Ted Cruz Introduces Bills to Stop Gay Marriage  —  Days before the U.S. Supreme Court hears arguments on same-sex marriage, Senator Ted Cruz has filed two bills to protect states that bar gay couples from marrying.  —  Cruz's legislation would establish a constitutional amendment shielding states …

Warren Weinstein and the Long Drone War  —  “As President and Commander-in-Chief, I take full responsibility for all our counterterrorism operations,” President Obama said in a press conference at the White House on Thursday.  Obama was announcing the news that C.I.A. drone strikes in Pakistan …

Paleo Diet In and Pizza Out, a Slimmer Jeb Bush Seems Intent on Staying That Way  —  Steak Tips Susanne, the $21 entree at the Hilton Garden Inn in Manchester, N.H., arrived as a carefully composed plate: strips of sirloin, sautéed peppers and caramelized onions atop a bed of linguine with a side of garlic bread.

Jake Tapper will anchor CNN's State of the Union  —  CNN Sundays are about to change 01:07  —  Story highlights  —  New York (CNN)Jake Tapper is the next anchor of CNN's Sunday morning political interview program “State of the Union.”  —  CNN announced Tapper's promotion on Friday morning.

Candidate Clinton and the Foundation  —  Hillary Rodham Clinton's determination to reconnect with voters in localized, informative settings is commendable, but is in danger of being overshadowed by questions about the interplay of politics and wealthy foreign donors who support the Clinton Foundation.

Increasing the Social Security Retirement Age Isn't Just Bad Politics  —  It occurred to me today that while I've mocked the political wisdom of Chris Christie and Jeb Bush coming out for an increase in the retirement age for Social Security, I haven't commented on the idea's dubious merits.

Cultural Conservatives Have Barely Begun to Fight  —  A response to Rod Dreher's “Benedict Option”  —  An atmosphere of gloom and despair pervades some cultural-conservative circles, and, at first glance, it's easy to understand why.  There's no question that hysterical public assaults …

How The Great White Freakout Just Got Unleashed At Another University  —  The white freakout over college students grappling with “the problem of whiteness” has just found a new target.  —  TPM previously reported on an Arizona State University course about “the problem of whiteness” …

A hug from the executioner... then two gay men are stoned to death: ISIS murderers stage show of kindness for the cameras before brutal killing  —  Depraved militants fighting for the Islamic State in Syria have brutally stoned two gay men to death only seconds after they were photographed embracing and ‘forgiving’ them.

UF frat insulted wounded war vets, group says  —  A University of Florida fraternity already on conduct probation is under investigation after being accused of disrespecting a group of disabled military veterans by spitting on them and stealing their flags at a Panama City Beach resort last weekend.

EXCLUSIVE VIDEO: Dashcam video shows unarmed man being shot by PBSO deputy  —  Dontrell Stephens had cellphone in his hand  —  PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. - Exclusively-obtained dash-cam video shows Dontrell Stephens, 20, talking on a cellphone while riding his bike on a Friday morning in September 2013.

Marco Rubio Is A Strong Candidate — Despite His Polling Surge  —  Marco Rubio is surging!  —  For the first time since the 2014 midterm elections, Rubio is leading the 2016 GOP field, according to polls by Fox News and Quinnipiac University.  Rubio is a serious contender for the Republican nomination …

Hillary On Abortion: ‘Deep-Seated Cultural Codes, Religious Beliefs And Structural Biases Have To Be Changed’  —  NEW YORK, N.Y. — Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton took a feminist tone on Thursday.  She told attendees at the sixth annual Women in The World Summit that …

After a ridiculous delay, Loretta Lynch finally gets confirmed  —  SENATORS VOTED Thursday to confirm Loretta Lynch as the next attorney general by an embarrassingly thin margin of 56 to 43.  It was embarrassing not to Ms. Lynch, who clearly deserved confirmation, but to the Republicans …

Accused of Rape, a Student Sues Columbia Over Bias  —  A Columbia University student who was accused of rape by a fellow student, who then targeted him in a very public campus action, filed a federal discrimination lawsuit on Thursday against the school; its president, Lee C. Bollinger; and one of its professors.

Tom Cotton prepares for Patriot Act battle  —  Hawks and libertarians are about to square off in Congress over extending surveillance authority for the feds.  —  Sen. Tom Cotton is preparing for battle against Sen. Rand Paul and the GOP's libertarian wing over the USA Patriot Act and the power …

Scott Walker, forever tarnished: Republican governors have tanked the GOP brand  —  What do Scott Walker, Chris Christie and Bobby Jindal all have in common?  They're all sitting governors who'd like to be president, sure.  But what else?  —  How about being embarrassingly bad at job creation?

Ecosystem services lost to oil and gas in North America  —  1College of Forestry and Conservation, University of Montana, Missoula, MT 59812, USA.  —  2Institute on the Environment, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN 55108, USA.  —  3Department of Agronomy and Horticulture, University of Nebraska—Lincoln, Lincoln, NE 68583, USA.

University of Maryland cancels ‘American Sniper’ after Muslim students complain  —  The University of Maryland announced it will postpone indefinitely an upcoming screening of “American Sniper” after Muslim students protested - calling the film Islamophobic, racist and nationalistic.

Bill Shuster muscled through transportation bill pushed by lobbyist girlfriend  —  New questions emerge about the transportation chairman's advocacy on behalf of the airline industry.  —  Last year, Rep. Bill Shuster approached fellow Republican Rep. Tom Graves with a request.