Boston bombings suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev left note in boat he hid in, sources say  —  (CBS News) Boston bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev left claiming responsibility for the April 13 attack on the Boston Marathon, reports CBS News senior correspondent John Miller.

Onset of Woes Casts Pall Over Obama's Policy Aspirations  —  WASHINGTON — Thwarted on Capitol Hill, stymied in the Middle East and now beset by scandal, President Obama has reached a point just six months after a heady re-election where the second term he had hoped for has collided with the second term he actually has.

The scandals are falling apart  —  Things go wrong in government.  Sometimes it's just bad luck.  Sometimes it's rank incompetence.  Sometimes it's criminal wrongdoing.  Most of the time you never hear about it.  Or, if you do hear about it, the media eventually gets bored talking about it (see warming, global).

Benghazi auditors Mullen, Pickering refuse meeting with Issa  —  The co-leaders of the independent audit into the Benghazi attack have categorically refused to meet with Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) for a private interview.  —  Thomas Pickering and Michael Mullen called the proposed closed-door proceeding …

Obama tries to stop the bleeding  —  In recent days, Democratic strategists have all but begged President Barack Obama to take control of a deepening public relations disaster that threatens to derail his second-term agenda.  —  On Wednesday evening, Obama did just that.

Behind the I.R.S. Mess: A Campaign-Finance Scandal  —  Let's stipulate that the scandal involving the Internal Revenue Service's targeting of conservative nonprofit groups portrays government as if drawn in caricature — an almost Keystone Kops-style comedy of errors on the part of low-level staffers …

Obama eyes Gov. Deval Patrick to replace Eric Holder at Justice  —  Tipsville . . .  Sneed is told that Attorney General Eric “Fast and Furious” Holder's days are numbered.  —  Sneed hears President Barack Obama, who is this/close to Holder, has set his sights on Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick …

Men who are physically strong are more likely to have right wing political views  —  Men who are physically strong are more likely to take a right wing political stance, while weaker men are inclined to support the welfare state, according to a new study.  —  Researchers discovered political …

First on CNN: Witness Protection Program lost two ‘known or suspected terrorists’  —  This report has been updated.  —  The U.S. Marshals Service lost two former participants in the federal Witness Security Program “identified as known or suspected terrorists,” according to the public summary …

Obama Calls Over Marines to Shield Himself and Turkish PM from Rain  —  At an outdoor White House press conference, President Obama called over Marines to shield himself and the Turkish prime minister from the rain:

Scandal Is Not an Agenda  —  It says something about the kind of fortnight the president has been having that the controversies facing his administration can be divided into tiers.  —  The Benghazi debacle and the IRS's targeting of conservative groups are, as it were, “tier one” scandals …

Internet celebrity sought in Clark man's murder  —  CLARK, N.J. (WABC) — Authorities in Union County have issued an arrest warrant for internet celebrity “Kai the hatchet wielding hitchhiker” in the murder of Joseph Galfy, Jr. in Clark, New Jersey  —  The suspect is identified …

Exclusive: Anthony Weiner Spotted Shooting Campaign-Style Video at Childhood Home  —  Anthony Weiner was spotted shooting a campaign-style video on the stoop of his childhood home in Brooklyn Thursday as he weighs whether to run for mayor, NBC 4 New York reports exclusively.

‘Cooter’ and ‘Fast Eddie’  —  It isn't every day that one makes preparations to go and play music for some friends but instead ends up being portrayed in the national press and on the Internet as some sort of antediluvian racist who should not be seen in the company of someone aspiring to the Senate.

Theater Night: Vigilantes 1, Vulgarians 0  —  I had a genuinely new experience at the theater tonight: I was thrown out.  —  The show was Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812, which was quite good and which I recommend.  The audience, on the other hand, was horrible — talking …

Seven Howlers from Michael Kinsley's Very Misguided War Against Paul Krugman  —  Why oh why can't we have a better press corps?  —  Michael Kinsley is really confused: … Ummm... If you Google “first use of austerian” Google tells you about first uses of “Australian”.

Apple on offense over $100B offshore stash  —  Apple is under so much pressure in Washington over its offshore cash that it's doing things it almost never does.  —  CEO Tim Cook is coming to Washington to testify in front of a panel of senators about stashing more than $100 billion overseas …