Obama mandate on birth control coverage stirs controversy  —  WASHINGTON - Congressional leaders and Republican presidential candidates joined Catholic religious groups on Wednesday in denouncing the Obama administration's mandate requiring health insurers to offer birth control coverage, but the White House stood its ground.

Where's the Rest of Them?  —  Santorum's rise, Romney's weakness, and the GOP coalition.  —  Rick Santorum did his second Lazarus act on Tuesday with his triple victory in two Midwest states and Colorado, interrupting Mitt Romney's media coronation.  The question now is whether the Pennsylvanian can …

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 …

Return of the Culture Wars: Can Mitt Romney Win Conservative Backing?  —  The resurgence of social and cultural issues in voters' minds poses new challenges for GOP presidential front-runner Mitt Romney as he reels from surprising losses Tuesday to conservative favorite Rick Santorum.

The political transformation of Barack Obama  —  There are two indisputable facts about politics.  —  The first is that every modern president in the fourth year of his presidency resorts to the cheap political stunts, broken promises and truth-fudging it takes to win reelection in what has been and will be a 50-50 nation.

Truth Wins Out to Slam Newt Gingrich for Hypocrisy on Marriage Equality in Thursday Roll Call Ad  —  Contact: Wayne Besen, Executive Director  —  WASHINGTON - Truth Wins Out is placing a provocative full-page ad in the Capitol Hill publication Roll Call on Thursday admonishing Newt Gingrich …

Michelle Obama Targets Obesity in Military  —  First Lady Michelle Obama leaves Thursday for a three-day, four-state tour to mark the second anniversary of her “Let's Move!” initiative to get Americans to eat healthier and be more physically fit. … The trip is a mix of events and announcements …

First Thoughts: Romney retools his message  —  Romney retools his message — with his biography and even his policy... GOPers and conservatives tell Romney to step it up... Dems break ranks on the contraception issue... Yet polling (for now) shows the issue isn't as controversial …

The Himalayas and nearby peaks have lost no ice in past 10 years, study shows  —  Meltwater from Asia's peaks is much less than previously estimated, but lead scientist says the loss of ice caps and glaciers around the world remains a serious concern  —  • Live Q&A: What does the Himalaya glacier study mean for climate change?

Greece bailout: Coalition fails to agree cuts  —  The party leaders only received the text of the draft proposals on Wednesday morning  —  Greek PM Lucas Papademos has failed to secure the support of his coalition for a raft of new austerity measures, after more than seven hours of talks.

Pol ‘Tebows’ after bill Ok'd  —  Virginia Del. Robert Bell celebrated his bill passing the state House on Wednesday by taking a knee and Tebowing.  —  The legislation — dubbed the “Tebow bill” for the Denver Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow — would allow the state's homeschooled students …

Mitch McConnell to assail ‘liberal thugs’  —  Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell plans to launch a fierce attack on the Obama administration and congressional Democrats, calling out “liberal thugs” for intimidating their opponents in the name of political expediency.

U.S. and Israel Split on Ways to Deter Iran  —  WASHINGTON — Amid mounting tensions over whether Israel will carry out a military strike against Iran's nuclear program, the United States and Israel remain at odds over a fundamental question: whether Iran's crucial nuclear facilities are about to become impregnable.

Repulsive progressive hypocrisy  —  A new poll shows deep support among liberals for the very Bush/Cheney policies they once pretended to despise  —  During the Bush years, Guantanamo was the core symbol of right-wing radicalism and what was back then referred to as the …