Jindal aides clarify Katrina story  —  A spokeswoman for Bobby Jindal says the Louisiana governor didn't imply that an anecdote about battling bureaucrats during Katrina directly involved the governor or took place during the heat of a fight to release rescue boats.

Scenes from the New American Tea Party  —  Some photos from the just-completed anti-stimulus New American Tea Party, outside of the White House (after the jump):  —  The best sign I saw.  —  Right before the march from one point of Lafayette Park to another.  —  She voted for Sen. John McCain, too, but is less proud of that.

U.S. pulling out of racism conference  —  White House aides told Jewish leaders on a conference call today that the United States will boycott the United Nations' World Conference on Racism over hostility to Israel in draft documents prepared for the April conference.

Obama Plans to End Combat Mission in Iraq by August 2010  —  WASHINGTON — President Obama heads to one of the nation's most storied military bases Friday morning to unveil plans to pull most troops out of Iraq by August 2010 and he has support from an unlikely quarter — Senator John McCain …

Steele to CPAC: The Republican party is just fine  —  WASHINGTON (CNN) - Capping off a day of conservative soul-searching, strategizing and navel-gazing at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington, Republican National Committee chairman Michael Steele announced Thursday …

Obama administration may rescind ‘conscience rule’  —  Officials say the move seeks to clarify rules for health care workers  —  WASHINGTON — Taking another step into the abortion debate, the Obama administration Friday will move to rescind a controversial rule that allows health-care workers …

The “Worst Food Product Ever” May Have Been Found  —  Pork Brains In Milk Gravy.  Could it be the worst food product ever?  It does have 1170% of your daily cholesterol per serving.  Mmmm.  —  [This Is Why You're Fat via BuzzFeed]

Climate of Change  —  Elections have consequences.  President Obama's new budget represents a huge break, not just with the policies of the past eight years, but with policy trends over the past 30 years.  If he can get anything like the plan he announced on Thursday through Congress, he will set America on a fundamentally new course.

White House Plan Would End Subsidies to Student Lenders  —  The Obama administration has proposed a sweeping change in the $85 billion-a-year student loan industry, one that could fundamentally alter the business of lenders such as Sallie Mae.  —  The proposal, included in yesterday's budget outline …

Calif. Mayor Who Sent White House Watermelon Patch E-Mail Quits  —  Mayor of Orange County, California city says he will resign after being criticized for sharing an e-mail picture depicting the White House lawn planted with watermelons.  —  LOS ALAMITOS, Calif. — The mayor …

RE: Fred Hiatt  —  Speaking of Fred Hiatt's absurd claim that people who don't like George Will spreading global warming misinformation should “debate” him, rather than expect the Post to run a correction ...  Yesterday's Washington Post featured op-eds by Henry Kissinger, David Broder, Bill Kristol, David Ignatius, and George Will.

James Dobson resigns as Focus on the Family chair  —  DENVER (AP) — The Associated Press has learned that James Dobson has resigned as chairman of the conservative Christian group Focus on the Family.  —  Jim Daly, president and chief executive officer of the Colorado Springs …

Conservatives Confident Their Day Is Coming  —  Tucker Carlson closed out the first day of the Conservative Political Action Conference to a chorus of boos.  His crime: informing a crowd of youngish, frustrated conservatives that if they wanted to succeed, they had to copy The New York Times.

Obama Approval Rating Increases to 67%  —  Had dropped to 59% prior to his Tuesday congressional address  — USA - Government and Politics - Presidential Job Approval - The Presidency - Americas - Northern America  —  PRINCETON, NJ — In the days immediately after Barack Obama's …

Senator calls Obama 'world's best salesman of socialism'  —  WASHINGTON (CNN) - Another prominent Republican told the Conservative Political Action Conference on Friday that the president's spending plans are pushing the country to the brink of socialism.  —  Sen. Jim DeMint of South Carolina …

Jobless Angry at Possibility of No Benefits  —  As governors in nine states, mostly in the South, consider rejecting millions of dollars in federal stimulus money for increased unemployment insurance, there is growing anger among the ranks of the jobless in those states that they could be left out of a significant government benefit.

Exclusive: Joe the Plumber suggests some members of Congress should be shot.  —  On Wednesday, Joe “the Plumber” Wurzelbacher said that if he were in Congress, he would “probably be in jail” because he'd be charged with “slapping some member.”  He added, “And that's not [bull] either.”

California unemployment rate reaches 10.1%  —  With more than 1 in 10 workers unemployed in January, the state registers its highest jobless rate since June 1983, not far below the record of 11%.  —  Reporting from Sacramento — More than 1 in 10 California workers were unemployed in January …