In a report that was almost 100 pages, the Bureau sharply criticized the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp., created in 2011 by Walker and the state legislature, and called for much more oversight.

From the Associated Press:

The audit faulted WEDC for not having sufficient policies to administer its $520 million worth of grant, loan and tax credit programs effectively, including some policies required by law. It awarded $80 million in its first year.

The agency did not consistently follow the law or existing policies when making awards, and had no policies for determining how to handle delinquent loan amounts, the audit said.

It lacked invoices or other contractually required documentation showing authorized costs for seven of 29 grants reviewed, the audit said. Four contracts gave $906,000 total in tax credits for job creation and employee training that had already occurred, the audit said. Twelve of 14 recipients of grant and loan contracts worth at least $100,000 did not submit verified financial statements as required by law, the audit found.

"This audit dates back to 2011 and largely reflects information that WEDC has known for some time," a Walker spokesman said in a statement. "This new agency has taken proactive and positive measures to address its issues, and Governor Walker is confident in the direction of WEDC as an agency that aims to promote job creation and economic growth for Wisconsin."

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"He went out of his way to attack New York on the bill,” King, R-N.Y., added, the New York Daily News reports. "It's a little early to forgive and forget."

“It’s life and death,” King continued. “There were really false and phony charges made against the Sandy aid, and if Ted Cruz had prevailed, my constituents would be homeless."

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From the Minneapolis Star Tribune:

An affidavit reviewed by the committee on Wednesday showed that former Bachmann chief of staff Andy Parrish said Bachmann approved plans to indirectly pay Sorenson $7,500 a month to work on her campaign. The alleged payments could violate an Iowa Senate ethics rule that prohibits members from accepting payments for work on political campaigns.

Parrish’s affidavit included copies of e-mails between him and other staff members discussing plans to use a company run by Bachmann’s then-national political director, Guy Short, to funnel payments to Sorenson. Sorenson has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing. He filed an affidavit from an attorney who claimed to have reviewed his bank account and found no payments from the Bachmann campaign, her political action committee or Short’s company, C&M Strategies.

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"So I think that's different than it could be in some parts of the country, but we haven't seen any measurable effect here at all," he added.

A new poll from CBS News shows that 69 percent of Americans don't believe the sequester has impacted them. That may be because the cuts have been very specific and localized, and particularly affected low-income communities.

On the other hand, Congress did take urgent steps to rectify the part of sequestration that was being felt by wealthier people: FAA furloughs, which were causing flight delays.

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Up until today, you might have been able to write all that anti-democratic pathology off as one infecting only the Republican Party's politicians and institutional leadership, but not its rank-and-file voters. But then this morning Fairleigh Dickinson University released this gun control-related pollshowing that authoritarianism runs throughout the the entire party.

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Christie has been “working with Democrats and Republicans. Believing that as long as you stick to your principles, 'compromise' isn’t a dirty word,” the ad says.

”The most important thing he did has little to do with numbers, statistics or even politics. He made us proud to say we we’re from New Jersey,” it continues.

Watch:

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Tuesday's primary elections set up an eight-week sprint to the June 25 election.

In Markey, the race pits a longtime liberal politician known for environmental advocacy against Gomez, a fresh-faced social moderate with a distinguished biography and untested political skills. On paper, it looks like a competitive contest, but Republicans quietly concede that Markey is the strong favorite in a state where only around 11 percent of voters are registered Republicans.

"As we've shown before in the state, anything can happen in a special election," said Republican strategist Ron Kaufman, Massachusetts' national committeeman.

Indeed, little-known Republican state Sen. Scott Brown stunned Democrats in his 2010 special election U.S. Senate victory in a contest that became a referendum on Obama's healthcare overhaul. So far, at least, this race has drawn little national interest, even before being overshadowed by the Boston Marathon bombings.

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The Hill reports:

Oklahoma Sen. Jim Inhofe and Rep. Frank Lucas have introduced a bill that would prohibit every government agency — except the military — from buying more ammunition each month, than the monthly average it purchased from 2001 to 2009.

The lawmakers say the Obama administration is buying up exceedingly high levels of ammunition in an attempt to limit the number of bullets the American public have access to on the open marketplace.

Inhofe argued that Obama has been "adamant about curbing law-abiding Americans’ access and opportunities to exercise their Second Amendment rights," and that "One way the Obama Administration is able to do this is by limiting what’s available in the market with federal agencies purchasing unnecessary stockpiles of ammunition."

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The non-binding opinion was in response to a request by state Sen. Dan Patrick, a Republican, who objected to the Pflugerville school district's decision to offer domestic partnership benefits.

From the Dallas Voice:

Pflugerville’s decision also prompted a Republican state lawmaker to introduce a bill that would cut funding for school districts that offer DP benefits. The bill — HB 1568 by Drew Springer of Muenster — is awaiting a vote in the House.

While Pflugerville was the first school district to offer DP benefits, several other local government entities do so, including the cities of Austin, Dallas, El Paso, Fort Worth and San Antonio; as well as Dallas County and Parkland hospital. Most offer DP benefits to both same-sex and opposite-sex domestic partners.

In his opinion, Abbott writes that domestic partnerships "have various characteristics in common with the criteria for marriage," enough that "a court is likely to conclude that the domestic partnership legal status about which [Patrick inquires] is 'similar to marriage' and therefore barred by article I, section 32 of the Texas Constitution."

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Investigators are also looking into other potential gifts that McDonnell did not disclose, the Washington Post reports.

From the Post:

Now, federal officials are trying to determine whether to expand that investigation into a broader look at whether McDonnell or his administration took any action to benefit Star Scientific in exchange for monetary or other benefits, according to the four people familiar with the interviews. It is unclear whether the probe will be broadened.

Star Scientific, which manufactures the dietary supplement Anatabloc, has recently been the target of a securities probe by Virginia investigators.

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"I rocked it," Colbert Busch said following Monday's 75-minute debate before an audience of about 500 at The Citadel, which was telecast on C-SPAN. Sanford, a former two-term governor trying to revive a political career damaged by an extramarital affair, said he would let the pundits decide who won.

With Election Day just a week away, both have separate appearances Tuesday, then appear before a Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce group on the city's waterfront before attending a forum sponsored by the Goose Creek NAACP. During both appearances, the candidates will address attendees but won't debate.

They did debate Monday, before a lively audience where supporters frequently broke into shouts or applause.

Early on, Colbert Busch, the sister of political satirist Stephen Colbert, reminded Sanford that he once used taxpayer funds to "leave the country for a personal purpose" - referring to the extramarital affair with an Argentine woman he had while governor. In general, Colbert Busch has refused to bring up Sanford's personal past during the campaign.

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Obama had joked that people complain that he doesn't reach across the aisle enough. "'Why don't you get a drink with Mitch McConnell?' they ask," Obama said. "Really? Why don't you get a drink with Mitch McConnell?"

McConnell responded during an appearance before the Southeast Kentucky Chamber of Commerce, the Washington Post reports, saying: “I’m shocked. He’s obviously not seeing my soft side.”

His campaign Twitter account also tweeted a picture of McConnell drinking with an empty chair, also looping in Clint Eastwood:

[embedtweet id="328939838835392513"]

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He continued: "You’ve got people suffering and you say to yourself, I’ve got to do my job. I say the same thing to all of them – put yourself in my shoes, and if you’re a responsible elected official, you would do nothing different.”

At the time, Christie sharply criticized House Speaker John Boehner and other House Republicans for holding up a vote on relief funds after the hurricane, meanwhile praising President Obama for his efforts in the state.

“Listen, I supported Mitt Romney and I was very vocal about it,” Christie added. “But the fact is, presidential politics was not the first thing on my mind that day. It was getting my state recovered and restored.”

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Had people voted last November at the same rates they did in 2004, when black turnout was below its current historic levels, Republican Mitt Romney would have won narrowly, according to an analysis conducted for The Associated Press.

Census data and exit polling show that whites and blacks will remain the two largest racial groups of eligible voters for the next decade. Last year's heavy black turnout came despite concerns about the effect of new voter-identification laws on minority voting, outweighed by the desire to re-elect the first black president.

William H. Frey, a demographer at the Brookings Institution, analyzed the 2012 elections for the AP using census data on eligible voters and turnout, along with November's exit polling. He estimated total votes for Obama and Romney under a scenario where 2012 turnout rates for all racial groups matched those in 2004. Overall, 2012 voter turnout was roughly 58 percent, down from 62 percent in 2008 and 60 percent in 2004.

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From The Journal News:

In the deal announced Thursday, Katz received a lesser parking ticket and an adjournment in contemplation of dismissal, which would result in the marijuana charge being thrown out if he finishes the community service by the end of June and doesn’t run afoul of the law for up to a year. He did not appear in court Thursday, leaving it to his attorney to formally enter the plea. Katz did not return a call for comment.

Katz, who was pulled over for speeding in March and then charged with pot possession, sits on the Assembly Committee on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse, and also happens to have voted against legalizing medical marijuana in 2012.

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Seems his fellow Republicans did not appreciate what Kush said on Twitter and Facebook regarding a 19-year-old female at the meeting, "Nice hat Working America chick but damn you are a radical bitch." Nor did it enjoy his remarks depicting the organization's state director Chelsey Evans as "Uh oh another Working America chick," or his observation that she had "nice boots…I know she makes more than min wage." And they definitely didn't find it too amusing when he declared that she "was hot enough to almost make me register democrat."

He's currently suspended, indefinitely, without pay.

"It was an ill-fated attempt at humor," Kush told Watchdog.org Wednesday. "Do I regret it? Yes … I absolutely crossed the line."

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"He's by far the best qualified man, but no," she continued. "I really don't. I think it's a great country, there are a lot of great families, and it's not just four families or whatever. There are other people out there that are very qualified, and we've had enough Bushes."

Bush added that she doesn't think Jeb, the former governor of Florida, will run: "He's the most qualified, but I don't think he'll run."

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From PPP:

Ayotte now has a negative approval rating with 44% of voters giving her good marks and 46% disapproving. That's down a net 15 points from the last time we polled on her, in October, when she had a 48% approval with 35% disapproving. 75% of New Hampshire voters- including 95% of Democrats, 74% of independents, and 56% of Republicans- say they support background checks. And 50% of voters in the state say Ayotte's 'no' vote will make them less likely to support her in a future election, compared to just 23% who consider it to be a positive.

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Rep. Tom Shaw, a Republican, said that the bill was meant "to maintain the balance of power” between the different branches of government in the state. "We’re just holding them responsible for their decision, for going beyond their bounds,” he said.

The Iowa Gazette reports:

The justices “trashed the separation of powers” with their unanimous Varnum v. Brien decision and implementation of same-sex marriage without a change in state law banning any marriages expect between one man and one woman, added Rep. Dwayne Alons, R-Hull.

Their amendment to House File 120, the judicial branch budget bill, would lower the salaries of the four justices on the seven-member court who were part of the unanimous Varnum v. Brein decision to $25,000 – the same as a state legislator.

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From the FBI's press release on the arrest:

According to the affidavit, from May 2012 through February 2013, Adam Paul Savader sent anonymous text messages using Google Voice numbers to 15 women stating that he had nude photographs of the women and threatening to distribute the nude photographs to the women’s friends and family members unless the women sent him more nude photographs of themselves. Savader sent some of the victims links to a photo-sharing website where nude pictures of the victims had been posted.

From the New York Daily News:

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