Daily Beast drops Howard Kurtz  —  The Daily Beast is dropping Howard Kurtz, the veteran media critic who made headlines this week for his erroneous report about NBA star Jason Collins.  —  “The Daily Beast and Howard Kurtz have parted company,” Tina Brown, the site's editor in chief, said in a statement sent to POLITICO.

The New Study that Republicans Who Reject Medicaid Must Read  —  A major new study on Medicaid just became public.  I know—nothing excites readers more than the phrase “major new study on Medicaid.”  Bear with me.  This study is already getting a lot of attention: Conservatives and libertarians …

Why I Am Signing Marriage Equality Into Law  —  PROVIDENCE, R.I.  —  ON Thursday, the Rhode Island House of Representatives is expected to approve legislation to extend the right to marry to all Rhode Islanders, regardless of sexual orientation.  I plan to sign the Marriage Equality Act …

Special ops called for military backup during Libya attack, sources say  —  On the night of the Benghazi terror attack, special operations put out multiple calls for all available military and other assets to be moved into position to help — but the State Department and White House never gave …

HPD: Bush IAH gunman left suicide note saying he had ‘monster within’  —  HOUSTON — A gunman walked into Bush Intercontinental Airport with an AR-15 and a handgun Thursday and fired at least two shots before shooting himself.  It happened in the ticket area inside Terminal B around 1:35 p.m.

Friend Who Had “Fling” With Dzhokhar Tsarnaev on the 3 Additional Suspects: “They All Idolized Jahar”  —  In an interview with Mother Jones, a woman who says she hooked up with Tsarnaev sheds light on him and his friends now in custody.  —  Azamat Tazhayakov, Dias Kadyrbayev, and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev.

The Rand Machine Ramps Up  —  Rand Paul's chief strategist is leaving his Senate post to run the Kentucky Republican's political shop.  —  Doug Stafford, who is widely seen as Paul's closest adviser, will soon resign as chief of staff to manage Paul's national political operation.

Obama ‘very comfortable’ with lowered age for ‘morning-after pill’  —  President Obama on Thursday said he is “very comfortable” with a new rule issued by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that would allow women ages 15 and older to buy the emergency contraceptive known as Plan B without a prescription.

C-SPAN's ‘Road to the White House 2016’ starts tomorrow  —  For those who still think it's too soon to be talking about 2016 ... tough luck.  —  On Friday, C-SPAN will start branding events with likely presidential hopefuls as “Road to the White House 2016.”

Attack on the U.S. Consulate in Libya  —  (CNN) — Several Yemeni men belonging to al Qaeda took part in the terrorist attack on the U.S. diplomatic compound in Benghazi last September, according to several sources who have spoken with CNN.  —  One senior U.S. law enforcement official told CNN that …

GOP Senator: I Voted Against Equal Pay For Women Because We Have Enough Laws  —  WARREN, NH — Women in full-time year-round jobs earned 77 cents for every dollar earned by a man.  Yet, at a town hall earlier this week, Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-NH) claimed that Congress has done enough to ensure that women receive equal pay for equal work.

Even With U.S. Guns, Syria's Rebels Still Might Lose  —  As the Obama administration debates belatedly arming the Syrian opposition, military analysts are arriving at an uncomfortable conclusion: the U.S. can't hand the rebels guns or rockets and expect them to topple dictator Bashar Assad.

Mountain Dew Releases Arguably the Most Racist Commercial in History Tweet  —  If you've never heard of Felicia the Goat, you'll know about her soon.  Felicia the Goat is the main character in a recent Mountain Dew commercial, created in part by Tyler the Creator.

In Mexico, Obama says that now is the right time for immigration reform  —  Mexico's booming economy and its growing ties with the United States make this the right time to pass immigration reform, President Obama said Thursday during his fourth trip south of the border.

FBI Adds Cop Killer Joanne Chesimard To Most Wanted Terrorist List  —  NEWARK, N.J. (CBSNewYork/AP) - The decades-old international case of a convicted cop killer is getting new attention in New Jersey.  —  It was 40 years ago today that New Jersey State Trooper Werner Foerster was shot …

Part-timers to lose pay amid health act's new math  —  Some workers are having their hours cut so employers won't have to cover them under Obamacare.  But many will benefit from the healthcare law's premium subsidies and Medicaid expansion.  —  “I understand there are costs to healthcare reform …

Terry McAuliffe Got Into an Argument About Socialized Medicine During His Son's Birth  —  When his daughter was being born, the Virginia Democrat's wife told him to attend a reporter's party.  Maybe this is why.  —  Despite the best efforts of Mark Sanford and Elizabeth Colbert Busch …

‘Smoking’ gun nets 60G fine  —  60G fine for cig lighter  —  The owner of a Midtown tourist shop is firing back at Mayor Bloomberg's crusade against toy guns, filing papers to block a $60,000 fine from the city for selling lighters shaped like small pistols.

Internet Strengthens Institution of Marriage  —  Does broadband lead to a wedding band?  —  New research that says thanks to the Internet, marriage rates among young people, which have been declining for years, are 15% to 30% higher than they would be without the Web.

Biden: ‘There Should Be Two Senators from the State of D.C.’  —  Last night in Washington, Joe Biden stated that abused women fear getting “raped again by the system.”  He also made the push that Washington, D.C. should be its own state, with two U.S. senators.  —  Via the pool report:

Colorado Legislature Passes Major Voting Rights Expansion Bill  —  Both houses of the Colorado legislature passed a major overhaul of state election law that would implement same-day registration and voting, automatically send mail-in ballots to every voter, and create a real-time statewide voter database to prevent fraud.