George Zimmerman lost job as party security guard for being too aggressive, ex-co-worker says  —  Zimmerman at center of firestorm for fatally shooting unarmed teen Trayvon Martin last month  —  Trayvon Martin was shot along a dark walkway just behind Cheryl Brown's apartment while her son Austin …

Broccoli and Bad Faith  —  Nobody knows what the Supreme Court will decide with regard to the Affordable Care Act.  But, after this week's hearings, it seems quite possible that the court will strike down the “mandate” — the requirement that individuals purchase health insurance — and maybe the whole law.

NBC/Marist Poll: Romney leads in Wisconsin primary  —  In the upcoming Wisconsin primary, billed as perhaps the final opportunity to change the trajectory of the Republican presidential contest, frontrunner Mitt Romney leads Rick Santorum by seven percentage points, according to a new NBC News/Marist poll.

Justice Department dropped case charging threats to Barack Obama  —  The Justice Department has quietly given up on a criminal case involving alleged death threats against Barack Obama during the 2008 presidential campaign, leaving in place a legal precedent that the department's own lawyers predicted …

Not-So-Smooth Operator  —  Obama increasingly comes across as devious and dishonest.  —  Something's happening to President Obama's relationship with those who are inclined not to like his policies.  They are now inclined not to like him.  His supporters would say, “Nothing new there,” but actually I think there is.

Biden: I don't want ‘real job...you have to produce’  —  Vice President Joe Biden offered a frank assessment of his career in remarks at a Democratic fundraiser in Chicago Thursday night.  According to a White House pool report, Biden, surrounded by the city's movers and shakers …

A Moderate Conservative Dilemma  —  Nathan Fletcher was raised in Arkansas, played college baseball in California and enlisted in the Marines as a reserve in 1997.  He saw combat in 2004, based in the Sunni Triangle in Iraq.  —  One day Fletcher's unit went to relieve a convoy and was …

Republicans retreat on gay marriage  —  Just a few years ago, House Republicans were trying to etch their opposition of gay marriage into the Constitution.  —  Now?  They're almost silent.  —  It's been one of the swiftest shifts in ideology and strategy for Republicans, as they've come nearly full circle on same-sex politics.

A clinic's landlord turns the tables on anti-abortion protesters  —  Ricky Carioti/THE WASHINGTON POST - Todd Stave at his home in Rockville, Md. Stave founded a group, Voice for Choice to turn the tables on the anti-abortion protesters harassing his family.  The group now has about three thousand volunteers.

SC governor denies she is tied to tax probe  —  Gov. Nikki Haley vehemently denied Thursday that she is in any way connected to a 2011 tax audit of the Sikh temple in Chapin where her parents are leaders.  —  “It is flat out not true,” Haley said of speculation that has swirled around …

Israelis Suspect Obama Media Leaks to Prevent Strike on Iran  —  JERUSALEM - Two reports today about Iran's nuclear program and the possibility of an Israeli military strike have analysts in Israel accusing the Obama administration leaking information to pressure Israel not to bomb Iran …

Activities of former Cain operative scrutinized  —  Federal authorities have opened an investigation into two Wisconsin-based corporations founded and run by Mark Block, a veteran political operative who ran Herman Cain's unsuccessful presidential campaign.  —  “They are very interested …

Conservatives versus Science: A New Scientific Validation of the Republican War on Science (and Republican Brain) Thesis  —  UPDATE: The paper discussed below is downloadable here.  —  For a while now, I've been aware of a powerful new paper that directly tests the central argument …

13 shot, 2 dead in Chicago in six hours Thursday night  —  At least two people were killed and 11 others wounded in violence across Chicago overnight, most of the victims from just two shootings on the West and South sides, according to police.  —  Suspects were being questioned in one of the shootings …