Daily Beast drops Howard Kurtz  —  The Daily Beast is dropping Howard Kurtz, the veteran media critic who made headlines this week for his erroneous report about NBA star Jason Collins.  —  “The Daily Beast and Howard Kurtz have parted company,” Tina Brown, the site's editor in chief, said in a statement sent to POLITICO.

Boston Plot Said to Initially Target July 4  —  WASHINGTON — The surviving suspect in the Boston Marathon bombings told F.B.I. interrogators that he and his brother considered suicide attacks and striking on the Fourth of July as they plotted their deadly assault, according to two law enforcement officials.

Why I Am Signing Marriage Equality Into Law  —  PROVIDENCE, R.I.  —  ON Thursday, the Rhode Island House of Representatives is expected to approve legislation to extend the right to marry to all Rhode Islanders, regardless of sexual orientation.  I plan to sign the Marriage Equality Act …

Hagel: US rethinking resistance to arming Syrian opposition  —  Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said Thursday that the Obama administration is re-thinking its opposition to arming the Syrian rebels, as officials weigh a range of options in the wake of findings that chemical weapons were likely used in the country's civil war.

Top Posts Remain Vacant Throughout Obama Administration  —  WASHINGTON — Secretary of State John Kerry is practically home alone, toiling without permanent assistant secretaries of state for the Middle East, Asia, Europe and Africa.  At the Pentagon, a temporary personnel chief is managing furloughs for 800,000 civilian employees.

Yet Again, Anarchists Highjack Peaceful Left Wing Protest  —  I am just sick to death of these peaceful socialist and communist gatherings being highjacked by politically unaffiliated anarchists who have no political affiliation and no relation at all to the organized American political left.

Bloomberg Refused Second Slice of Pizza at Local Restaurant  —  New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg was denied a second slice of pizza today at an Italian eatery in Brooklyn.  —  The owners of Collegno's Pizzeria say they refused to serve him more than one piece to protest Bloomberg's proposed soda ban …

Poll: 29% of Registered Voters Believe Armed Revolution Might Be Necessary in Next Few Years  —  Twenty-nine percent of registered voters think that an armed revolution might be necessary in the next few years in order to protect liberties, according to a Public Mind poll by Fairleigh Dickinson University.

HPD: Bush IAH gunman left suicide note saying he had ‘monster within’  —  HOUSTON — A gunman walked into Bush Intercontinental Airport with an AR-15 and a handgun Thursday and fired at least two shots before shooting himself.  It happened in the ticket area inside Terminal B around 1:35 p.m.

The Rand Machine Ramps Up  —  Rand Paul's chief strategist is leaving his Senate post to run the Kentucky Republican's political shop.  —  Doug Stafford, who is widely seen as Paul's closest adviser, will soon resign as chief of staff to manage Paul's national political operation.

The New NRA President Fantasizes About “Whipping” Anti-Gun Opponents  —  Just in time for its wingnut-filled annual meeting tomorrow, the National Rifle Association is set to install a new president: an Alabama lawyer who laments “the war of Northern Aggression,” calls Barack Obama …

Commerce Appointment Opens A New White House Rift  —  Room enough for Valerie Jarrett and Penny Pritzker both to reach out to business, the White House says.  But Jarrett tried to kill the appointment.  —  Via: Larry Downing / Reuters  —  WASHINGTON — The nomination of billionaire Penny Pritzker …

GOP Senator: I Voted Against Equal Pay For Women Because We Have Enough Laws  —  WARREN, NH — Women in full-time year-round jobs earned 77 cents for every dollar earned by a man.  Yet, at a town hall earlier this week, Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-NH) claimed that Congress has done enough to ensure that women receive equal pay for equal work.

Attack on the U.S. Consulate in Libya  —  (CNN) — Several Yemeni men belonging to al Qaeda took part in the terrorist attack on the U.S. diplomatic compound in Benghazi last September, according to several sources who have spoken with CNN.  —  One senior U.S. law enforcement official told CNN that …

Internet Strengthens Institution of Marriage  —  Does broadband lead to a wedding band?  —  New research that says thanks to the Internet, marriage rates among young people, which have been declining for years, are 15% to 30% higher than they would be without the Web.

Mitt Romney's Advice to College Grads: Start Having Babies As Soon As Possible  —  For “children are a heritage of the Lord, and the fruit of the womb is His reward.”  —  “Get married, have a quiver full of kids if you can.”  That's the commencement advice Mitt Romney delivered this past weekend …

Suicide Rates Rise Sharply in U.S.  —  Suicide rates among middle-age Americans have risen sharply in the past decade, prompting concern that a generation of baby boomers who have faced years of economic worry and easy access to prescription pain killers may be particularly vulnerable to self-inflicted harm.