Exclusive: Obama authorizes secret support for Libya rebels  —  (Reuters) - President Barack Obama has signed a secret order authorizing covert U.S. government support for rebel forces seeking to oust Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, government officials told Reuters on Wednesday.

VIDEO: Indiana GOP Rep Says Women Will Pretend To Be Raped To Get Free Abortions  —  Yesterday morning, the Indiana House considered an anti-abortion bill that “would put some of the tightest abortion restrictions in the nation into Indiana law.”  Introduced by state Rep. Eric Turner (R) …

Shh!  Obama gets anti-secrecy award  —  The president accepted a transparency award in a closed, undisclosed meeting.  —  President Obama finally and quietly accepted his “transparency” award from the open government community this week — in a closed, undisclosed meeting at the White House on Monday.

GOP report: AARP stands to make $1 billion from ObamaCare, IRS should investigate  —  Good stuff.  AARP is the Death Star of American entitlements, so if the GOP wants to reform Social Security and Medicare, they're going to have to fire some photon torpedoes.

GOPers Demand Sean Duffy Salary Tape Be Pulled From The Internet (VIDEO)  —  First the Republican Party in Polk County, Wisconsin, pulled the tape of Rep. Sean Duffy (R-WI) fretting about making ends meet on his $174,000 a year salary from its own website.  Now they want it gone from the whole Internet.

Hillary Clinton, Robert Gates win no love on Capitol Hill  —  President Barack Obama's foreign policy “A” team — led by Cabinet secretaries Hillary Clinton and Robert Gates — failed to quiet criticism of U.S. military action in Libya Wednesday during a pair of classified briefings on Capitol Hill.

Democrats consider proposing tax hikes  —  Senate Democrats are discussing plans to introduce tax policy changes that they say would raise federal revenues and broaden the budget debate beyond discretionary spending cuts.  —  Democrats feel they have been boxed by Republicans into a debate …

With New ‘Monkey Bill,’ Tennessee Takes Evolution Education Back To Scopes  —  Eighty six years after the infamous Scopes Monkey Trial opened Tennessee classrooms to the teaching of evolution, the state House is trying to slam the door shut again.  Tennessee's House Education Committee approved …

Obama's jaw-dropping hypocrisy on energy  —  The Post reports: … It's nice that he's discovered the importance of domestic energy development, but his rhetoric overlooks his own policies over the past two years.  Yesterday on the Senate floor Minority Leader Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) …

Budget deal close with $33B in cuts  —  Budget talks came to life Wednesday but not without new tension between the White House and Senate Democrats, worried that the administration is too quick to agree to $33 billion in cuts to move Speaker John Boehner toward what remains a very uncertain deal.

Arnold Schwarzenegger is back as ‘The Governator’ — EXCLUSIVE  —  He's been a famous body builder.  He's been a killer cyborg from the future.  He's been Governor of California.  And now, in this week's exclusive cover scoop, Arnold Schwarzenegger reveals his plans for the next phase …

Israel, The Third Nation on the Moon?  —  If all goes according to plan, by December 2012 a team of three young Israeli scientists will have landed a tiny spacecraft on the moon, explored the lunar surface, and transmitted live video back to earth, thereby scooping up a $20 million prize …

Supreme Court rejects damages for innocent man who spent 14 years on death row  —  In a 5-4 ruling, justices overturn a jury verdict awarding $14 million to John Thompson, who had sued then-New Orleans Dist.  Atty. Harry Connick Sr. because prosecutors hid a blood test that would have proved his innocence in a murder case.

A Well-Intentioned Bad Idea  —  International Vice President, United Steelworkers  —  By now anyone who had not yet heard of the Koch brothers has been introduced to them.  Every major newspaper and magazine has run an article about the brothers who until recently lived largely under …

Republicans Pitch Unusual Backup Plan as Fragile Budget Talks Resume  —  In the latest gambit out of Washington's head-spinning budget debate, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor announced Wednesday that if the Senate fails to act by next week, Republicans will proffer a bill forcing …

Protests spread through Capitol  —  ALBANY — The State Senate has taken the rare step of shutting down its lobby to the public as budget protestors start arriving at the Capitol for a series of demonstrations in the hallways against the budget being adopted today.

Ohio Lawmakers Pass Anti-Union Bill  —  The two houses of the Ohio Legislature approved a far-reaching bill on Wednesday that would hobble the ability of public-employee unions to bargain collectively and undercut their political clout.  —  They sent the bill to Gov. John R. Kasich …

Tapper offers Carney ‘straw men’  —  The temperature in the White House briefing jumped up Wednesday afternoon as Jake Tapper and Jay Carney vented some of their frustrations with each other publicly.  —  At one point, Tapper dissed Carney by saying he could provide a “room full of straw men” for the White House press secretary.

Immigration Official: “The Hold Is Over”  —  The “hold” on same-sex married bi-national couples' green card applications — celebrated by immigration and LGBT advocates — is over, according to the spokesman for the agency that processes those requests.  —  “The guidance we were awaiting …

Continuing Revolution Rally  —  Where  —  Robert A. Taft Memorial, Washington, DC (North West of the Capitol Building, Directly West of Upper Senate Park).  Click on map to go to Google for directions.  —  Why  —  Patriots across the nation spoke loudly last November.  You voted for change.

In Case You Missed It: Democrats Waving White Flag on Taking Back House in 2012  —  Thanks to Moe Lane for pointing this out.  In the immediate aftermath of the mid-term GOP tsunami, Democrats were boasting about how many of the Republican freshmen they were targeting for 2012.

Reid: Small-business amendment impasse nearly solved  —  Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said there has been a major breakthrough on controversial amendments that are holding up the small-business bill.  Up to 10 votes on amendments could be scheduled for Thursday afternoon, Reid said on Wednesday.

Obama issues veto threat over union measure in FAA bill  —  President Obama has threatened to veto the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reauthorization bill unless a provision on union organizing is removed.  —  In a statement of administration policy Wednesday, the White House said the president's …