Supreme Court upholds ban on affirmative action in college admissions  —  The Supreme Court delivered another setback to affirmative action Tuesday, easing the way for states to bar public colleges from considering race in admissions.  —  The 6-2 decision upheld a Michigan constitutional amendment …

Marionville mayor resigns  —  Marionville Mayor Dan Clevenger resigned Monday night for making anti-Semitic comments in the wake of the arrest of white supremacist Frazier Glenn Miller and after aldermen voted 4-1 to start the impeachment process.  —  Clevenger, 59, said he was personally hurt …

Aaron Sorkin Wants To Apologize To Everyone About “The Newsroom”  —  “I think you and I got off on the wrong foot with The Newsroom and I apologize and I'd like to start over,” the creator told an audience at a Tribeca Film Festival event on Monday.  —  Aaron Sorkin with Jon Favreau at the Tribeca Film Festival on Monday, April 21.

An open letter to the students of Azusa Pacific University  —  I was scheduled to speak to you tomorrow.  I was going to talk about my new book, “The Curmudgeon's Guide to Getting Ahead,” and was looking forward to it.  But it has been “postponed.”  Why?  An email from your president …

Kerry: ‘It was easier’ in Cold War  —  Washington (AFP) - Secretary of State John Kerry attested Tuesday to the massively complex challenges Washington faces in Ukraine, Russia, Iran and the Middle East, declaring “it was easier” during the Cold War.  —  In a candid moment during …

John Boozman Undergoes Emergency Heart Surgery  —  U.S. Senator John Boozman (R-Arkansas) is recovering in a Rogers hospital after undergoing heart surgery Tuesday morning.  —  Boozman, 63, was taken to the Mercy Hospital Northwest Arkansas emergency room by ambulance.

First on CNN: 15 cities in running for 2016 Democratic Convention  —  Washington (CNN) - The Democratic Party has asked 15 mayors to submit formal bids to host the 2016 Democratic National Convention, an event that could cost a city as much as $60 million but the payout could be triple the investment or more.

Who Will Win The Senate? … Every day, our computer churns through the latest polls and reams of historical data to calculate both parties' chances of winning control of the Senate.  Although the Democrats currently have a 51 percent chance, that doesn't mean we're predicting the Democrats …

Thomas Piketty Revives Marx for the 21st Century  —  An 80% tax rate on incomes above $500,000 is not meant to bring in money for education or benefits, but ‘to put an end to such incomes.’  —  Thomas Piketty likes capitalism because it efficiently allocates resources.  But he does not like how it allocates income.

Romney gives $10,000 to McDonnell's legal defense fund  —  Mitt Romney, the 2012 Republican presidential nominee, has made a personal donation of $10,000 to former Virginia governor Robert F. McDonnell's legal defense fund, a Romney aide confirmed Tuesday.  —  McDonnell and his wife …

The Class War Inside the Republican Party  —  It took David Perdue about 20 seconds of speechifying to expose a tension roiling the Republican Party.  Speaking in January, the former business executive turned Georgia candidate for U.S. Senate asked a group of local Republicans to parse the resumes of his primary foes.

One in Four in U.S. Are Solidly Skeptical of Global Warming  —  Nearly 40% are “Concerned Believers” in global warming, others are mixed  —  PRINCETON, NJ — Over the past decade, Americans have clustered into three broad groups on global warming.  The largest, currently describing 39% of U.S. adults …

Lawmaker pulls bill to make Holy Bible Louisiana's official state book  —  The Louisiana House of Representatives was scheduled to take up a bill to declare the Holy Bible that official state book on Monday evening.  —  Rep. Thomas Carmody, R-Shreveport, scrapped his proposal to make the Holy Bible …

Horses, teepees arrive on Mall for Keystone protest  —  Horses, Daryl Hannah, sacred fires and Neil Young — these are some of the things you'll see on the National Mall starting Tuesday as part of the latest protest against the Keystone XL pipeline.  —  The “Reject and Protect” …

Media Matters Chief Tells Sharyl Attkisson To Put Up Or Shut Up  —  The head of Media Matters for America challenged former CBS News reporter Sharyl Attkisson on Monday to produce evidence that the liberal media watchdog has been paid to target her.  —  “Professional journalists …

The GOP's Limp ‘Emasculate Obama’ Ploy  —  Republicans can mock Obama for having a ‘manhood problem,’ but they're woefully out of touch with the new masculinity.  —  Out and about this weekend, I saw no less than three men who appeared to be heterosexual wearing little buns on the tops of their heads.

American Journalist With Vice News Captured in Eastern Ukraine  —  Vice journalist Simon Ostrovsky has been taken by militia in Eastern Ukraine, Mashable has learned.  —  The reporter for Vice News, who has been filing a series of compelling video dispatches from Ukraine since early March …

Looking at Costs and Risks, Many Skip Health Insurance  —  LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Steve Huber, an affable salesman who is still paying off an unexpected medical bill, was not among the millions of Americans who signed up for health insurance under the Affordable Care Act during the enrollment period that ended March 31.

Alabama Rep. Steve Hurst uses large handgun as parade float (and barbecue)  —  TALLADEGA — Alabama Rep. Steve Hurst wants you to know he is for gun rights.  —  The District 35 Republican from Talladega gets his message across at parades in a very unmistakable way: He uses a giant revolver as a parade float.