Rush Limbaugh mocks GOP establishment  —  Rush Limbaugh mocked the Republican establishment on his radio show Wednesday for being “shocked” by Rick Santorum's three-state win, saying, “I can't believe how insulated they are.”  —  “They're literally shocked.  The Republican establishment had no idea this was percolating out there.

Senate Democrats Say Obama ‘Reinforced’ His Stance on Contraception Mandate at Democratic Retreat  —  President Obama “reinforced” his stance on the controversial contraception mandate while speaking at the Democrats' annual retreat at Nationals Park in Washington, D.C. today, Senate Democrats said.

Tim Kaine splits with Obama on birth control rule for religious groups  —  Former Virginia governor Timothy M. Kaine criticized the Obama administration's new policy requiring some religious institutions to provide coverage for prescription contraceptives, a rare instance of disagreement between …

Why White House sees political opportunity in the contraception battle  —  (Public Religion Research Institute) The controversy over the Susan G. Komen for the Cure foundation's decision to eliminate funding to Planned Parenthood—and subsequent reversal— continues.

Congress' Job Approval at New Low of 10%  —  Republicans and Democrats equally negative  —  PRINCETON, NJ — A record-low 10% of Americans approve of the job Congress is doing, down from 13% in January and the previous low of 11%, recorded in December 2011.

Drilling Reaches Lake Vostok, Long Trapped Under Antarctic Ice Sheet  —  MOSCOW — In the coldest spot on the earth's coldest continent, Russian scientists have reached a freshwater lake the size of Lake Ontario after spending a decade drilling through more than two miles of solid ice, the scientists said on Wednesday.

States Negotiate $26 Billion Deal for Homeowners  —  After months of painstaking talks, government authorities and five of the nation's biggest banks have agreed to a $26 billion settlement that could provide relief to nearly two million current and former American homeowners harmed by the bursting …

CNN's Roland Martin suspended for homophobic tweets  —  On Super Bowl Sunday, Roland Martin of CNN issued some homophobic tweets that got him in trouble with gay organizations and this blog.  CNN stayed silent on the matter, until just moments ago, when it issued this statement:

Video shows officers beating motorist in diabetic shock  —  Loading the player...  Adam Greene is on his stomach as a pack of police officers pile on him, driving their knees into his back and wrenching his arms and legs.  One officer knees him in the ribs; another kicks him in the face.

The making of gay marriage's top foe  —  Salon exclusive: How Maggie Gallagher's college pregnancy made her a single mom, and a traditional marriage zealot  —  In September 1978, Yale freshmen would not have voted Maggie Gallagher the member of the Class of 1982 most likely to get pregnant before graduation.

Asia's mountains ‘lost no ice in 10 years’  —  Meltwater from Asia's peaks is much less then previously estimated, but lead scientist says the loss of ice caps and glaciers around the world remains a serious concern  —  • In pictures: the best images of the earth from space

Just how much time Does Republican Senator Richard Lugar spend in Indiana?  —  The answer depends on who you ask.The Indiana Democratic Party has combed through records going all the way back to Lugar's first year in the Senate, 1977.  —  The hundreds of pages of itemized travel expenses were passed along to Fox News.

Cardinal Edward Egan Just Withdrew His Apology For The Catholic Sex-Abuse Scandal  —  St. John Chrysostom, once said “The road to hell is paved with the skulls of bishops.”  —  Here's proof that he was right.  —  In an interview this week with Connecticut Magazine, Cardinal Edward Egan …

Poll: 30 percent of South Carolinians can't identify Biden as vice president  —  What does Joe Biden do, exactly?  —  Nearly 30 percent of adults in South Carolina have no idea, according to a poll released Wednesday by Winthrop University.  29.3 percent of adults polled in the Palmetto State …

Washington Legislature Is First in the Nation to Reverse its DOMA Mistake and Pass a Marriage Equality Bill  —  Fifteen years ago the Washington state Legislature overrode Gov. Gary Locke's veto and passed the discriminatory “defense of marriage act” (DOMA) to prevent gay and lesbian couples from obtaining civil marriage licenses.

Republican Enthusiasm Issue is Real  —  The paltry turnout in the Republican Presidential contests over the last week reflects what we've seen in our recent national polling: Democrats are now more excited about voting this fall than Republicans are, reversing the enthusiasm gap that plagued the party in 2010.

Divided court rejects Proposition 8  —  The 9th Circuit panel declares that California's gay-marriage ban is unconstitutional.  —  Opponents of Proposition 8 celebrate outside the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals after a three-judge panel ruled that the measure violates the civil rights of gays and lesbians.

Poll finds broad support for Obama's counterterrorism policies  —  The sharpest edges of President Obama's counterterrorism policy, including the use of drone aircraft to kill suspected terrorists abroad and keeping open the military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, have broad public support …