“I'm a 34-year-old NBA center.  I'm black.  And I'm gay,” says Jason Collins.  —  I'm a 34-year-old NBA center.  I'm black.  And I'm gay.  —  I didn't set out to be the first openly gay athlete playing in a major American team sport.  But since I am, I'm happy to start the conversation.

More backlash against Senators on gun vote  —  New PPP polls in Alaska, Arizona, Nevada, and Ohio find serious backlash against the 5 Senators who voted against background checks in those states.  Each of them has seen their approval numbers decline, and voters say they're less likely …

O'Connor worries Supreme Court was wrong to rule in Bush v. Gore  —  Former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor said in an interview published this weekend that she is no longer certain that the Supreme Court should have taken Bush v. Gore, the controversial case that ended …

‘Misha’ Speaks: An Interview with the Alleged Boston Bomber's ‘Svengali’  —  As the investigation of the Boston Marathon bombings continues, one of the more clouded aspects is the tale of “Misha,” a mysterious US-based Islamist who has been accused by members of the Tsarnaev family …

If Hillary is running for prez, I'm out  —  Cuomo quietly ‘concedes’ 2016 race  —  Gov. Cuomo has quietly told associates that he is resigned to the fact that he can't run for president in 2016 if Hillary Rodham Clinton enters the race, as is widely expected, sources told The Post.

Antiabortion group releases videos of clinic workers discussing live births  —  An antiabortion group that mounted a six-month undercover investigation has released videos this week that raise questions about what might happen to a baby as a result of an unsuccessful abortion.

House Republicans Eyeing New Hostage Opportunity  —  If you don't submit, I will destroy your puny world with this HAMMER OF THOR.  —  The House Republicans are contemplating a new budget-hostage strategy, the the Washington Post reports in a story that is both highly useful and inadvertently Onion-esque.

Black pols stymied in Obama era  —  More than five years after Barack Obama won the Iowa caucuses and demolished the notion that white voters wouldn't support a black presidential candidate, progress for other African-American politicians remains elusive.  Even as the country elected and reelected Obama …

How Austerity Is Literally Killing People  —  Austerity in the United States and Europe isn't just placing an unnecessary drag on economic growth that has harmed the global economic recovery from the Great Recession.  The rapid deficit reduction efforts are also making people less healthy …

C.I.A. Delivers Cash to Afghan Leader's Office  —  KABUL, Afghanistan — For more than a decade, wads of American dollars packed into suitcases, backpacks and, on occasion, plastic shopping bags have been dropped off every month or so at the offices of Afghanistan's president — courtesy of the Central Intelligence Agency.

Rare Exclusive: JEB BUSH: Conservatives are winning ... in the states  —  The conventional wisdom coming from the 2012 election was the Republican Party is in decline.  We lost on messaging, tone and policies that alienated growing minority communities.  What that narrative misses …

The Story of Our Time  —  Those of us who have spent years arguing against premature fiscal austerity have just had a good two weeks.  Academic studies that supposedly justified austerity have lost credibility; hard-liners in the European Commission and elsewhere have softened their rhetoric.

Ron Paul slams Boston ‘occupation’  —  Former Rep. Ron Paul said the police response to the Boston Marathon bombings was scarier than the bombing itself, which killed three and wounded more than 250.  —  “The Boston bombing provided the opportunity for the government to turn …

We tried to weaponize the weather  —  Cold War secrets: Melting polar ice cap with nukes, changing the sea level, even LSD weapons were all on the table  —  Excerpted from “Arming Mother Nature: The Birth of Catastrophic Environmentalism”  —  The years between the rst hydrogen bomb tests …

Branstad on Senate race: “The last thing we need is another congressman” (AUDIO)  —  Republican Governor Terry Branstad seems to be suggesting Republican Congressman Steve King either is not running or should not run for the U.S. Senate.  —  “I really believe that Iowans want somebody …

After string of setbacks, more charm may be the last, best option for Obama  —  There was little time to mingle Tuesday night at the White House.  Five minutes after greeting them, President Obama ushered 20 female senators into the State Dining Room and invited each to offer her thoughts on the issues of the day.