O-Care premiums to skyrocket  —  Health industry officials say ObamaCare-related premiums will double in some parts of the country, countering claims recently made by the administration.  —  The expected rate hikes will be announced in the coming months amid an intense election year, when control of the Senate is up for grabs.

Nate Silver's New Science Writer Ignores The Data On Climate Science  —  Nate Silver's highly anticipated data-driven news site FiveThirtyEight launched on Monday, with a controversial figure covering science issues.  Silver has brought on Roger Pielke, Jr., a professor of environmental studies …

Note to hand wringing TV critics and arm chair critics: Malaysian Flight 370 - click  —  To all those hand wringers now going on TV or writing columns to pronounce their criticism of or their upset about the extensive coverage of Flight 370, ‘get over it!’  —  Have they forgotten that 239 people are missing or perhaps murdered?

Paul to Rebuke Obama on Spying, Citing '60s Abuses  —  BERKELEY, Calif. — Senator Rand Paul, Republican of Kentucky, says President Obama should be particularly wary of domestic spying, given the government's history of eavesdropping on civil rights leaders such as the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Moscow signals concern for Russians in Estonia  —  (Reuters) - Russia signaled concern on Wednesday at Estonia's treatment of its large ethnic Russian minority, comparing language policy in the Baltic state with what it said was a call in Ukraine to prevent the use of Russian.

National Geographic Plans to Show Crimea as Part of Russia on Maps  —  Top mapmakers split on recognizing Crimea as part of Russia.  —  A map showing Crimea as part of the Russian Federation was briefly showcased Tuesday on Wikipedia's English-language entry for Russia.  (CC-GNU-FDL-1.2)

Paul Ryan's White Hood  —  What notorious racist said the following?  “Fewer young black and Latino men participate in the labor force compared to young white men.  And all of this translates into higher unemployment rates and poverty rates as adults.”  —  “In troubled neighborhoods …

Quinn vs. Rauner: Let the class war begin  —  What will the campaign for governor of Illinois look like between liberal Democrat Gov. Pat Quinn and Republican businessman Bruce Rauner?  —  Fists raised, mouths twisted in anger.  Think of “Les Miserables” on bad acid, a constant, pounding tribal dialogue of us vs. them.

Pay it forward: Plan would allow Michigan students to attend college for ‘free’  —  The latest, greatest idea for making a college education affordable sounds simple enough — students can attend school for free.  —  But there's a catch.  —  In return for free tuition …

Ukraine to Pull All Its Forces From Crimea, Conceding Loss  —  SEVASTOPOL, Crimea — Bowing to the reality of the Russian military occupation of Crimea a day after Russia announced it was annexing the disputed peninsula, the Ukrainian government said on Wednesday that it had drawn up plans …

Another Tale of Two Cities  —  LOS ANGELES — The tremors may have had morning TV anchors diving under the desk, but it takes more than a 4.4 quiver to rattle Eric Garcetti.  —  “I don't lose my head,” said the Democratic mayor of Los Angeles, who was in bed with his wife, Amy Wakeland, when the earthquake struck at dawn Monday.

Hillary Insiders Say They Won't Work for Her If She Hires This Man  —  “I would do anything for Hillary.  Except work with Mark Penn.”  —  UPPA/ZUMA  —  In recent weeks, I've talked to several Washington politicos close to Bill and Hillary Clinton, and when I've asked …

Our criminal justice system has become a crime: Column  —  Prosecutors too often abuse unrestrained powers.  —  Here's how it's supposed to work: Upon evidence that a crime has been committed — Professor Plum, found dead in the conservatory with a lead pipe on the floor next to him, say — the police commence an investigation.

Big News from Federal Court: Republican States May Soon Demand Proof of Citizenship for Voting in Federal Elections  —  Today a federal court decided Kobach v. United States Election Assistance Commission.The upshot of this opinion, if it stands on appeal, is that states with Republican legislatures …

US tech giants knew of NSA data collection, agency's top lawyer insists  —  NSA general counsel Rajesh De contradicts months of angry denials from big companies like Yahoo and Google  —  The senior lawyer for the National Security Agency stated unequivocally on Wednesday that US technology companies …

GOP lawmaker Frank Ruff apologizes for calling Obamacare a “tar baby”  —  The Virginia state senator insists he didn't mean anything “racial” with his comment  —  Virginia GOP state Sen. Frank Ruff apologized on Wednesday for using the racially loaded phrase “tar baby” …

Meet Al Jazeera America  —  You may not have known it, but there is an infant-mortality crisis sweeping the country.  An hour-long documentary from the new cable-news channel Al Jazeera America called attention to the situation, with correspondent Sebastian Walker reporting from Cleveland, Ohio, “America's infant-mortality capital.”

What Pakistan Knew About Bin Laden  —  Shortly after the Sept. 11 attacks, I went to live and report for The New York Times in Afghanistan.  I would spend most of the next 12 years there, following the overthrow of the Taliban, feeling the excitement of the freedom and prosperity that was promised …

NYC inmate Jerome Murdough ‘baked to death’ in Rikers Island cell  —  In this March 12, 2014 photo, Alma Murdough and her daughter Cheryl Warner hold a photo of Murdough's son, at her home in the Queens borough of New York.  Jerome Murdough, a mentally ill, homeless former Marine arrested …

Democratic Senator: Debt Is Going To Make U.S. “Not A First-Tier Nation Anymore”  —  Democratic Missouri Sen. Claire McCaskill was speaking in Kansas City as part of her “McCaskill on Main Street” tour on Wednesday.  —  View Video ›  —  Missouri Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill railed …

How Americans get their news  —  Americans are accessing the news throughout the day and across devices  —  For many Americans, keeping up with the news is an activity that occurs throughout the day and across different formats, devices, and technologies.  When asked when they prefer to watch …