State GOP gets to vote on secession at convention  —  To secede or not to secede.  —  That will be the question for Wisconsin Republicans at next month's convention.  —  Earlier this month, the party's Resolutions Committee voted in favor of a proposal that says the state party …

Updated Estimates of the Effects of the Insurance Coverage Provisions of the Affordable Care Act, April 2014  —  CBO and the staff of the Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) have updated their estimates of the budgetary effects of the provisions of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) that relate to health insurance coverage.

Hillary and That Shoe: The Real Story  —  A couple of nights ago, as Hillary Clinton started to address a gathering of recycling experts in Las Vegas, a woman came striding down the aisle toward the stage and threw a shoe at her.  Hillary, claiming to be unsure what was thrown, called out “Was that a bat?”

APNEWSBREAK: RUSSIAN JET PASSES NEAR US WARSHIP  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — A Russian fighter jet made multiple, close-range passes near an American warship in the Black Sea for more than 90 minutes Saturday amid escalating tensions in the region, U.S. military officials said Monday.

Hate—and Hitler—in the Heartland: The Arrest of Frazier Glenn Miller  —  The man accused of shooting three at Jewish centers in Kansas has a long résumé as a neo-Nazi and KKK grand wizard who once created a points system for murder.  —  The sole suspect in a shooting …

Top Democrat: Yes, “Elements” of the GOP Base are “Animated by Racism”  —  Okay, fine.  Point granted.  Some small “element” of the GOP base absolutely is motivated by racism.  Racist people exist.  But fascinating data from the early 2000's revealed that the Democratic Party is home …

Washington Post wins Pulitzer Prize for public service, shared with Guardian  —  The Washington Post won two Pulitzer Prizes on Monday, including the prestigious public-service medal for a series of stories that exposed the National Security Agency's massive global surveillance programs.

More Than Half of Americans Say Federal Taxes Too High  —  Fifty-four percent say they are fair, the lowest since 2001  —  WASHINGTON, D.C. — As many Americans scramble to prepare their taxes ahead of the April 15 deadline, a majority, 52%, say the amount they have to pay in federal income tax is …

Ukraine Asks U.N. for Peacekeeping Troops as Militants Defy Deadline  —  SLOVYANSK, Ukraine — In a new sign of desperation, Ukraine's acting president asked the United Nations on Monday to send peacekeeping troops to the east of the country, where pro-Russia militias have seized government buildings …

Blackburn: GOP 'Led The Fight For Women's Equality' (VIDEO)  —  Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) on Sunday insisted that even though Republican Senators blocked the Democrats' equal pay bill last week, her party is fighting for women's rights.  —  “I find this war on women rhetoric just almost silly …

America's Abortion-Free Zone Grows  —  Montana was the only hope for women living 600 miles in any direction to obtain an abortion.  Now there's two clinics left thanks to vandalism.  How long can they stay open?  —  MINNEAPOLIS—There is a nearly 1,200-mile-wide desert of abortion providers stretching …

David Foster Wallace was right: Irony is ruining our culture  —  Percy Shelley famously wrote that “poets are the unacknowledged legislators of the world.”  For Shelley, great art had the potential to make a new world through the depth of its vision and the properties of its creation.

Rick Perry hires Austin lawyer for criminal inquiry into veto threat  —  Gov. Rick Perry has retained a high-profile Austin defense lawyer to represent him in a criminal investigation into whether he illegally withheld money from the Travis County district attorney's office, the American-Statesman and KVUE-TV confirmed Sunday.

Dutch Police Make Arrest In Teen Twitter Terror Threat  —  A teenager who tweeted terrorist threats to American Airlines has been arrested at her home in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.  —  Wessel Stole, an official spokesperson for the Dutch police, told Business Insider:

Abercrombie casts doubt on Inouye's ‘dying wish’  —  The Hanabusa letter's authorship is “problematic,” the governor says  —  For political and emotional drama, it's hard to top this: U.S. Sen. Daniel Ino­uye, the most beloved and respected figure in Hawaii state history …

Let HHS nominee Sylvia Burwell explain Obamacare lie  —  Senate Democrats have been desperately trying to move the national conversation away from Obamacare to just about anything else before the midterm elections — “paycheck fairness,” the minimum wage, even the Koch brothers.

Obama Asks First Openly Gay Episcopal Bishop To Lead Prayer At Easter Breakfast  —  At the close of the White House's Easter Prayer Breakfast on Monday, President Barack Obama unexpectedly turned the floor over to Gene Robinson, the first openly gay Episcopal bishop.  —  Robinson tweeted about the impromptu prayer.

Accusation of FBI spying stalls 9/11 hearing  —  GUANTANAMO BAY NAVY BASE, Cuba — A military judge abruptly recessed the first 9/11 trial hearing of the year Monday after defense lawyers accused the FBI in open court of trying to turn a defense team security officer into a secret informant.

Eric Holder Says He Wasn't Playing Race Card When Decrying GOP Opposition  —  Racial Politics Al Sharpton Eric Holder Louie Gohmert Justice Department Eric Holder Civil Rights Eric Holder Civility Department of Justice Race Justice Department Ryan J. Reilly on Justice Eric Holder Eric Holder Race