Obama: Dems ‘get clobbered’ in midterms  —  President Obama complained Thursday that Democrats “get clobbered” in midterm elections, blaming a “toxic” atmosphere in Washington for suppressing key Democratic constituencies.  —  “The challenge is that our politics in Washington have become …

Clinton's Top Selling Point in 2016: First Female President  —  Top negatives are not being qualified; continuing Obama's agenda  —  PRINCETON, NJ — Americans say the best or most positive thing about a possible Hillary Clinton presidency — if she were to run and be elected in 2016 …

Killing Conservative Books: The Shocking End Of A Publishing Gold Rush  —  A decade ago, mainstream publishers became convinced they could make millions by churning out books for the right — and now the bubble may be bursting.  From Allan Bloom to Ann Coulter.  —  The conservative book business has seen better days.

Dept. of Education: Black preschoolers far more likely to be suspended than white counterparts  —  Although black children only represent about 18 percent of the students enrolled in preschool, according to a study released on Friday by the Department of Education's Civil Rights division …

Leaders Seek to Rescue New York's Bike-Share Program  —  Leaders of Citi Bike are moving quickly to raise tens of millions of dollars to rescue the popular bike-share program as it loses money, according to people familiar with the matter.  —  Citi Bike's bright blue bicycles have become …

Washington Post Falls For Left-Wing Fraud, Embarrasses Itself  —  Today's Washington Post features an article by Steven Mufson and Juliet Eilperin headlined, “The biggest lease holder in Canada's oil sands isn't Exxon Mobil or Chevron.  It's the Koch brothers.”

Adelson casino hires Blanche Lincoln  —  Former Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.) will be lobbying for Las Vegas Sands at her firm Lincoln Policy Group, according to new disclosure records.  —  The casino, which is owned by billionaire and major GOP donor Sheldon Adelson, is pushing Congress to enact a ban on Internet gambling.

Record cleared for student involved in razor incident  —  VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) — A Virginia Beach sixth grader who came to the aid of a classmate who was cutting his arm returned to school Friday with a clean record after initially facing expulsion for her actions.

Turkey Twitter users flout Erdogan ban on micro-blogging site  —  Twitter use breaks new record in country as Turks defy purge of social media platform by Ankara  —  Turkish users of Twitter - including the country's president - have flouted a block on the social media platform …

Putin's quiet Latin America play  —  Away from the conflict in Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin is quietly seeking a foothold in Latin America, military officials warn.  —  To the alarm of lawmakers and Pentagon officials, Putin has begun sending navy ships and long-range bombers to the region for the first time in years.

Honolulu police officers have urged lawmakers to keep an exemption in state law that allows undercover officers to have sex with prostitutes during investigations, touching off a heated debate.  —  Authorities say they need the legal protection to catch lawbreakers in the act.

Chase Martinson Loses College Acceptance After Coming Out as Gay on Facebook  —  When Chase Martinson took a break from his studies at Hannibal-LaGrange University to manage his health issues, he expected it to be temporary hiccup on his path to becoming a nurse.

Vice's Shane Smith: ‘Have We Unleashed a Monster?’  —  You recently began something called Vice News.  How is it different from what Vice already does?  Through YouTube, we learned that our audience wants more news.  So news is going to be its own offering.

Bill Forces People Going Through Divorce To Get A Judge's Permission Before Having Sex In Own Home  —  There's nothing that sets the mood for a romantic evening like petitioning a judge for permission to have sex at the end of the night.  —  If Massachusetts State Sen. Richard J. Ross (R) …

FBI agent cleared in Florida shooting of suspect questioned about Boston bombing  —  A Florida prosecutor has ruled that an FBI agent was justified in using deadly force when he shot and killed a Chechen man connected to two brothers accused of carrying out the Boston Marathon bombing.

Paul Ryan Claims Most Minimum Wage Workers Are Young And Just Starting Out  —  ELKHORN, WI — Raising the minimum wage would destroy the entry-level opportunities that young Americans need to start “climbing the ladder of life,” Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) said on Thursday at a town hall meeting.

Kingmaker's Death Lays Bare Erosion of Parties' Authority  —  WASHINGTON — When Robert S. Strauss headed the Democratic Party in the early 1970s, he was a man of unusual sway.  A phone call could change a presidential campaign, or at times, even the presidency itself.

Iranian Ship, in Plain View but Shrouded in Mystery, Looks Very Familiar to U.S.  —  WASHINGTON — Iran is building a nonworking mock-up of an American nuclear-powered aircraft carrier that United States officials say may be intended to be blown up for propaganda value.

BlackBerry Suffers Blow as White House Tests Samsung, LG Phones  —  The White House is testing smartphones from Samsung Electronics Corp. and LG Electronics Inc. for internal use, a person familiar with the matter said, threatening one of the last and most high-profile strongholds of BlackBerry Ltd.