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A new study from the Guttmacher Institute find that 14 percent of birth control pill users take the pill for non-contraceptive purposes. According to the study (.pdf), 1.5 million women rely on birth control pills for exclusively for non-contraceptive purposes. The study also found “that more than half (58 percent) of all pill users rely on the method, at least in part, for purposes other than pregnancy prevention—meaning that only 42 percent use the pill exclusively for contraceptive reasons”: The study—based on U.S government data from the National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG)—revealed that after pregnancy prevention (86%), the most common reasons women use the pill include reducing cramps or menstrual pain (31%); menstrual regulation, which for some women may help prevent migraines and other painful “side effects” of menstruation (28%); treatment of acne (14%); and treatment of endometriosis (4%)

On Sunday, Jay Matthews of the Washington Post highlighted the cost disparities found among homes existing in areas where the schools are strong and

The presidential exploratory campaign for former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum, a Pennsylvania Republican, is announcing new additions to its Iowa and New Hampshire teams.

Gov. Susana Martinez, Sens. Jeff Bingaman and Tom Udall, and Rep.

I had hoped never ever to return to No Apology: The Case For American Greatness. But there’s a clear narrative forming about the Obama administration’s

Former Gov. Jeb Bush (R-Fla.) toes the party line, endorsing Marco Rubio over successor Charlie Crist. Independent campaign spending this year is up four

The Bureau of Labor Statistics released Friday its monthly jobs report showing that the unemployment rate declined from 9.8 percent to 9.4 percent -- a decrease

In the fast-evolving Tea Party movement conservatives of all stripes are coming to grips with the kind of organizational politics and media blowback that afflicted left-wing protests during the Bush years.

This morning, I recapped the current legislative efforts to further extend unemployment benefits and aid the millions who have been out of work for more than

Yesterday I highlighted the departure of Gen. William Wallace from the U.S. Army’s Training and Doctrine command as an example of the end of the Rumsfeld era --

Could America be colorblind in 2028? Sen. Russ Feingold’s (D-Wis.) okay with CIA assassinations, not okay with being kept in the dark. With a little more

Republicans on the Wake County School Board hired retired Army Brigadier Gen. Anthony Tata to be the district’s superintendent, in part for his military

From Dexter Filkins’ New York Times Magazine profile of Gen. Stanley McChrystal, which you really ought to read in its entirety: I asked General Flynn to

Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Mich.) says BP’s CEO will be spliced and diced during a House committee hearing today. A GOP candidate vying to challenge Rep. Brad

A group of Democrats in the U.S. Senate have written to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton asking that the State Department extend their review of the Keystone XL pipeline project. Andrew Restuccia, our former AINN colleague, reports at The Hill : The lawmakers, in a letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, raised concerns about TransCanada’s proposed Keystone XL pipeline, pointing to recent leaks at the company’s existing Keystone pipeline and a recent oil spill at an Exxon Mobil Corp

A conservative friend passes on this article about Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.) taking heat at a town hall meeting from Robert Broadus of Clinton, Maryland,

Immigrants rights groups have shifted their immigration organizing efforts to smaller bills, such as the DREAM Act for undocumented students, as comprehensive

Sheriff Joe Arpaio (Pic by Gage Skidmore, via Flickr) A federal report released Thursday finds that Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Maricopa County, Ariz., an advocate for controversial immigration enforcement and detention measures, has committed a “wide range of civil rights violations.” The Associated Press reports : The federal government issued a scathing report Thursday that outlines how Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s office has committed a wide range of civil rights violations against Latinos, including a pattern of racial profiling and discrimination and carrying out heavy-handed immigration patrols based on racially charged citizen complaints. The report, obtained by The Associated Press ahead of its release, is a result of the U.S.

Fresh off the latest revelation that the CIA contracted Blackwater for an assassination effort, here’s Jeremy Scahill, Blackwater’s most dogged pursuer,

As predicted/snarked, not the greatest day at the State Department press briefing. Spokesman P.J. Crowley gets asked about Fatah’s memo expressing

New HUD program allows first-time homebuyers to borrow against an $8,000 tax credit for downpayments, raising questions about what was learned from the housing crisis.

BOSTON -- Snow is falling in the Bay State, from western Massachusetts to heavily Democratic downtown Boston. In a campaign full of lucky breaks for Republican

U.S. District Judge Ellen Huvelle this morning denied the government’s attempt to further delay the hearing of Guantanamo Bay prisoner Mohammed Jawad and, as