Midday Roundup: Sandra Fluke goes from birth control to ballots

House race. Sandra Fluke, the Georgetown law school student who became a household name after urging Congress to include contraceptive coverage in Obamacare, wants to have a hand in crafting legislation, rather than just advocating for it. Fluke has asked the California Democratic Party to consider endorsing her for retiring Rep. Henry Waxman’s seat. But one of Fluke’s advisors said today she hasn’t made up her mind yet whether she actually wants to mount a campaign. Two well-known California politicians have already filed their own candidacies and others are expected to join the race to claim the seat Waxman held for 40 years.

Primary battle. In South Carolina, the field of conservatives who hope to unseat Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham is growing. Det Bowers, a pastor from Columbia, S.C., announced today he is “definitely running” in the already crowded primary field. Bowers joins four other candidates vying for Graham’s seat. Critics have long bemoaned Graham’s moderate voting record, and pundits say his reelection is far from certain. Although he has a $7 million campaign war chest, the primary is expected to draw a smaller than usual turnout, which would favor a candidate with a staunch conservative following.

Unisex? The Maine Supreme Court ruled Friday that a fifth-grade boy who identifies as a girl must be allowed to use his school’s girls’ restroom. In its 5-1 ruling, the court said school officials who told the boy to use a unisex staff bathroom instead violated the Maine Human Rights Act. Critics say the court’s ruling was broad enough to open bathrooms in any facility, including those used by adults, to any gender. In California, courts are reviewing a law passed last year that would open school restrooms and sports teams to students based on their gender identification, not their biological sex.

Cancer rampage. Health experts predict a rapid increase in the number of worldwide cancer cases diagnosed during the next 20 years, according to the World Health Organization. The group predicts the number of cancer cases will grow from 14 million in 2012 to 22 million per year. As more people are diagnosed, more also will die—from 8.2 million to 13 million per year. Lung and breast cancer are the two most commonly diagnosed. But lung, liver, and stomach cancer cause the most deaths. Last year, 550,000 Americans died of cancer. Health experts say tobacco use causes the most cancer, followed by a bad diet and obesity.

You say it’s your birthday. Facebook turns 10 today. The ubiquitous social networking site started as a resource for college students. Today, 57 percent of all American adults and 73 percent of youth between 12 and 17 years old use the site. During an interview with NBC’s Today show, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg acknowledged the company has had some tough moments: “We’ve just gone through a number of periods where people just didn’t believe that we could succeed at what we were trying to do. I’ve spent a lot of late nights pacing around my living room with teammates, right, just trying to plot out what our next move can be in order to keep pushing forward on this mission. There’s always a next move.”