The New Republic

In 1964, an ambitious young student at the University of Louisville made an impassioned plea to his classmates, urging them to march in solidarity with Martin Luther King Jr. At the time, Kentucky was no haven for race reformers—it was dominated by some of the same elements of the Democratic Party that vehemently rejected the very notion of civil rights. Nevertheless, this 20-year-old activist called for strong statutes, state and federal, to protect the dignity of minorities. READ MORE >>

There is a new Iron Man movie opening this month, which means we are being subjected to the force of nature that is the Robert Downey Jr. publicity tour. By now, his persona is familiar: debonair, insouciant, and lovably arrogant, in a faintly bemused kind of way. READ MORE >>

If the Germans covered Albany, they’d have a word for the ambivalence that Andrew Cuomo provokes in those with fond memories of his father. READ MORE >>

Queen Elizabeth had a spot of bother with her stomach in early March, and one imagines that her eldest son spent some time wondering, with a larger measure of hope than fear, if there might not be . . . complications. But the Prince of Wales soon heard that Mummy was, as always, fine. READ MORE >>

Tiger Woods is back, sort of. A couple of weeks ago, he was invited to play golf with Barack Obama, and the occasion had the feel of an official pardon, a suggestion that Tiger had sufficiently rehabbed himself, on and off the course, that he could again be welcome in presidential company. Lately, his game has also shown signs of twitching to life. READ MORE >>

There are a very small number of jobs where it just doesn't matter if you're not that well-liked. Solitary-confinement prison guard, maybe. Large-scale media or movie mogul. Solo-rig long-haul trucker. READ MORE >>

For a guy whose professional life involves talking to people about firearms, Wayne LaPierre doesn’t seem especially enthusiastic about either people or firearms. “I knew of no gun interest that he had,” says former National Rifle Association (NRA) chief Warren Cassidy, LaPierre’s boss for a decade. If LaPierre were ever to join one of his colleagues’ hunting trips, says John Aquilino, who used to run the group’s media relations, “I would run like hell.” READ MORE >>

It’s a real shame that the planned big-screen production of Paradise Lost, which was to feature Bradley Cooper as Lucifer, will never see the light of day. It might have been the perfect role for the 38-year-old actor, who’s nominated for Best Actor at this Sunday’s Oscars for his work as in Silver Linings Playbook. READ MORE >>

A cursory glance around the world during any recent February would seem to indicate that things have never been better for Cupid. The little guy is everywhere, from your local CVS to the fancy paperie. Centuries into his reign as a Latinate metonym, we regularly use his name as an easy stand-in for love. READ MORE >>

Roger Ailes is kvetching. “The president likes to divide people into groups,” he huffs into the phone. “He’s too busy getting the middle class to hate rich people, blacks to hate whites. He is busy trying to get everybody to hate each other.” With that off his chest, Ailes gets back on message. “We need to get along,” he says. READ MORE >>