Fierce White House Debate Over Contraception Mandate  —  “What are we doing here?” asked Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, stepping outside his wheelhouse to ask about a rising storm involving the Obama administration and the Catholic Church.  “What's the point?”

Mitt Romney's message from GOP: Step it up  —  Mitt Romney's poor performance Tuesday is prompting congressional Republicans to go public with a bracing message to the front-runner: time to step it up, Mitt.  —  A day after Romney was convincingly defeated by Rick Santorum in non-binding contests …

States Negotiate $26 Billion Agreement 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 …

Obama: 10 states to receive No Child Left Behind waivers  —  The Obama administration will free 10 states from the requirements of No Child Left Behind, responding to complaints from teachers and school administrators across the country that the nation's main education law is outdated and punitive.

Israel teams with terror group to kill Iran's nuclear scientists, U.S. officials tell NBC News  —  A car that was bombed by two assailants on a motorcycle in Tehran on Jan. 11, killing Iranian nuclear scientist Mostafa Ahamdi Roshan, is removed by a mobile crane.

Santorum: Obama Has Put America On ‘The Path’ Of Executing Religious People By Decapitation  —  Rick Santorum continued to rail against President Obama's so-called war against religion during a town hall in Plano, Texas Wednesday night.  The former Pennsylvania senator …

Aide injured in Giffords shooting will run to replace her in House  —  Ron Barber, an aide to former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) who was wounded in the shooting spree that also injured Giffords, will run to replace her in the House.  —  Barber announced Thursday he would run …

LA County OKs $1,000 Fine For Throwing Football, Frisbee On Beaches  —  LOS ANGELES (CBS) — When you head down to the beach for a little fun this summer, county officials want you to leave the pigskin at home.  —  The Board of Supervisors this week agreed to raise fines to up to $1,000 …

Obama Contraceptives Mandate Losing Senate Democrats?  —  A handful of Senate Democrats have split with President Obama's controversial birth-control mandate and slammed the administration's requirement that church-affiliated employers cover contraceptives.  —  The five Democrats …

States line up to challenge stringent Section 5 voting rights provision  —  Conservative activists and Republican attorneys general have launched a series of lawsuits meant to challenge the most muscular provision of the Voting Rights Act 0f 1965 before a Supreme Court that has signaled it is suspicious of its constitutionality.

A Fistful of Rebates  —  It's halftime.  —  Both teams are in their locker rooms discussing what they can do to win this game in the second half.  Diagramming plays.  Texting their agents and German supermodel wives.  Reviewing Belichick's aerial spy photos.  —  It's halftime in America, too.

Pelosi: ‘Colbert used to be my friend’  —  Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) mocked comedian Stephen Colbert as part of her campaign against super-PACs.  —  The House minority leader released a web video on Thursday that jokingly attacks Colbert for launching a super-PAC.

Sure, Mr. President, if You Really Want Me To  —  ‘Once Upon a Secret’: Mimi Alford on Her Affair With Kennedy  —  The author of “Once Upon a Secret,” Mimi Alford, had an affair with President John F. Kennedy before she was old enough to vote.  Having kept this story under wraps for almost 50 years …

The Best Testimony From Washington State's Gay Marriage Hearing  —  Try not to cry.  Watch Representative Maureen Walsh's moving testimony from yesterday's gay marriage vote in Washington.  Rep. Walsh was one of two Republicans to vote for the bill.

Key al-Qaeda militant ‘killed in US drone attack’  —  US drone attacks have killed dozens of militants but also civilians  —  One of the most senior al-Qaeda militants in Pakistan, Badar Mansoor, has been killed in a US drone strike, local officials say.  —  The attack took place in Miranshah …