Justice Dept. to appeal judge's order on Plan B pill  —  Obama administration seeks to block decision that would end all age restrictions on May 5.  Action comes day after FDA allowed emergency contraception to be sold to girls 15 years old without prescription.

Oregon and Medicaid and Evidence and CHILL, PEOPLE!  —  This is a joint post by Aaron Carroll and Austin Frakt.  Relevant to this post, recently we have published three papers arguing for expansion of Medicaid, not relative to all possible other reforms, but relative to the status quo.

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.

UW Police: Facebook post was a hoax — UPDATED  —  Citation: UW woman ‘admitted’ making controversial statement  —  The University of Wyoming Police Department issued a citation Monday afternoon in Albany County Circuit Court for Meg Lanker-Simons, a woman allegedly threatened last week …

The systemic plight of labor  —  It's May Day, and Henry Blodget is celebrating — if that's the right word — with three charts, of which the most germane is the one above.  It shows total US wages as a proportion of total US GDP — a number which continues to hit all-time lows.

Obama prods liberals to give-and-take on Senate immigration bill  —  President Obama is warning liberal supporters that their push to make changes in a comprehensive immigration bill could jeopardize the strategy of Senate leaders, who are aiming to win up to 70 votes for the measure.

Six Ways to Separate Lies From Statistics  —  The discovery of a spreadsheet error in an influential study by Harvard University economists Carmen Reinhart and Kenneth Rogoff inevitably raises a troubling question: To what extent can we trust what any researcher claims to be true?

Woman missing 11 years turns up alive  —  (CNN) — A Pennsylvania woman who mysteriously disappeared 11 years ago has resurfaced in Florida, saying that she just walked out on her family, her life and her problems.  —  Brenda Heist, 54, turned herself into authorities in Key Largo …

Penny Pritzker to be nominated for Commerce secretary … Making official what many Democrats have expected for weeks, President Obama plans to nominate Chicago business executive Penny Pritzker, a longtime political supporter and heavyweight fundraiser, as his new Commerce secretary this morning.

The Time Terry McAuliffe Left The Delivery Room For A Washington Post Party  —  Another time: “We got to the dinner and by then Dorothy was in tears, and I left her with Justin and went inside.”  But he raised a million bucks.  —  Source: youtube.com  —  Former Democratic National Committee …

What Ted Cruz knows  —  Ted Cruz for president?  —  What you just heard was the sound of a thousand eyeballs rolling in Washington and Austin, where the freshman senator's transparent ambition and self-regard have earned him more than a few detractors during his first few months in office.

Florida School Responds to Criticism for Expelling Student Over Science Project: “There Are Consequences to Actions”  —  By all accounts, Kiera Wilmot's science experiment gone wrong triggered just a tiny pop and a small amount of smoke at Bartow High School last week — but her tale is certifiably blowing up the Internet today.

Too-Big-to-Fail Takes Another Body Blow  —  Minds are changing on Too Big to Fail.  A month ago, it was just something in the air.  Now, it looks like we're headed for a real legislative confrontation.  And man, is the finance sector freaking.  —  Last week, on April 24th …

Meat Processing Plant Ordered To Pay Mentally Disabled Workers $240 Million For Decades Of Abuse  —  A badly stained mattress at the Henry's Turkey Services bunkhouse (Credit: Justin Hayworth/The Des Moines Register)  —  A federal jury ruled Wednesday afternoon that Henry's Turkey Service of Goldwaithe …

Governors, GOP Allies Clash Over Tax Cuts  —  Republican lawmakers in several states are blunting plans by GOP governors to reduce or eliminate income taxes, putting the legislators at odds with figures many in the party see as leading voices on reshaping government.

Hagan, Landrieu gun votes could help in 2014  —  PPP's newest round of polling finds that Kay Hagan and Mary Landrieu helped their cause for reelection with their recent votes in support of background checks for gun sales.  More than 70% of voters in each of their states support such checks …