NEW YORK TIMES: The United States and Cuba have ended their third round of talks on re-establishing diplomatic relations as abruptly as the meeting was announced, with no breakthrough on sticking points and in an atmosphere of rising tension over Venezuela. A small group of American officials led by Roberta Jacobson, the top United States […]

DAILY BEAST: …His case was initially struck down by an appellate court, which ruled that the law pertained more to “legalization” than “decriminalization.” But when [Nicholas] Manditto brought the case to the state’s supreme court, they disagreed. With a vote of 7-0, they gave Manditto the go ahead to clear his record. In a seven-page […]

JERUSALEM POST: Zionist Union leader Isaac Herzog called Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday morning to congratulate him on Likud’s win… With 99 percent of precincts reporting before dawn on Wednesday, the Likud has emerged as the clear, undisputed victor in the elections. According to the official up-to-the-minute tally, Likud wins 30 seats while Zionist […]

From Kevin Zeese: Today in Congress was the first of five hearings in the next ten days for the Chairman of the FCC. One amusing highlight (for us) today was Congress accusing us of being involved in a conspiracy with the White House to protect the future of the Internet. It is so rare for […]

PENN LIVE OP-ED: …When it was recently announced that U.S. News & World Report ranked Penn State’s World Campus the best online bachelors program in the nation, it was an important signal that Penn State can improve access to and affordability of a college degree without sacrificing excellence… Access and affordability has been an ongoing […]

ESPN: San Francisco 49ers linebacker Chris Borland, one of the NFL’s top rookies the past season, told “Outside the Lines” on Monday that he is retiring because of concerns about the long-term effects of repetitive head trauma. Borland, 24, said he notified the 49ers on Friday. He said he made his decision after consulting with […]

FINANCIAL TIMES: …France, Germany and Italy have all agreed to follow Britain’s lead and join a China-led international development bank, according to European officials, delivering a blow to US efforts to keep leading western countries out of the new institution… The AIIB, which was formally launched by Chinese President Xi Jinping last year, is one […]

BLOOMBERG: The Obama administration announced today that the Affordable Care Act has expanded health coverage to 16.4 million people who were previously uninsured. This means Obamacare has expanded medical insurance faster than any new policy since Medicare and Medicaid were created in 1965. The announcement today counts 14.1 million people who have enrolled in private […]

FINANCIAL TIMES: Vladimir Putin was ready to put Russia’s nuclear weapons on alert last year during Russia’s annexation of Crimea. “We were ready to do this,” Mr Putin said in comments shown as part of a Russian state TV documentary on the one-year anniversary of Crimea’s annexation. Mr Putin said that Moscow had been prepared […]

HUFF POST: …The news comes after Capital New York reported that revisions to Wikipedia entries about black men killed by New York City police officials came from computers tied to the NYPD’s network. Users connected to the network reportedly edited articles on Eric Garner, Sean Bell, Amadou Diallo and other police controversies in what appears […]

DAILY BEAST / AP: House Budget Committee Chairman Tom Price, R-Ga., and Senate Budget Committee Chairman Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., plan to produce blueprints that would balance the budget within 10 years – without raising taxes. Instead, they will propose major spending cuts to programs such as Medicare, health care subsidies, food stamps and the Medicaid […]

REUTERS: Russian President Vladimir Putin laughed off suggestions he had been forced to lie low because of poor health, saying on Monday that life would be “boring without gossip”… Putin smiled easily as he sat before television cameras in the Constantine Palace in Russia’s second city in his first public appearance since March 5. “It […]