Obama to Offer ‘Accomodation’ on Contraception Rule  —  With the White House under fire for its new rule requiring employers including religious organizations to offer health insurance that fully covers birth control coverage, ABC News has learned that later today the White House …

Santorum Gets Spirited Reception at CPAC  —  Rick Santorum got such a positive reception from a meeting of the party's conservative base Friday morning, the former senator almost cut his speech short while he was ahead.  Well, almost. … Halfway through a speech to the Conservative Political …

Rep. Spencer Bachus faces insider-trading investigation  —  The Office of Congressional Ethics is investigating the chairman of the House Financial Services Committee over possible violations of insider-trading laws, according to individuals familiar with the case.

Romney Brags AT CPAC: ‘We Prevented Massachusetts From Becoming The Las Vegas Of Gay Marriage’  —  Mitt Romney touted his opposition to marriage equality at CPAC this afternoon by mocking the 2003 state Supreme Court decision which found that Massachusetts did not have a rational basis …

Fox News Poll: Santorum surges nationally after three-state sweep  —  Rick Santorum has surged nationally in the race for the 2012 Republican nomination after his three-state sweep this week, while Mitt Romney has lost ground among GOP primary voters.  In addition, most GOP voters …

Santorum says ‘other types of emotions’ could preclude women in combat  —  For a candidate with virtually no staff and who tends to talk off the cuff, Rick Santorum has been nearly gaffe-free.  However, this evening might have been his first, and it comes at a time when he is trying …

A ‘deadbeat’ bailout  —  It's hard to imagine a less-deserving group of victims: people who gambled during the housing bubble by purchasing homes with borrowed money that they knew or should have known they couldn't afford, but who are now able to stay in the homes they should have never bought …

Low Turnout and the Big Tune-Out  —  Voters aren't bothering with the GOP, but Obama has lost their attention too.  —  The Romney campaign is better at dismantling than mantling.  They're better at taking opponents apart than building a compelling candidate of their own.

Paul Krugman vs. the World  —  The escalating battle of ideas between the Nobel Prize-winning economist and his illustrious peers  —  What has been getting the Nobel Prize-winning economist and New York Times columnist so riled up lately?  In the last few weeks, what began as a semi-civil battle …

Education Gap Grows Between Rich and Poor, Studies Say  —  WASHINGTON — Education was historically considered a great equalizer in American society, capable of lifting less advantaged children and improving their chances for success as adults.  But a body of recently published scholarship suggests …

Is 2012 Slipping Away From the GOP?  —  For a long time, I was confident that Republican voters would oust Barack Obama in 2012, hold the House and, in all likelihood, take the Senate.  Obama is a weak incumbent, who has been chronically unpopular since early in his term.

Gingrich Seeks to Ease Fundraising Woes as Las Vegas Checks Slowing Down  —  Newt Gingrich was just days away from the Jan. 31 Florida Republican presidential primary when he told reporters that his campaign was down to its last $600,000.  —  Five losing contests later, Gingrich and Winning Our Future …