What Everyone Needs To Know About The Smear Campaign Against Trayvon Martin (1995-2012)  —  Trayvon Martin, as he appeared on his actual Facebook page  —  Over the last 48 hours, there has been a sustained effort to smear Trayvon Martin, the 17-year old African-American who was shot dead by George Zimmerman a month ago.

Palin to Santorum: 'Don't retreat'  —  Sarah Palin applauded Rick Santorum Monday night for accusing a New York Times reporter of “bull—  ” over the weekend, saying she was glad to hear about the presidential candidate's outburst and adding, “Welcome to my world, Rick, and good on ya.

EPA to impose first greenhouse gas limits on power plants  —  The Environmental Protection Agency will issue the first limits on greenhouse gas emissions from new power plants as early as Tuesday, according to several people briefed on the proposal.  The move could end the construction …

Justices Skeptical of Claims that the Individual Mandate is a Tax  —  Today's Supreme Court oral argument transcript suggests that many of the justices, including at least three of the liberals, are skeptical of claims that the individual mandate is a tax.  This is important not only for today's argument …

Gray Nation: The Very Real Economic Dangers of an Aging America  —  Two economists envision a scary — and scarily realistic — future where the working population expands slower and slower, and jobless recoveries are the only recoveries we know  —  In the future, U.S. growth will be slower.

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.

House conservatives to unveil budget which balances books faster  —  House conservatives on Tuesday morning will tack to the right and unveil an alternative to the House GOP leadership's 2013 budget plan that balances in five years.  —  The new Republican Study Committee (RSC) …

In Secret Documents, Anti-Gay Marriage Group Looked To Divide Gays, Blacks  —  Blunt language and broad plans from the National Organization for Marriage.  A goal: “Fanning the hostility.”  Another project: “Sideswiping Obama.”  —  The leading opponents of same-sex marriage planned …

Jane Fonda to play Nancy Reagan in ‘Butler’  —  Actress will portray former First Lady in Lee Daniels pic  —  In the midst of recruiting an all-star ensemble for his long-gestating passion project “The Butler,” director Lee Daniels has tapped Jane Fonda to play Nancy Reagan.

Gingrich Begins Charging $50 for Photos at Events  —  Candidate previously posed for free with people attending his appearances.  —  HOCKESSIN, Del. - In a sign that his campaign is in need of fresh funds, Newt Gingrich on Monday began charging $50 to have a photograph taken with him following …

House Dems introduce $3.6T budget plan  —  House Democrats on Monday night introduced their 2013 budget plan to compete with the Republicans' proposal on the chamber floor this week.  —  Sponsored by Rep. Chris Van Hollen (Md.), senior Democrat on the House Budget Committee …

Republicans seeking out Hispanics  —  Senate Republicans want to alter DREAM Act legislation to steal away Hispanic voters from Democrats.  —  Sen. Marco Rubio (Fla.), the only Senate Republican of Hispanic heritage and a possible vice presidential pick, is working on an alternative version …

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 …

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.

Planned Pipelines to Rival Keystone XL  —  Two major energy companies are planning to build new pipelines that will move as much as 850,000 barrels of crude oil a day from Canada to refineries along the Gulf Coast by mid-2014, in the latest effort to cope with a surge of oil production in North America.

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.

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.

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.