EXCLUSIVE: Saudi Arabia ‘warned the United States IN WRITING about Boston Bomber Tamerlan Tsarnaev in 2012’  — Saudis developed intelligence separately from Russia, which also warned the U.S. about the accused Boston bomber  — A letter to the Department of Homeland Security allegedly named Tsarnaev …

Bottoms Up, Lame Duck  —  During the 2012 campaign, the president and his top advisers liked to make the argument that if he was re-elected, the “fever” would break.  Washington would no longer be the graveyard of progress, the crypt of consensus.  Once dystopian Republicans accepted …

A House in chaos  —  Less than two weeks ago, House Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy walked upstairs to Majority Leader Eric Cantor's Capitol office to discuss a sensitive issue: Why did Cantor schedule a vote before McCarthy had the chance to survey Republican support?

DIRTY TRICKS: Mysterious Conservative Group Sending Out Push Polls In South Carolina Special Election  —  HILTON HEAD, South Carolina — A mysterious conservative group has been placing highly-misleading phone calls to South Carolina voters, trying to dissuade them from voting for the Democrat …

Cruz 2016  —  Freshman senator Ted Cruz is considering a presidential run, according to his friends and confidants.  —  Cruz won't talk about it publicly, and even privately he's cagey about revealing too much of his thought process or intentions.  But his interest is undeniable.

ADP reports 119K private job gains in April  —  Businesses added 119,000 jobs in March, payroll processor ADP said Wednesday, below economists' expectations.  Job growth picked up from the prior month but remained mired in a spring slowdown.  —  Economists' consensus forecast was for private-sector gains of 150,000.

Gabriel E. Gomez wins GOP nod in special US Senate primary; Edward J. Markey to run for the Democrats  —  Will he be the next Scott Brown?  —  Gabriel E. Gomez, a 47-year-old son of immigrants who became a Navy pilot and SEAL before becoming a private equity investor, won the Republican nomination tonight …

Most want death penalty for Dzhokhar Tsarnaev if he is convicted of Boston bombing  —  A large majority of Americans support the death penalty for the suspect in the Boston Marathon bombing should he be convicted in federal court, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.

Jason Collins' Ex-Fiancee — I Had NO IDEA He Was Gay  —  JASON COLLINS' EX-FIANCEE  —  I Had NO IDEA He Was Gay  —  EXCLUSIVE DETAILS  —  The woman who was once engaged to NBA star Jason Collins tells TMZ, she had NO CLUE he was gay at the time of their relationship ... in fact …

Sarah Palin for Senate?  Some tea party activists want her to run  —  SEATTLE — Sarah Palin's last elective position in Alaska ended early when in 2009 she abandoned the governorship midway through her first term.  —  But tea party activists appear eager for a comeback …

The killers among us  —  They blend in.  They don't make threats.  They carefully plan their attacks rather than “snap.”  They may be quite sane.  —  Their friends, acquaintances and relatives sometimes know they are planning to plant bombs or shoot their victims but say nothing to authorities in advance.

FDA approves Plan B One-Step emergency contraceptive without a prescription for women 15 years of age and older  —  The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today announced that it has approved an amended application submitted by Teva Women's Health, Inc. to market Plan B One-Step …

NH Man Loses Life Savings On Carnival Game  —  Henry Gribbohm says he lost his life savings on a carnival game and all he got was this stuffed banana.  (CBS)  —  EPSOM, NH (CBS) - Henry Gribbohm says he lost his life savings, $2,600, on a carnival game and all he has to show for it is a stuffed banana with dreadlocks.

GOP Census Bill Would Eliminate America's Economic Indicators  —  WASHINGTON — A group of Republicans are cooking up legislation that could give President Barack Obama an unintentional assist with disagreeable unemployment numbers — by eliminating the key economic statistic altogether.

GOP Battles A Threat To Gun Rights That Even The NRA Says Doesn't Exist  —  Republican lawmakers are pushing legislation aimed at combating a threat to gun rights that even the National Rifle Association has described as pure fiction.  —  A bill introduced late last week by Sen. James Inhofe …

Allbritton exploring sale of television stations  —  The following memo was just sent to POLITICO staff from Robert Allbritton, the chairman and CEO of Allbritton Communications, our parent company:

5-year-old boy accidentally shoots, kills 2-year-old sister in Cumberland County  —  A 5-year-old boy who was playing with a .22-caliber rifle accidentally shot and killed his 2-year-old sister in Cumberland County on Tuesday afternoon, according to a news release from the state police.

David Brooks and the Role of Opinion Journalism  —  Bizarro Ricin Suspect Trashed Ricin-Laced Evidence Near His Tae Kwon Do Dojo  —  The latest offensive, or counter-offensive, in the passive-aggressive Cold War between David Brooks and Paul Krugman has taken the form of an entire Brooks column …

Deanna Durbin, Plucky Movie Star of the Depression Era, Is Dead at 91  —  Deanna Durbin, who as a plucky child movie star with a sweet soprano voice charmed American audiences during the Depression and saved Universal Pictures from bankruptcy before she vanished from public view 64 years ago, has died, a fan club announced on Tuesday.