U.S., E.U. announce sanctions following vote in Crimea  —  The Obama administration slapped sanctions on 11 Russian and Ukrainian officials Monday, saying it was targeting “cronies” and senior advisers of Russian President Vladimir Putin, the Russian arms industry and those responsible …

The Malaysia Airlines Pilot's Politics  —  Zaharie Ahmad Shah supported Anwar Ibrahim.  That's common sense, not zealotry.  —  There is an axiom in Malaysian politics: Eventually everything comes back to Anwar Ibrahim.  So, the longer that the fumbling and inept investigation …

What the Fox Knows  —  FiveThirtyEight is a data journalism organization.  Let me explain what we mean by that, and why we think the intersection of data and journalism is so important.  —  If you're a casual reader of FiveThirtyEight, you may associate us with election forecasting …

Ex-gov announces bid for Congress  —  Former Louisiana Gov. Edwin Edwards officially announced he is running for Congress on Monday, hoping to recharge a political career after serving nearly a decade in prison on federal corruption charges.  —  Edwards announced his bid Monday at a weekly meeting …

The Democrats' Obama trap  —  Thanks to Obamacare, Democrats just lost a special election in a Florida House district that President Obama won in 2012.  So what do you think vulnerable Democrats in states and districts Obama lost in 2012 are thinking today?  —  Answer: Run away!

Scott Brown pans ‘self-serving’ pledge  —  Scott Brown on Saturday blasted Sen. Jeanne Shaheen's (D-N.H.) challenge to limit outside spending in the New Hampshire Senate race as “self-serving and hypocritical.”  —  Brown, the former Massachusetts senator who is gearing up for a run in New Hampshire …

Phil Jensen: South Dakota's most conservative lawmaker?  —  It was July 10, 2003, and Phil Jensen, a life-long Kansas boy and red-blooded Republican, was set for a big move.  —  Jensen and his wife were relocating from Wichita to Rapid City to live closer to family.

Amid Mayoral Missteps, Irish Eyes Are Rolling in New York City  —  He wants to close schools for the Chinese New Year, has pledged fealty to an Israeli political group, sprinkles Spanish and Italian phrases into his speeches and speaks frequently of his wife's Caribbean heritage.

Joe Scarborough for President?  Sure, Why Not?  —  The MSNBC host has Beltway buzz for his flirtation with the 2016 presidential race.  Republican primary voters may be a different story.  —  NASHUA, N.H.—In the end, Joe Scarborough's name wasn't on the ballot for the presidential straw poll …

All you need to know about gravitational waves  —  A beginner's guide to the BICEP2 discovery of primordial gravitational waves.  —  Rights & Permissions  —  Astronomers have announced the detection of the imprint of primordial ‘gravitational waves’ that originated in the Big Bang that created our Universe 13.8 billion years ago.

Koch Group Abandons Obamacare ‘Horror’ Stories After Fact-Check Backlash  —  Have we heard the last Obamacare “horror” story?  If new ads from the Koch Brothers-backed group are any indication, we might have.  —  Americans for Prosperity, the well-funded conservative group …

Mississippi Will Drug Test Welfare Recipients  —  Last week, Mississippi's state Senate passed a bill to drug test some welfare recipients after it passed the House earlier this year.  It's now waiting for a signature from Gov. Phil Bryant (R), who praised its passage.  It will take effect July 1.

MH370 flew as low as 1,500m to avoid detection, says paper  —  The Malaysian Insider - 11 hrs ago  —  As the search for the missing flight MH370 enters its 10th day with few clues as to its whereabouts, the New Straits Times said today the Boeing 777-200ER dropped 5,000 feet (1,500m) to evade commercial radar detection.

That Old-Time Whistle  —  There are many negative things you can say about Paul Ryan, chairman of the House Budget Committee and the G.O.P.'s de facto intellectual leader.  But you have to admit that he's a very articulate guy, an expert at sounding as if he knows what he's talking about.

Revenge of the Republican consultants  —  Ten of the consulting firms that formed the core of the push to elect Mitt Romney — reaping a combined $1 billion in the process — have survived a tea party assault and are again among the highest-grossing and best-positioned players in Republican politics.

Poll has Gary Peters leading Terri Lynn Land in US Senate race  —  A new poll has U.S. Rep Gary Peters, D-Bloomfield Hills, leading former Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land.  —  If the election were held now, 39.7 percent of the people asked would vote for Peters and 36.7 percent for Land …

Sizing Up Exchange Market Competition  —  The individual health insurance market historically has been highly concentrated, with only modest competition in most states.  At the time the Affordable Care Act (ACA) was signed into law in 2010, a single insurer had at least half of the individual market …