Breaking Stories from BostonGlobe.com - May 22, 2013

• FBI agent shoots and kills man with ties to Marathon bomb suspect: A Chechen man with ties to Boston Marathon bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev was shot and killed by an FBI agent in Orlando early today when the man attacked the agent. Wesley Lowery and John Ellement report.
  

• Lt. Gov. Timothy Murray to resign: The second-in-command has accepted a private sector post and is expected to resign next month. He has been dogged by controversy in the past, stemming from a 2011 early-morning car crash and fundraising ties to the embattled former Chelsea Housing Authority director. Political staff Michael Levenson, Frank Phillips and Jim O'Sullivan are following.
  

• Manhunt cost Watertown Police $250,000, chief says: The Watertown Police Chief is seeking state and federal aid to help cover the costs related to the Marathon bombing response.

BostonGlobe.com Political Headlines - May 22, 2013

• Edward Markey hits back at Gabriel Gomez attacks: The Mass. Senate campaign took on a contentious tone yesterday as Markey hit back at Gomez, defending his legislative response to 9/11. Political reporters Joshua Miller and Michael Levenson with more 

• Academic freedom?: Columnist Jeff Jacoby writes about the Harvard students and alumni who recently petitioned against a doctoral graduate, calling his dissertation "plain racism." But isn't academia supposed to allow the marketplace of ideas to function?

• Obamas' message not just for black students: Columnist Derrick Jackson writes about recent commencement addresses from the First Family, and says that fairness demands a comparable directive to white graduating classes - a need for parallel messages about fatherhood and hard work.

• Gomez's goal - sensible centrism: Columnist Scot Lehigh says that Gomez must be a sensible centrist in order to win the Senate race against Democratic liberal Congressman Markey.

• New Hampshire Celebrates 100 years of primaries: Reporter Eric Moskowitz writes about the state's unique tradition.

BostonGlobe.com Political Headlines - May 21, 2013

• Gabriel Gomez blasts Edward Markey on safety: Political reporter Joshua Miller explains GOP US Senate candidate Gomez's frontal attack on his opponent's homeland security credentials; Gomez says nothing Markey has done has made our nation safer.

• Raytheon is in the hunt for a $3b space project: Even as spending is cut across the military, Mass.-based Raytheon and Maryland's Lockheed Martin are competing to build a first-of-its-kind "Space Fence" to track orbital junk. National security reporter Bryan Bender details.

• Youth jobs program facing deep cuts in Mass.: Massachusetts lawmakers are considering deep cuts in funding for a youth summer jobs program even as teen unemployment remains near record levels. Economic reporter Megan Woolhouse has more.

BostonGlobe.com Political Headlines - May 16, 2013

• IRS chief out; Obama vows new oversight: National political reporter Matt Viser with the latest on the Internal Revenue Service controversy and the ousting of its commissioner.

• GOP presses EPA pick with 1,000 questions: In the sixth installment of the Broken City series, Washington bureau reporter Noah Bierman details the tortured and bitter nomination battle over Gina McCarthy's selection as the new EPA administrator. Some Democrats are calling it harassment.

• Gomez unclear on some aspects of abortion: Political reporter Stephanie Ebbert interviewed the US Senate candidate specifically on his views on abortion, since his nuanced stance has created some confusion.

• A seat at the Arctic table: The Arctic is melting and that's creating a foreign policy challenge for the US and other nations, but it's easy to put off dealing with it. But now summer is coming and the ice is melting. National security reporter Juliette Kayyem writes.

• The magical mogul: Columnist Joan Vennochi shared her thoughts on Steve Wynn and Everett as a casino target.

BostonGlobe.com Political Headlines - May 15, 2013

• Obama tries to control damage on three fronts: The White House sought to insulate itself from fallout yesterday as a trio of political controversies developed - Benghazi, IRS and AP phone records. National political reporter Matt Viser details.

• Terrorism is never justified: Columnist Jeff Jacoby writes about how there have always been Westerners who are quick to see the US as culpable in every crisis, but that it's not part of constructive self-criticism to make excuses for those who commit acts of terrorism.

• Act dropped from Markey event over Confederate flag: US Congressman and Senate candidate Edward Markey dropped Ben Jones, who was on "Dukes of Hazzard," from a fundraiser when he learned he was a Confederate flag defender. Boston.com political editor Jim O'Sullivan reports.

• The Obama scandals: In fretting about the Tea Party and leaks to the press, the Obama administration is showing an unprecedented display of paranoia and abridgement of freedom. What era is it, anyway, asks columnist Derrick Z. Jackson.

• The good and the bad of Gabriel Gomez: Columnist Scot Lehigh writes about the dueling perspectives of the Republican US Senate nominee.