Christie reveals secret stomach surgery to lose weight  —  New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie secretly underwent lap-band stomach surgery to aggressively slim down for the sake of his wife and kids, he revealed to The Post last night.  —  The Garden State governor agreed to the operation …

Berry, DeJesus, Knight found alive, police source confirms  —  Cheers as Amanda Berry, Gina Dejesus, MIchelle Knight found alive  —  CLEVELAND, Ohio — Long-missing Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight have been found alive.  —  Berry called police Monday afternoon and frantically told …

Illinois GOP chair resigns, cites support for same-sex marriage as a reason  —  Washington (CNN) - Illinois Republican Party Chairman Pat Brady resigned Tuesday, citing a handful of reasons including an ongoing struggle with several members of the state GOP over his support for same-sex marriage.

Flake willing to support background checks, with changes to internet sales  —  Washington (CNN) - Republican Sen. Jeff Flake told CNN he is willing to reverse his opposition to expanding background checks for guns if the Senate sponsors change on the bill's provision dealing with internet sales.

The Benghazi talking points: What's known and unknown  —  “I wasn't involved in the talking points process.... As I understand it, as I've been told, it was a typical interagency process where staff, including from the State Department, all participated, to try to come up with whatever …

Linguists identify 15,000-year-old ‘ultraconserved words’  —  You, hear me!  Give this fire to that old man.  Pull the black worm off the bark and give it to the mother.  And no spitting in the ashes!  —  It's an odd little speech.  But if you went back 15,000 years and spoke these words …

G.O.P. Is Readying a New Offensive Over Health Care Law  —  WASHINGTON — As the administration struggles to put in place the final, complex piece of President Obama's signature health care law, an endeavor on a scale not seen since Medicare's creation nearly a half-century ago …

Boy who held pencil like gun suspended  —  School has “zero tolerance” weapons policy  —  SUFFOLK, Va. (WAVY) - A Suffolk school suspended a second grader for pointing a pencil at another student and making gun noises.  —  Seven-year-old Christopher Marshall says he was playing …

Sen. Rob Portman Says, ‘Yes,’ He Smoked Pot  —  The highlight of Sen. Rob Portman's BuzzFeed Brews interview Monday night wasn't his pitchy rendition of Randy Newman's “Burn On,” nor was it his remark that George W. Bush “certainly did his level best” during his tenure as president.

U.S. Directly Blames China's Military for Cyberattacks  —  WASHINGTON — The Obama administration on Monday explicitly accused China's military of mounting attacks on American government computer systems and defense contractors, saying one motive could be to map “military capabilities that could be exploited during a crisis.”

In Virginia, Terry McAuliffe's Memoir Comes Back to Haunt Him  —  The Virginia gubernatorial candidate almost missed the birth of one daughter to attend a bold-faced D.C. party—according to his own memoir.  David Freedlander reports on his self-Borking book.

Crime Report: May 6, 2013  —  SEXUAL BATTERY, 05/05/13, 500 block of S. 23rd Street.  On May 5 at 12:35 am, a drunken male subject approached a female victim in a parking lot and grabbed her breasts and buttocks.  The victim fought the suspect off as he attempted to touch her again and alerted police.

Rand Paul, Marco Rubio face 2016 bind  —  Sens. Rand Paul and Marco Rubio are facing a big obstacle if they seek the White House in 2016 — and it's not each other.  —  State laws could force the two GOP senators into a difficult choice: run for president or run for reelection to the Senate that same year.

Chapin teacher got $85,000 in flag stomping deal  —  CHAPIN, SC — Lexington-Richland 5 paid former Chapin High teacher Scott Compton √ $85,000 to avoid a legal challenge, part of a settlement that led to his resignation after he stomped on an American flag during a class lesson.

Where are the start-ups?  Column  —  A country that celebrates achievement and risk-taking is likely to see more economic success than one that does not.  —  When the economy was last this bad for this long — back in the dreaded Jimmy Carter era — there was one upside …