Why the Speaker capitulated to Obama  —  Speaker John Boehner's (R-Ohio) abrupt decision to capitulate and hand President Obama a straightforward debt-ceiling increase resulted from simmering divisions that have virtually paralyzed his majority.  —  On an issue that once defined his Speakership …

Former New Orleans mayor guilty of bribery, money laundering, fraud  —  (CNN) — Former New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin, whose desperate pleas for help during Hurricane Katrina drew national attention, walked silently out of a courthouse Wednesday after a jury convicted him of federal corruption charges.

‘Impeach the President’  —  You guys in the press who are reading this right now can be such shameless whores.  I generally try to hold to the standard these days that if I wouldn't be outraged by George Chimpy McBushitler Halliburton and Darth Cheney doing something, I shouldn't be outraged by President Obama.

Wendy Davis backs 20-week abortion ban that defers to women  —  Wendy Davis said Tuesday that she would have supported a ban on abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy, if the law adequately deferred to a woman and her doctor.  —  Davis, a Fort Worth senator and the likely Democratic nominee for governor …

Kentucky ban on gay marriages from other states struck down by federal judge  —  In a ruling that could open the door to gay marriage in Kentucky, a federal judge on Wednesday struck down Kentucky's ban on recognizing valid same-sex marriages performed in other states, saying it violates …

The Secularist Menace  —  Maybe I just travel in different circles from my old buddy Damon Linker.  But as a Man of the Left who is also a Christian, I just don't see the “broader, troubling trans-Atlantic trend of secular liberalism steamrolling competing, non-liberal visions of the good” that he laments at The Week.

‘Morning Joe’ Panelist Outraged That Chuck Todd Didn't Praise Chris Christie (VIDEO)  —  A “Morning Joe” panelist was shocked to learn Wednesday that some people weren't as dazzled by Chris Christie's visit to Chicago.  —  NBC chief White House correspondent Chuck Todd stopped …

Gary Miller to Retire From Congress (Updated) (Video)  —  California Rep. Gary G. Miller announced Wednesday he will not seek re-election.  —  “It has been a great honor to spend so many years in public service, striving to make a difference for Southern California families,” Miller said in a statement.

Exclusive: Stop the NSA while we still can  —  Editor's note: Rand Paul is a Republican senator representing Kentucky.  Matt Kibbe is president and CEO of FreedomWorks.  Ken Cuccinelli is former attorney general of Virginia and a former Republican candidate for governor.

Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue's Newest Model: Barbie Mattel unveils new ‘Unapologetic’ campaign in advertorial By Emma Bazilian  —  This year, the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue turns 50, which means that plenty of SI Swim Legends will be popping up to pay tribute to this all-American institution.

Union Drive Doesn't Bother Management, but G.O.P. Fumes  —  As workers at the Volkswagen plant in Chattanooga, Tenn., prepare to vote this week on whether to join the United Automobile Workers, they are facing unusual pressure from the state's Republican legislators to reject the union.

U.S. Uninsured Rate Drops so Far in First Quarter of 2014  —  Rate among 26- to 34-year-olds continues to fall  —  WASHINGTON, D.C. — The percentage of uninsured Americans fell to 16.0% so far in the first quarter of 2014 from 17.1% in the fourth quarter of 2013.

Eight Corvettes swallowed by massive sink hole at National Corvette Museum  —  A 40-foot sink hole at the National Corvette Museum in Bowling Green swallowed eight of the sports cars on display inside the the facility's iconic Sky Dome Wednesday morning, said executive director Wendell Strode.

Biggest rises and falls in the 2014 World Press Freedom Index  —  The 2014 World Press Freedom Index spotlights the negative impact of conflicts on freedom of information and its protagonists.  The ranking of some countries has also been affected by a tendency to interpret national security needs …

No one can make ObamaCare work  —  I could rage on and on about Monday's gobsmacking announcement that the Obama administration is once again unilaterally delaying a key aspect of its health-care law and what this act of astonishing royalism suggests about the president and his fundamental disrespect …

Topless Images of Olympic Skier a Scandal in Lebanon  —  BEIRUT - Lebanon has long been known as the most liberal Arab country in the Middle East, many of its women unafraid of baring the kind of flesh that would invite scorn and outrage elsewhere in the region.