In U.S., Uninsured Rate Lowest Since 2008  —  Uninsured rate declines most among blacks and lower-income Americans  —  WASHINGTON, D.C. — In the U.S., the uninsured rate dipped to 15.6% in the first quarter of 2014, a 1.5-percentage-point decline from the fourth quarter of 2013.

ACA data leave GOP exposed  —  “What a difference a day makes — 24 little hours.”  Those lyrics about romance and spring flowers also fit the bill last week for congressional politics and the 2014 midterm elections.  —  Last Tuesday, the White House hit the 7 million-plus mark …

Oligarchs and Money  —  Econonerds eagerly await each new edition of the International Monetary Fund's World Economic Outlook.  Never mind the forecasts, what we're waiting for are the analytical chapters, which are always interesting and even provocative.  This latest report is no exception.

Vox Takes Melding of Journalism and Technology to a New Level  —  WASHINGTON — Ask Ezra Klein what prompted him to leave a high-profile position at The Washington Post to start a new website, and the answer is a little wonkish, even for the founder of the newspaper's Wonkblog, a mix of politics …

CROSSING CHRISTIE … - ARCHIVE - PHOTO BOOTH - DAILY SHOUTS - DAILY COMMENT - CURRENCY - AMY DAVIDSON - JOHN CASSIDY - ANDY BOROWITZ - SHOP

How politics makes us stupid  —  There's a simple theory underlying much of American politics.  It sits hopefully at the base of almost every speech, every op-ed, every article, and every panel discussion.  It courses through the Constitution and is a constant in President Obama's most stirring addresses.

Jeb Bush Talks Approach If He Runs for President  —  COLLEGE STATION, Tex. — With eyes increasingly on him, Jeb Bush signaled on Sunday the kind of campaign he would mount if he runs for president, one arguing against ideological purity tests while challenging party orthodoxy on issues like immigration and education.

The Color of His Presidency  —  Optimists hoped Obama would usher in a new age of racial harmony.  Pessimists feared a surge in racial strife.  Neither was right.  But what happened instead has been even more invidious.  —  A few weeks ago, the liberal comedian Bill Maher and conservative strategist …

WATCH: Rand Paul Says Dick Cheney Pushed for the Iraq War so Halliburton Would Profit  —  As the ex-veep blasts Paul for being an isolationist, old video shows the Kentucky senator charging that Cheney used 9/11 as an excuse to invade Iraq and benefit his former company.  —  Gage Skidmore/Flickr

White House considering ban on selfies with the President  —  A senior White House adviser said the selfie Red Sox slugger David Ortiz took last week with Obama — later revealed to be a marketing stunt by Samsung — might be the last ever presidential selfie.

Scott Brown, pick a party  —  Former senator Scott Brown (R-Mass.) was so busy picking a new state that he forgot to pick a party.  —  Whoever filled out Brown's formal statement of organization for his campaign exploratory committee left blank the small gray box asking for the candidate's party affiliation.

The game is up for climate change believers  —  Charles Moore reviews The Age of Global Warming by Rupert Darwall (Quartet)  —  Most of us pay some attention to the weather forecast.  If it says it will rain in your area tomorrow, it probably will.  But if it says the same for a month …

The less Americans know about Ukraine's location, the more they want U.S. to intervene  —  Where's Ukraine?  Each dot depicts the location where a U.S. survey respondent situated Ukraine; the dots are colored based on how far removed they are from the actual country, with the most accurate responses …

Tell us what you really think, Mr. Mayor  —  There are things that people know, or think that they know, about Rahm Emanuel: He is voluble, tireless, notoriously profane.  And yet, when I met him last month, all the stories hadn't prepared me for his intensity in person.

Source: Kennedy Jr. To Run for State Senate, Announce Tuesday  —  To Announce at the Blackstone Library  —  Kennedy Jr. is in.  —  Sources with knowledge of the plans of the soon to be state senate candidate confirmed that Ted Kennedy Jr. will run for the 12th district seat, a seat now held by Democrat Ed Meyer.