EXCLUSIVE: Robert Zimmerman interview  —  LAKE MARY, Fla. (WOFL FOX 35) - For the first time since that fateful night on February 26, the father of a neighborhood watch volunteer who shot and killed an unarmed teenager sat down for a television interview.  —  Robert Zimmerman …

Judicial activists in the Supreme Court  —  Three days of Supreme Court arguments over the health-care law demonstrated for all to see that conservative justices are prepared to act as an alternative legislature, diving deeply into policy details as if they were members of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee.

Report: Gingrich and Romney held secret meeting  —  Newt Gingrich held a secret meeting with Mitt Romney ahead of the Louisiana primary on Saturday, according to news report citing an anonymous source close to the Gingrich campaign.  —  The two reportedly met at the hotel where Romney was staying in New Orleans.

Obama budget defeated 414-0  —  President Obama's budget was defeated 414-0 in the House late Wednesday, in a vote Republicans arranged to try to embarrass him and shelve his plan for the rest of the year.  —  The vote came as the House worked its way through its own fiscal year 2013 budget proposal …

The Early Outlook for the 2012 Congressional Elections: A Forecasting Perspective  —  In today's Crystal Ball, Alan Abramowitz — whose election models are among the best in the business — provides an early look at what they tell us about the race for the House and the Senate.

Haley indictment imminent?  Stay tuned...  Two well-placed legal experts have independently told Palmetto Public Record they expect the U.S. Department of Justice to issue an indictment against South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley on charges of tax fraud as early as this week.

Wonkbook: House reaches bipartisan deal to reject Simpson-Bowles  —  Of late, there have been a number of efforts to reconstruct the debt deal that President Obama and Speaker Boehner almost agreed on in August.  At the Post, Peter Wallsten, Lori Montgomery and Scott Wilson published one two weeks ago.

Breyer's unhinged Commerce Clause ramblings  —  I was listening to the tape-delayed Obamacare oral arguments in the car Tuesday when I first heard Justice Breyer's Commerce Clause diatribe, and I meant to post something when I got home.  But after making dinner and putting the kids to bed, I forgot.

The Terrible, No Good, Very Bad Month for the Left  —  It is typical for politically-engaged people to note the weaknesses and defects of their own side, while overestimating the strength and prowess of their opponents.  This is not a bad instinct, but sometimes it's worth stepping back and trying …

Israel's Secret Staging Ground  —  U.S. officials believe that the Israelis have gained access to airbases in Azerbaijan.  Does this bring them one step closer to a war with Iran?  —  In 2009, the deputy chief of mission of the U.S. embassy in Baku, Donald Lu, sent a cable …

Senate defeats Dem measure to nix ‘Big Oil’ tax breaks, 51-47  —  The Senate on Thursday thwarted Democratic plans to strip billions of dollars in tax breaks from the largest oil companies, just an hour or so after President Obama urged the chamber to kill off the deductions.

Obama outspends Republican campaigns by millions  —  CHICAGO (AP) — With Republicans locked in a contentious and expensive primary, President Barack Obama has spent a small fortune in recent months to build and maintain a campaign operation that is larger, more diverse and more focused …