Elizabeth Colbert Busch Goes There On Argentine Affair In Debate With Mark Sanford  —  In their first and only debate ahead of a May 7 special election for the House, Mark Sanford (R) and Elizabeth Colbert Busch (D) sparred over budgets, guns, and — of course — the Republican candidate's personal life.

ESPN Sportscaster Immediately Trashes First Out NBA Player: Jason Collins Is Not ‘A Christian’  —  An ESPN sportscaster went on the air on Monday to publicly gay-bash Jason Collins, the NBA player who came out Monday morning in an emotional op-ed, the first active male player of a major American sport to come out.

Obama administration officials threatened whistle-blowers on Benghazi, lawyer says  —  At least four career officials at the State Department and the Central Intelligence Agency have retained lawyers or are in the process of doing so, as they prepare to provide sensitive information …

GOP presses its agenda on ‘mommy blog’ sites  —  WASHINGTON — House Republicans are targeting popular “mommy blog” websites in a digital ad campaign beginning Tuesday as part of an ongoing effort to repair the GOP's image with certain voting blocs — in this case swing female voters …

Don't be a jerk, Sen. Cruz.  —  It is a shopworn technique of hard-line conservatives to declare themselves men and women of principle in contrast to those other Republicans — the ones, you know, who pass legislation and try to represent their constituents.

Tsarnaev family received $100G in benefits  —  By:  —  The Tsarnaev family, including the suspected terrorists and their parents, benefited from more than $100,000 in taxpayer-funded assistance — a bonanza ranging from cash and food stamps to Section 8 housing from 2002 to 2012, the Herald has learned.

Class Warfare for Republicans  —  As a Truman-style Democrat left politically homeless, I am often asked about the future of the Republican Party.  Some Republicans want to push racial buttons on issues like immigration, or try to stop their political slide on gay marriage …

Female DNA Found on Bomb in Boston Attack  —  Investigators have found female DNA on at least one of the bombs used in the Boston Marathon attacks, though they haven't determined whose DNA it is or whether that means a woman helped the two suspects carry out the attacks, according to U.S. officials briefed on the probe.

Republican Immigration Nightmare Could Recur  —  In 2007, Republicans waged culture war on undocumented immigrants — and they've been paying for it at the ballot box ever since.  Back in the bunker.  —  Minutemen demonstrate in Los Angeles in May 2007.  —  For the Republicans in Washington …

FBI looking into relationship between McDonnells, donor  —  FBI agents are conducting interviews about the relationship between Virginia Gov. Robert F. McDonnell, his wife, Maureen, and a major campaign donor who paid for the food at the wedding of the governor's daughter, according to four people familiar with the questioning.

Modest Support for Military Force if Syria Used Chemical Weapons  —  Americans Express Little Interest in Syrian Conflict  —  OVERVIEW  —  By a 45% to 31% margin, more Americans favor than oppose the U.S. and its allies taking military action against Syria, if it is confirmed …

Radioactive Water Imperils Fukushima Plant  —  TOKYO — Two years after a triple meltdown that grew into the world's second worst nuclear disaster, the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant is faced with a new crisis: a flood of highly radioactive wastewater that workers are struggling to contain.

Obama's Judicial Nominees Blocked On All Sides By Senate Republicans  —  WASHINGTON — It's bad enough that there are 82 vacant federal judge slots around the country, a level so high that many observers have deemed it a crisis situation.  —  But perhaps even more startling is the fact …

Publisher Is Backing Off a Book About Cuomo in Favor of One Written by Him  —  ALBANY — HarperCollins is backing away from plans to publish a biography of Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo by one of New York's best-known political journalists, and instead has agreed to publish a memoir by the governor.