“I'm a 34-year-old NBA center.  I'm black.  And I'm gay,” says Jason Collins.  —  I'm a 34-year-old NBA center.  I'm black.  And I'm gay.  —  I didn't set out to be the first openly gay athlete playing in a major American team sport.  But since I am, I'm happy to start the conversation.

First on CNN: Paul laying 2016 groundwork in South Carolina  —  (CNN) - To say Rand Paul is testing the 2016 waters would be an amusing understatement.  With trips to Iowa and New Hampshire lined up in May, the Kentucky senator is diving in head first.  —  Next up on his early state roadshow: South Carolina.

Antiabortion group releases videos of clinic workers discussing live births  —  An antiabortion group that mounted a six-month undercover investigation has released videos this week that raise questions about what might happen to a baby as a result of an unsuccessful abortion.

More backlash against Senators on gun vote  —  New PPP polls in Alaska, Arizona, Nevada, and Ohio find serious backlash against the 5 Senators who voted against background checks in those states.  Each of them has seen their approval numbers decline, and voters say they're less likely …

Female DNA Found on Bomb in Boston Attack  —  Investigators have found female DNA on at least one of the bombs used in the Boston Marathon attacks, though they haven't determined whose DNA it is or whether that means a woman helped the two suspects carry out the attacks, according to U.S. officials briefed on the probe.

Cruz Breaks With Senate Tradition While Criticizing Colleagues  —  In his short time at the Capitol, Senator Ted Cruz, a freshman Republican from Texas, has shown little regard for long-standing rules of decorum.  But on Friday, he publicly discussed the closed-door dealings …

‘You Son Of A B*tch’: Furious Boston Man Confronts ‘A**hole’ Alex Jones Reporter Over ‘False Flag’ Allegations  —  An InfoWars.com reporter found himself the subject of verbal scorn last week when he appeared in Boston with press badge and camera in tow.  An irate Boston resident confronted …

Dem resolution warns climate change could push women to ‘transactional sex’  —  Several House Democrats are calling on Congress to recognize that climate change is hurting women more than men, and could even drive poor women to “transactional sex” for survival.

O'Connor worries Supreme Court was wrong to rule in Bush v. Gore  —  Former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor said in an interview published this weekend that she is no longer certain that the Supreme Court should have taken Bush v. Gore, the controversial case that ended …

Obama keeps the jokes coming in first post-dinner speech  —  President Obama, fresh off his performance Saturday night at the White House Correspondents Dinner, peppered his remarks Monday at the National Academy of Sciences with multiple jokes.  Obama noted that the academy was founded during the Civil War …

Austerity is hurting our health, say researchers  —  (Reuters) - Austerity is having a devastating effect on health in Europe and North America, driving suicide, depression and infectious diseases and reducing access to medicines and care, researchers said on Monday.

Conservatives Try to Rewrite Civil Rights History (Again)  —  Rand Paul's unsuccessful speech at Howard University—where he tried, and failed, to paint the Republican Party as the true home for African American voters—didn't happen in a vacuum.  It drew from a heavily revisionist history …

House Republicans Eyeing New Hostage Opportunity  —  If you don't submit, I will destroy your puny world with this HAMMER OF THOR.  —  The House Republicans are contemplating a new budget-hostage strategy, the the Washington Post reports in a story that is both highly useful and inadvertently Onion-esque.

Black pols stymied in Obama era  —  More than five years after Barack Obama won the Iowa caucuses and demolished the notion that white voters wouldn't support a black presidential candidate, progress for other African-American politicians remains elusive.  Even as the country elected and reelected Obama …