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.

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 …

Boston Plot Said to Initially Target July 4  —  WASHINGTON — The surviving suspect in the Boston Marathon bombings told F.B.I. interrogators that he and his brother considered suicide attacks and striking on the Fourth of July as they plotted their deadly assault, according to two law enforcement officials.

Hagel: US rethinking resistance to arming Syrian opposition  —  Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said Thursday that the Obama administration is re-thinking its opposition to arming the Syrian rebels, as officials weigh a range of options in the wake of findings that chemical weapons were likely used in the country's civil war.

Yet Again, Anarchists Highjack Peaceful Left Wing Protest  —  I am just sick to death of these peaceful socialist and communist gatherings being highjacked by politically unaffiliated anarchists who have no political affiliation and no relation at all to the organized American political left.

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.

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.

Bloomberg Refused Second Slice of Pizza at Local Restaurant  —  New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg was denied a second slice of pizza today at an Italian eatery in Brooklyn.  —  The owners of Collegno's Pizzeria say they refused to serve him more than one piece to protest Bloomberg's proposed soda ban …

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.

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.

The New NRA President Fantasizes About “Whipping” Anti-Gun Opponents  —  Just in time for its wingnut-filled annual meeting tomorrow, the National Rifle Association is set to install a new president: an Alabama lawyer who laments “the war of Northern Aggression,” calls Barack Obama …

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 …

Poll: 29% of Registered Voters Believe Armed Revolution Might Be Necessary in Next Few Years  —  Twenty-nine percent of registered voters think that an armed revolution might be necessary in the next few years in order to protect liberties, according to a Public Mind poll by Fairleigh Dickinson University.

Commerce Appointment Opens A New White House Rift  —  Room enough for Valerie Jarrett and Penny Pritzker both to reach out to business, the White House says.  But Jarrett tried to kill the appointment.  —  Via: Larry Downing / Reuters  —  WASHINGTON — The nomination of billionaire Penny Pritzker …

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.

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.

Principal fires security guards to hire art teachers — and transforms elementary school  —  Orchard Gardens, a school in Roxbury, Mass., had been plagued by bad test scores and violence — but one principal's idea to fire the security guards and hire art teachers is helping turn it around.

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.

Mitt Romney's Advice to College Grads: Start Having Babies As Soon As Possible  —  For “children are a heritage of the Lord, and the fruit of the womb is His reward.”  —  “Get married, have a quiver full of kids if you can.”  That's the commencement advice Mitt Romney delivered this past weekend …

Suicide Rates Rise Sharply in U.S.  —  Suicide rates among middle-age Americans have risen sharply in the past decade, prompting concern that a generation of baby boomers who have faced years of economic worry and easy access to prescription pain killers may be particularly vulnerable to self-inflicted harm.

Exclusive: New York City's newest VC firm  —  Most of AOL Ventures team spins out.  —  FORTUNE — At just 29 years old, Mike Brown Jr. is already a venture capital veteran.  He began by investing Richard Branson's money at Virgin Group, before leaving in early 2010 to co-found AOL Ventures.