of Roman Catholic Church  —  (Reuters) - In an emotional ceremony filled with tears and applause, a 70-year-old Kentucky woman was ordained a priest on Saturday as part of a dissident group operating outside of official Roman Catholic Church authority.

Nigerian senator says 228 killed in gunfight with Islamists  —  (Reuters) - A gunbattle between security forces and Islamist insurgents in Nigeria a week ago killed 228 people, a local senator said on Saturday, putting the death toll six times higher than the government's estimate.

Biden, McCain discuss gun control, foreign policy in Sedona  —  FONT:  —  SEDONA — Vice President Joe Biden said Friday in an appearance with Sen. John McCain that Americans' views on gun control have shifted despite the recent Senate defeat of a bipartisan compromise on gun-buyer background checks.

Mississippi man targeted in ricin letters investigation arrested  —  (Reuters) - Federal agents arrested a Mississippi martial arts instructor on Saturday after his home and a former business were searched as part of an investigation into ricin-laced letters sent to President Barack Obama and two other public officials.