Severed gas line found at home of Perriello brother  —  Updated: 4:55 p.m. U.S. Rep. Tom Perriello's brother received a threatening letter in the mail on the same day that someone apparently severed a gas line at the home in Ivy.  —  Two conservative Tea Party activists posted the address …

Hoyer: Dem, GOP leaders worried about spike in lawmaker threats  —  House Democratic and Republican leaders have conferred to discuss a response to a “significant” number of threats against lawmakers.  —  House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) said that he, along with Democratic and Republican leaders …

Gap in health care law's protection for children  —  WASHINGTON — Hours after President Barack Obama signed historic health care legislation, a potential problem emerged.  Administration officials are now scrambling to fix a gap in highly touted benefits for children.

SHOCKING AUDIO: REP. DINGELL SAYS OBAMACARE WILL EVENTUALLY ‘CONTROL THE PEOPLE’  —  “It takes a long time to do the necessary administrative steps.”

Obama and Netanyahu: pointless poison  —  So it's now been two weeks since President Obama chose to seize on a poorly-timed Israeli announcement about new Jewish housing in Jerusalem to launch another public confrontation with the government of Binyamin Netanyahu.  The results, so far, are these:

Senate Republicans refuse to work past 2 p.m. [Updated!]  —  “There is a little-known rule in the Senate stating that hearings can't happen after 2:00 p.m. each day without unanimous consent,” explains Amanda Terkel.  “However, every day, at the start of business, the Senate generally agrees …

Wyden: Health Care Lawsuits Moot, States Can Opt Out Of Mandate  —  WHAT'S YOUR REACTION?  —  Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) has a message for all the attorneys general and Republican lawmakers who are threatening lawsuits and claiming that an individual mandate for insurance coverage is unconstitutional …

Grassley: Look How Great This Health Care Bill Is  —  Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) has long been a vocal critic of the Democrat's health reform efforts, but today he started taking credit for some provisions of the bill, and talking up his own role in crafting the legislation.

HERE'S MY AMA REQUEST FOR MEMBERSHIP DUES:  —  Sunbeam?  Read this.

Gates Will Relax 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' Enforcement This Week  —  When the Pentagon's leadership announced a process to end the military's ban on open gay service before Congress, Defense Secretary Robert Gates played the cautionary role.  Gates told senators that he would put together a study group …

The risk of health-care reform  —  The polarizing forces of a legislative debate have a tendency to amplify the certainty of supporters and magnify the doubts of advocates.  So I'd recommend Ruth Marcus's skeptical, pro-reform column.  I think she actually overstates the amount of disagreement …

Resisting ObamaCare, Gandhi Style  —  Americans will lose control over basic decisions if this law stands.  —  President Barack Obama came into office promising hope and change.  But he might get more change than he hoped for.  By foisting ObamaCare on a deeply unwilling country he might …

Chief Justice Roberts: Why Isn't Obama Making Recess Appointments To The NLRB?  —  For two years now, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) — which is responsible for mediating disputes under the National Labor Relations Act — has been stuck with only two of its five members in place.

Coulter speech canceled amid fears of violence  —  A speech by conservative pundit Ann Coulter was canceled at the University of Ottawa late Tuesday amid concerns that protesters would become violent.  —  The speech was called off moments before it began by organizers of the event …

In Health Bill, Obama Attacks Wealth Inequality  —  For all the political and economic uncertainties about health reform, at least one thing seems clear: The bill that President Obama signed on Tuesday is the federal government's biggest attack on economic inequality since inequality began rising more than three decades ago.

Obama signs executive order on abortion out of sight of media glare  —  There were no glaring lights or TV cameras when President Obama signed an executive order this afternoon affirming the continuing ban on federal funding for abortion.  No East Room speeches.  Not even a photo op handshake.

The Republican Health Care Failure  —  Much ink and many pixels are being expended on writing health care's political postmortems, but the focus should rightly be on the policy front — in the think tanks and in the legislative priorities of recent Republican administrations and Congresses.

A Tea Party Without Nuts  —  President Obama's winning passage of national health care is both exhilarating and sobering.  Covering so many uninsured Americans is a historic achievement.  But the president had to postpone trips, buy off companies and cut every conceivable side deal …

Pelosi: Keeping a Democratic House in November ‘too important to the country’  —  Keeping a Democratic majority in the House is “too important to the country,” Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said Wednesday.  —  Pelosi, the leader of Democrats in the House, said she had no intention …

Men leave their own mark on veganism  —  SOMERVILLE — For most of his life Joe McCain subsisted on pepperoni and sausage pizza, steak bomb subs, and anything “fried, fried, or fried.”  In other words, says the Somerville police detective with a shaved head, snowy beard, and tattoos cascading up his arms …

Harkin: Public option backers eyeing second reconciliation bill  —  Public option supporters could offer a second reconciliation bill to establish the program, a top Democrat said Wednesday.  —  Supporters of creating a government-run public option health insurance program are considering moving …

Shales On ‘Little Ms Politics.’  —  Just in case you were wondering if I was too hard on Washington Post TV critic Tom Shales yesterday for his shallow and pernicious critique of Christiane Amanpour as ABC's choice to replace George Stephanopoulos on This Week, this is what he had to say about her during his live chat with readers :

James Cameron trashes Glenn Beck  —  ‘Avatar’ director wants to debate Fox News host  —  “Avatar” director James Cameron lashed out at Glenn Beck at a news conference Tuesday, offering to debate the Fox News personality on environmental and political issues.

Hail the Conquering Professor  —  The Democrats were walking around in a state of shock.  —  Holy cow, they were saying to themselves.  We're not total wimps!  We don't have to sit around and let ourselves be slapped silly by Republican bullies and Tea Party scaremongers.