Permawar: Children and families in a public park in Lahore, Pakistan were targeted in a suicide bombing yesterday in which at least 69 people died and 300 were wounded. An offshoot of the Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility. It was the …

The Lead: Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz officially announced he’s running for president this morning at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia, the Christian college founded by the Rev. Jerry Falwell. “It is the time for truth. It is the time …

Nation: Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, a Tea Party stalwart, is expected to announce tomorrow that he is a candidate for president in 2016. He would be the first major Republican candidate to announce. Cruz was first elected to the Senate …

Bibi Double Reverse: Just days after he scraped up extra votes by declaring himself opposed to a Palestinian State, Israel’s re-elected Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is now talking like he never said that. He says what he meant was it’s …

World: Ukrainian troops re-took a government building occupied by protesters in the eastern city of Kharkiv. About 70 people were arrested. White House Press Secy. Jay Carney said yesterday that there’s strong evidence that the demonstrators who took over government …

Ukraine: Russian President Vladimir Putin called President Obama on the phone yesterday to talk about a diplomatic solution to the Ukraine crisis. It’s too soon to know whether Putin has blinked in the international standoff. Diplomats will meet to talk …

Ukraine: Russian President Vladimir Putin signed papers today formalizing the annexation of Crimea while Ukraine signed a deal for closer economic ties with Europe.   Putin made jokes about Western sanctions. He said he was considering opening an account at the …