Police: Zimmerman says Trayvon decked him with one blow then began hammering his head  —  With a single punch, Trayvon Martin decked the Neighborhood Watch volunteer who eventually shot and killed the unarmed 17-year-old, then Trayvon climbed on top of George Zimmerman and slammed his head …

Argument recap: Moving on to the mandate (FINAL UPDATE)  —  When Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr., commented at the end of Monday's first day of hearings on the health care law, “We'll continue argument on this case tomorrow,” it seemed to have a secondary meaning even if he did not intend it.

President Obama Asks Medvedev for ‘Space’ on Missile Defense — ‘After My Election I Have More Flexibility’  —  SEOUL, South Korea — At the tail end of his 90 minute meeting with Russian President Dmitri Medvedev Monday, President Obama said that he would have “more flexibility” …

Obama's health law proving successful  —  Just in time for the two-year anniversary of the passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on the law's constitutionality this week.  —  This is a political column.

France's Strauss-Kahn under investigation in pimping case  —  (Reuters) - Former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn was placed under formal investigation on Monday by authorities looking into a suspected prostitution ring in the French city of Lille, his lawyer said, following a day of questioning by judges in a closed courtroom.

Newt Gingrich loses his print reporters  —  Newt Gingrich has lost his last embedded print reporters, reporters on the trail confirm.  —  The last two print reporters covering Gingrich full-time on the trail — from POLITICO and the Atlanta Journal Constitution — pulled out on Friday.

Racist Hunger Games Fans Are Very Disappointed [Hunger Games]  —  The good news?  The Hunger Games made $155 million at the box office its opening weekend, making it the third-best debut in North American box office history.  The bad news, however, reflects a level of idiocy that we weren't really expecting.

Models Based on ‘Fundamentals’ Have Failed at Predicting Presidential Elections  —  The 1988 presidential election was a victory for political science.  Michael Dukakis had led George Bush in the polls for much of the spring and summer.  But Mr. Bush had some fundamental advantages …

Catholic Bishops Lose a Big Battle Over Contraception  —  For the past several months, the US Conference of Catholic Bishops has been waging war on the Obama administration over reproductive health care, declaring it no less than a battle over religious freedom.

Mitt: I Won't Detail Plans, Because Then I'd Lose  —  You'll have to wait until I'm elected.  —  Mitt Romney has embraced a budget plan that would entail cutting federal programs other than defense and Social Security by more than half.  It does raise the question of how he plans to carry out such a sweeping goal.

The silly 2016 speculation game  —  It may be impossible to make any serious predictions about a far-off race, but that has never stopped a pundit  —  Being that it's still March 2012 and we have no way of knowing who will actually be president by the end of January 2013 (besides “not Ron Paul …

It's Not Just a “War on Women.”  It's Worse.  —  I bumped into a friend I'll call Kim four or five days ago on my way to the chairlift for some afternoon skiing.  She was on her snowboard and riding single for a few hours before her evening shift at a local restaurant.

Birth Control Access Boosts Women's Wages, Study Finds … REACT:  —  FOLLOW:  —  Video, Birth Control, Birth Control Wage Gap, Contraception Debate, Contraception Wage Gap, Gop Birth Control, Obama Birth Control, Obama Contraception, Obama Plan b, Women News

Lobbyists, Guns and Money  —  Florida's now-infamous Stand Your Ground law, which lets you shoot someone you consider threatening without facing arrest, let alone prosecution, sounds crazy — and it is.  And it's tempting to dismiss this law as the work of ignorant yahoos.

Questions asked of News Corp over rival company's collapse  —  Software company NDS allegedly cracked smart card codes of ONdigital, according to evidence to be broadcast on Panorama  —  Part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation empire employed computer hacking to undermine the business …

Mad 21st Century Men  —  I'll have to work this in quickly before it becomes a cliché, but despite the show title, female characters have eclipsed male characters in audience sympathies on Mad Men.  Identity is the show's primary concern, putting the rapidly changing gender roles …

Exclusive: Rick Santorum Doesn't Rule Out Possible VP Slot: 'I'll do whatever is necessary to help our country.'  —  In an interview at our Brody File studio on Monday, Rick Santorum refused to rule out accepting an invitation to be Mitt Romney's vice president nominee, saying, “I'll do whatever is necessary to help our country.”

Pennsylvania representative asks if female co-sponsors of state ultrasound bill are ‘men with breasts’  —  Pennsylvania State Rep. Babette Josephs, D-Philadelphia, picked up the political hand grenade that is the state's ultrasound bill today when she wondered aloud at a Capitol rally …

The Great Whisperer  —  The late New York Times columnist Bill Safire was known for channeling the “Great Mentioner,” the unseen oracle who launched political careers into the stratosphere simply by mentioning a person's name.  Today, a more malevolent oracle is at work in Washington …