Anti-Gay Pastor Removed From Inaugural Program … Louis Giglio, the anti-LGBT pastor who had been announced to perform the benediction at President Obama's second inauguration, has been removed from the program, ABC News's Jonathan Karl reported Thursday.  —  The move came after ThinkProgress …

Giffords gun control group wants $20 million for 2014 elections  —  (Reuters) - A new gun control group led by Gabrielle Giffords, the former U.S. congresswoman wounded in a Tucson shooting rampage, wants to raise $20 million for the 2014 congressional elections, matching …

Cory Booker Wrestled With His Own Homophobia  —  “I was disgusted by gays.  The thought of two men kissing each other was about as appealing as a frontal lobotomy.”  How Booker's mind was changed.  —  Image by Julio Cortez / AP  —  Newark Mayor Cory Booker's December announcement that he would …

First Thoughts: The disorganized cabinet shuffle  —  The Obama White House's disorganized cabinet shuffle... And some legitimate excuses for it... Obama to nominate Jack Lew for top Treasury job at 1:30 pm ET... Biden meets with the NRA and other gun-rights groups at the White House …

A GOP Strategy for the Debt-Ceiling Fight  —  The House should pass a bill pairing spending cuts with a dollar-for-dollar debt-ceiling increase.  —  President Obama says he won't negotiate with Republicans over his proposed more than $1 trillion increase in the debt ceiling as a matter …

Carney on coin gambit: ‘There is no backup plan’  —  For all the recent scuttlebutt about resolving the Republican debt-ceiling crisis with a trillion-dollar coin, there was an elusive detail: what does the White House think about this?  Yesterday, for the first time, press secretary Jay Carney was pressed for an answer.

The Debt Ceiling's Escape Hatch  —  THE fiscal cliff may have been avoided, but an even higher-stakes political standoff — this time, over the federal debt ceiling — is just around the bend.  —  Congressional Republicans have said they will demand immense cuts to popular government programs …

Joe Scarborough Goes Off On Mika Brzezinski After She Asserts He's ‘Being Chauvinistic’  —  The Morning Joe family got heated and a bit awkward this morning during a discussion about the lack of diversity in President Obama's inner circle.  As Joe Scarborough pointed to the lack of outrage …

Joe Walsh Suggests Breaking Law to Fight Affordable Care Act in Chicago  —  CHICAGO — Tea Party favorite Joe Walsh says conservatives are losing the “war” for U.S. voters and encouraged his backers at a South Loop rally to engage in civil disobedience to defy the Affordable Care Act or new gun regulations.

For Americans Under 50, Stark Findings on Health  —  Younger Americans die earlier and live in poorer health than their counterparts in other developed countries, with far higher rates of death from guns, car accidents and drug addiction, according to a new analysis of health and longevity in the United States.

Report: At least two people shot at Taft High School  —  TAFT, Calif. - Officials have said that at least two people were shot at Taft High School.  —  The shooting happened at about 9 a.m., and reports indicate that at least two people were shot.  —  The shooter was taken into custody at about 9:20 a.m. officials said.

Obama Will Keep His “Heat Shield”  —  Eric Holder is the Obama Administration's indispensable man.  —  Image by Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images  —  Eric Holder may be the least popular member of the Obama cabinet.  He is at the center of many of the Administration's ugliest fights with left and right …

Cornyn: Why I can't support Hagel  —  Editor's note: John Cornyn, a Republican, is the senior United States Senator from Texas.  —  (CNN) — To the surprise of many, including me, President Barack Obama has nominated former Nebraska Sen. Chuck Hagel to be his next defense secretary.