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 …

Brady resigns as Illinois GOP chairman amid gay marriage controversy  —  Pat Brady, the chairman of the Illinois GOP announced his resignation amid controversy over his support for gay marriage legislation.  (WGN-TV)  —  Pat Brady, the chairman of the Illinois Republican Party …

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 …

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.

Air Force Brochure Tells Sexual Assault Victims to ‘Submit’  —  An Air Force brochure on sexual assault advises potential victims not to fight off their attackers.  —  “It may be advisable to submit [rather] than resist,” reads the brochure (.pdf), issued to airmen at Shaw Air Force Base in South Carolina …

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 …

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.

GOP Benghazi hearings a partisan disgrace  —  Then House Republicans can testify en masse and offer a group apology for mocking and ignoring Clinton's warning.  —  The latest Issa public relations event, under the guise of a congressional hearing about the assault on the U.S Consulate in Benghazi …

Gun control ads have Democrats worrying  —  Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's aides met recently with staffers of New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg to warn them: Targeting vulnerable Democrats like Arkansas's Mark Pryor on gun control could backfire on the party, several sources told POLITICO.

Man who roughed up Obama finally speaks  —  WASHINGTON — It took 849 days for the man who threw the elbow heard 'round the world to finally talk about it.  —  “I didn't want that to define my life,” said Reynaldo Decerega, 40.  “I had no desire to bring attention to myself in an accident that caused somebody pain.

Lauryn Hill Blames Slavery as She's Jailed for $500,000 Unpaid Tax Bill  —  By Dominic Gover: Subscribe to Dominic's RSS feed  —  Lauryn Hill outside Newark court in New Jersey  —  Reclusive soul superstar Lauryn Hill has been jailed over an enormous unpaid tax bill.

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.

Another Minnesota Senate Committee Advances Marriage Equality  —  Following in the footsteps of the House Ways & Means Committee Monday night, the Minnesota Senate Finance Committee voted today to advance the marriage equality legislation by a voice vote.  Both chambers are now prepared …

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.