“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 …

More Phony Outrage  —  Well, the transition among antichoicers from drawing attention to the illegal horrors of Dr. Gosnell's clinic in Philadelphia to a challenge to legal abortions generally is moving along at a pretty good pace, viz. this New York Post column by Kyle Smith: … Well, I don't know.

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 …

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.

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.

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 …

Dem resolution warns climate change could push women to ‘transactional sex’  —  Several House Democrats are calling on Congress to recognize that climate change is hurting women more than men, and could even drive poor women to “transactional sex” for survival.

‘You Son Of A B*tch’: Furious Boston Man Confronts ‘A**hole’ Alex Jones Reporter Over ‘False Flag’ Allegations  —  An InfoWars.com reporter found himself the subject of verbal scorn last week when he appeared in Boston with press badge and camera in tow.  An irate Boston resident confronted …

Biden Needles Graham: ‘I Will Rip Your Skin Off’ #SCsen  —  Graham is up for re-election in 2014.  (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call)  —  Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. offered Sen. Lindsey Graham his support for re-election — including a pledge to “rip your skin off for you” if it helps the South Carolina Republican's 2014 prospects.

‘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 …

Austerity is hurting our health, say researchers  —  (Reuters) - Austerity is having a devastating effect on health in Europe and North America, driving suicide, depression and infectious diseases and reducing access to medicines and care, researchers said on Monday.

Cruz Breaks With Senate Tradition While Criticizing Colleagues  —  In his short time at the Capitol, Senator Ted Cruz, a freshman Republican from Texas, has shown little regard for long-standing rules of decorum.  But on Friday, he publicly discussed the closed-door dealings …

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 …

U.S. Lawmaker Proposes New Criteria for Choosing NSF Grants  —  The new chair of the House of Representatives science committee has drafted a bill that, in effect, would replace peer review at the National Science Foundation (NSF) with a set of funding criteria chosen by Congress.

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.