GOP frets Mark Sanford could blow it  —  Mark Sanford won over primary voters Tuesday night, but national Republicans aren't celebrating: Many privately concede the former governor could hand a safe Republican seat to Democrat Elizabeth Colbert Busch.  —  The affair that sent Sanford's …

Proposal would allow state religion in North Carolina  —  A bill filed by Republican lawmakers would allow the state to declare an official religion, in violation of the Establishment Clause of the US Bill of Rights, and seeks to nullify any federal ruling against Christian prayer by public bodies in North Carolina.

Video shows Mike Rice's ire  —  NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. — In several dozen hours of video of Rutgers men's basketball practices obtained by “Outside the Lines,” coach Mike Rice is seen hurling basketballs from close range at his players' heads, legs and feet; shoving and grabbing his players …

The Morning Plum: Republicans increasingly isolated on many major issues  —  One thing that remains striking about our politics right now is the degree to which public opinion among Republicans is increasingly isolated and drifting away from the rest of the electorate.

The case for expanding Social Security, not cutting it  —  Nowadays, whenever Social Security comes up in policy debates around Washington, the discussion often focuses on how best to cut benefits in order to shore up the program's finances.  —  Time for an expansion?

Obama administration pushes banks to make home loans to people with weaker credit  —  The Obama administration is engaged in a broad push to make more home loans available to people with weaker credit, an effort that officials say will help power the economic recovery but that skeptics …

Same-Sex Marriage Makes David Brooks Crazy  —  This morning's David Brooks column on same-sex marriage was one of the weirdest, most mean-spirited things I've ever seen in The New York Times.  —  Entitled “Freedom Loses One,” the article is a sarcastic broadside against . . . well …

Rep. Maloney says she received death threats after introducing gun legislation  —  Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) says she received death threats about gun legislation introduced last week.  —  Maloney introduced new legislation on Friday that would require gun owners to have liability insurance.

If true, state Sen. Malcolm Smith's scheme to buy Republican mayor ticket may be one of the most boneheaded plots in crooked New York politics  —  Smith and City Councilman Dan Halloran, both products of the Queens political machine, have been implicated in a plan to bribe borough GOP leaders …

I Never Wanted to Take Your Guns Away  —  I disagree wholeheartedly with those who say that there are just too many guns out there to control and that more gun laws won't make a difference.  Change must start someplace.  I'm pretty sure that no worthwhile endeavor has ever been accomplished without …

RNC blasts Obama fundraising swing as ‘hypocrisy at its finest’  —  The Republican National Committee released a new web ad Wednesday slamming President Obama over a planned trip to California to raise money for House Democrats.  —  The president will head to San Francisco Wednesday evening …

Cuccinelli challenges Va. sodomy ruling  — Stumble upon something good?  Share it on StumbleUpon  — Send via Email  — Send this page to Print Friendly  —  Virginia Attorney General Kenneth Cuccinelli is challenging a ruling that overturned the state's sodomy law.

Bill O'Reilly Blows Up At Laura Ingraham In Epic Segment Over His ‘Thump The Bible’ Comments  —  Bill O'Reilly tonight responded to criticisms from the right over his commentary last week that gay marriage opponents need to do more than just “thump the Bible” if they want to win the argument.

The Great British class calculator  —  Traditional British social divisions of upper, middle and working class seem out of date in the 21st Century, no longer reflecting modern occupations or lifestyles.  —  The BBC teamed up with sociologists from leading universities to analyse the modern British class system.

Happily Never After?  —  I'm worried about the Supreme Court.  —  I'm worried about how the justices can properly debate same-sex marriage when some don't even seem to realize that most Americans use the word “gay” now instead of “homosexual”; when Chief Justice John Roberts thinks gays …

Leno: AP Replaces ‘Illegal Immigrant’ With ‘Undocumented Democrat’  —  The Associated Press announced Tuesday that it will no longer use the term “illegal immigrant.”  —  On NBC's Tonight Show, host Jay Leno said, “They will now use the phrase ‘undocumented Democrat’” (video follows …

Prosecutor Cited Security As Reason For Withdrawing From Aryan Brotherhood Of Texas Case  —  Assistant U.S. Attorney Jay Hileman, who has withdrawn from a large federal racketeering case against alleged members of the Aryan Brotherhood of Texas prison gang, cited “security reasons” …

Jon Stewart sparks Twitter fight between U.S. Embassy and Egyptian president's office … The U.S. Embassy in Cairo has earned a reputation for being awfully active on Twitter, where it often engages critics directly and, at times, even jabs at Egypt's most powerful people and institutions.

Crosswalks in New York Are Not Havens, Study Finds  —  Pedestrians struck by cars are most often hit while in the crosswalk, with the signal on their side.  —  Taxicabs pose a disproportionate threat to cyclists, who often compete for the same sliver of curbside roadway.