Bloomberg Plans a $50 Million Challenge to the N.R.A.  —  Michael R. Bloomberg, making his first major political investment since leaving office, plans to spend $50 million this year building a nationwide grass-roots network to motivate voters who feel strongly about curbing gun violence …

Sebelius Said to Weigh Run for Kansas Senate Seat  —  WASHINGTON — In her darkest hour last fall, Kathleen Sebelius suffered one of the deepest cuts from an old family friend who accused her of “gross incompetence” over the rollout of the Affordable Care Act and demanded that she resign as secretary of health and human services.

How the President Got to ‘I Do’ on Same-Sex Marriage  —  Photo illustration by Daan Brand for The New York Times.  Obama: Mark Wilson/Getty Images.  —  By presidential fund-raising standards, the dinner at the St. Regis hotel in Washington in April 2011 was an intimate one.

Here's What the CIA Director Was Really Doing in Kiev  —  The head of the CIA just made a secretive journey to Ukraine—to do what, he won't say.  But the answer could change the power equation in the hottest of geopolitical hotspots.  —  The Obama administration is now considering …

Uninsured Rate Drops More in States Embracing Health Law  —  Medicaid expansion, state exchanges linked to faster reduction in uninsured rate  —  WASHINGTON, D.C. — The uninsured rate among adults aged 18 and older in the states that have chosen to expand Medicaid and set up their own exchanges …

Is New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez the Next Sarah Palin?  —  Petty.  Vindictive.  Weak on policy.  And yet she's being hailed as the Republican Party's great new hope.  —  AS SHE LIKES TO TELL anybody who'll listen, Susana Martinez, the governor of New Mexico, didn't start out a Republican.

Source: Bag Detonated In Boston Contained Rice Cooker, Confetti  —  BOSTON (CBS) - On the anniversary of the Boston Marathon bombing, Boylston Street was evacuated and two bags were detonated by the Bomb Squad near the finish line.  —  UPDATE: Wakefield Man Charged

Cliven Bundy and BLM: 10 things to know  —  Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy has reignited the debate about federal power and states' rights: When the Bureau of Land Management seized nearly 400 cattle belonging to Bundy for grazing on federal land without a permit, protesters gathered in a remote part …

Jeb Bush's wife, family issues key to 2016  —  If Jeb Bush decides to run for president, he'll have to defend his family's controversial political name.  —  But more immediate family concerns might keep him from running at all.  —  Republican donors and operatives are chattering …

Fallin signs minimum wage hike ban in Oklahoma  —  OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Cities across Oklahoma are now prohibited from establishing mandatory minimum wage or vacation and sick-day requirements under a bill signed into law Monday by Gov. Mary Fallin.  —  Supporters say the measure would prevent …

Donald Rumsfeld Says He Has ‘Absolutely No Idea’ If He Paid His Taxes Properly  —  Donald Rumsfeld served as secretary of defense under both President Gerald Ford and President George W. Bush, but he can't master the tax code.  —  Every year on Tax Day, Rumsfeld sends a letter to the IRS explaining …

NCAA Council Approves Unlimited Meals  —  EDITIONS:  —  CITIES:  —  ESPN College Sports  —  SHOP  —  Council approves unlimited meals  —  INDIANAPOLIS — The NCAA's legislative council approved a proposal Tuesday to expand the meal allowance for all athletes.

Coalition of the Disappointed  —  Obama fires up racial and gender resentments to get out the vote.  —  You can tell it's an election year because so many noncrises are suddenly urgent priorities.  Real median household income is still lower than it was in 2007, the smallest share of Americans …

Liberals in rose-colored glasses consider ObamaCare a ‘victory’  —  Ever since ObamaCare supposedly hit the arbitrary target of 7 million sign-ups by March 31, its supporters have been taking the most premature victory lap since conservative proponents of the Iraq War (like me) …

Louisiana GOP: Mary Landrieu ad fakery sign of deeper problem with campaign  —  BELTWAY CONFIDENTIAL 2014 ELECTIONS MARY LANDRIEU BILL CASSIDY  —  Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., in a neck-and-neck race for re-election, is taking a lot of criticism over a new ad — her first this season …

The $2.8 trillion question: Are health costs growing fast again?  —  A four-year slowdown in health spending growth could be coming to an end.  —  Americans used more medical care in 2013 as the economy recovered, new reports show.  Federal data suggests that health care spending is now growing …

New York Drops Unit That Spied on Muslims  —  The New York Police Department has abandoned a secretive program that dispatched plainclothes detectives into Muslim neighborhoods to eavesdrop on conversations and built detailed files on where people ate, prayed and shopped, the department said.

Foreign policy is no place for ‘red lines’  —  Rand Paul is a Republican senator from Kentucky.  —  I am not for containment in Iran.  Let me repeat that, since no one seems to be listening closely: I am unequivocally not for containing Iran.  —  I am also not for announcing that the United States should never contain Iran.

Missing 3-year-old boy found in claw machine at Lincoln bowling alley  —  A missing three-year-old Lincoln boy was discovered in a claw machine at a bowling alley Monday night.  —  Lincoln Police Department got a call Monday about a missing boy.  His mother told police he'd slipped …

What I learned as a liberal talking head on Fox News  —  Christian Science Monitor - 16 hrs ago  —  In the fall of 2013, I gave a TED talk on what I learned as a progressive, on-air talking head at Fox News, where I worked for two years before leaving and joining my current home, CNN.

Michigan, White House discuss federal money for bankrupt Detroit: report  —  (Reuters) - Michigan officials and President Barack Obama's Administration are discussing a plan to free up $100 million in federal money to aid Detroit's retired city workers, the Detroit Free Press reported on Tuesday.

UO law school prof angry about plan to use his raise for student fellowships  —  4/14/2014: Several members of the law school email lists (which included staff, secretaries etc.) have forwarded these two emails from professor Rob Illig (Law) about a plan apparently floated by Law Dean Michael Moffitt …