EXCLUSIVE: Saudi Arabia ‘warned the United States IN WRITING about Boston Bomber Tamerlan Tsarnaev in 2012’  — Saudis developed intelligence separately from Russia, which also warned the U.S. about the accused Boston bomber  — A letter to the Department of Homeland Security allegedly named Tsarnaev …

A House in chaos  —  Less than two weeks ago, House Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy walked upstairs to Majority Leader Eric Cantor's Capitol office to discuss a sensitive issue: Why did Cantor schedule a vote before McCarthy had the chance to survey Republican support?

Bottoms Up, Lame Duck  —  During the 2012 campaign, the president and his top advisers liked to make the argument that if he was re-elected, the “fever” would break.  Washington would no longer be the graveyard of progress, the crypt of consensus.  Once dystopian Republicans accepted …

ADP reports 119K private job gains in April  —  Businesses added 119,000 jobs in March, payroll processor ADP said Wednesday, below economists' expectations.  Job growth picked up from the prior month but remained mired in a spring slowdown.  —  Economists' consensus forecast was for private-sector gains of 150,000.

Cruz 2016  —  Freshman senator Ted Cruz is considering a presidential run, according to his friends and confidants.  —  Cruz won't talk about it publicly, and even privately he's cagey about revealing too much of his thought process or intentions.  But his interest is undeniable.

DIRTY TRICKS: Mysterious Conservative Group Sending Out Push Polls In South Carolina Special Election  —  HILTON HEAD, South Carolina — A mysterious conservative group has been placing highly-misleading phone calls to South Carolina voters, trying to dissuade them from voting for the Democrat …

Gabriel E. Gomez wins GOP nod in special US Senate primary; Edward J. Markey to run for the Democrats  —  Will he be the next Scott Brown?  —  Gabriel E. Gomez, a 47-year-old son of immigrants who became a Navy pilot and SEAL before becoming a private equity investor, won the Republican nomination tonight …

Sarah Palin for Senate?  Some tea party activists want her to run  —  SEATTLE — Sarah Palin's last elective position in Alaska ended early when in 2009 she abandoned the governorship midway through her first term.  —  But tea party activists appear eager for a comeback …

Jason Collins' Ex-Fiancee — I Had NO IDEA He Was Gay  —  JASON COLLINS' EX-FIANCEE  —  I Had NO IDEA He Was Gay  —  EXCLUSIVE DETAILS  —  The woman who was once engaged to NBA star Jason Collins tells TMZ, she had NO CLUE he was gay at the time of their relationship ... in fact …

Petraeus' mistress Broadwell: I'm looking forward  —  (CNN) - After weathering a political and personal scandal that made her the subject of glaring media scrutiny, Paula Broadwell says she's ready to move forward.  —  The former Army reservist who became romantically involved …

GOP Battles A Threat To Gun Rights That Even The NRA Says Doesn't Exist  —  Republican lawmakers are pushing legislation aimed at combating a threat to gun rights that even the National Rifle Association has described as pure fiction.  —  A bill introduced late last week by Sen. James Inhofe …

NH Man Loses Life Savings On Carnival Game  —  Henry Gribbohm says he lost his life savings on a carnival game and all he got was this stuffed banana.  (CBS)  —  EPSOM, NH (CBS) - Henry Gribbohm says he lost his life savings, $2,600, on a carnival game and all he has to show for it is a stuffed banana with dreadlocks.

The killers among us  —  They blend in.  They don't make threats.  They carefully plan their attacks rather than “snap.”  They may be quite sane.  —  Their friends, acquaintances and relatives sometimes know they are planning to plant bombs or shoot their victims but say nothing to authorities in advance.

GOP Census Bill Would Eliminate America's Economic Indicators  —  WASHINGTON — A group of Republicans are cooking up legislation that could give President Barack Obama an unintentional assist with disagreeable unemployment numbers — by eliminating the key economic statistic altogether.

5-year-old boy accidentally shoots, kills 2-year-old sister in Cumberland County  —  A 5-year-old boy who was playing with a .22-caliber rifle accidentally shot and killed his 2-year-old sister in Cumberland County on Tuesday afternoon, according to a news release from the state police.

David Brooks and the Role of Opinion Journalism  —  Bizarro Ricin Suspect Trashed Ricin-Laced Evidence Near His Tae Kwon Do Dojo  —  The latest offensive, or counter-offensive, in the passive-aggressive Cold War between David Brooks and Paul Krugman has taken the form of an entire Brooks column …

Allbritton exploring sale of television stations  —  The following memo was just sent to POLITICO staff from Robert Allbritton, the chairman and CEO of Allbritton Communications, our parent company: