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.

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 …

Unhinged Tactical Response CEO Threatens to ‘Start Killing People’ Over Obama's Gun Control … Warning: Language NSFW.  —  The CEO of a Tennessee company that specializes in weapons and tactical training is threatening to “start killing people” if President Barack Obama moves forward with gun control measures.

Sessions: Lew must ‘never’ be Treasury secretary  —  The top Republican on the Senate Budget Committee will oppose Jack Lew's nomination to be Treasury secretary.  —  Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) has prepared a statement saying “Jack Lew must never be Secretary of Treasury.”

Cory Booker: “Pointing the finger at gays”  —  Cory Booker's column in the April 8, 1992 Stanford Daily. … I was in my tolerance stage or the “I don't give a damn if someone is gay, just as long as they don't bother me” stage.  I was well trained in my tolerance.  I stopped telling my gay jokes.

Obama signs bill, gets Secret Service protection for life  —  Washington (CNN) - With the stroke of a pen Thursday, President Barack Obama gave himself and his wife Secret Service protection for the rest of their lives.  —  The new law, which passed the House and Senate in December …

Democrats Dread 2014 Drop-Off  —  At first blush, Saxby Chambliss and the Michigan right-to-work episode seem completely unrelated.  Most Republicans approve of both, of course, but there is a deeper connection.  The Georgia senator and Michigan's effort to restrict organized labor's power …

In Defense of Hagel for Defense  —  Critics are pounding President Obama's choice for defense secretary, Chuck Hagel, as soft on Iran, anti-military and even anti-Semitic.  This is a grotesque caricature of a man who would make a terrific defense secretary.

The Mostly Solved Deficit Problem  —  The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities has a graph:  —  The vertical axis measures the projected ratio of federal debt to GDP.  The blue line at the top represents the projected path of that ratio as of early 2011 — that is, before recent agreements on spending cuts and tax increases.

Replacing David: Plouffe-by-committee?  —  Obama's right hand man in the West Wing and campaign consigliere, David Plouffe, has basically left the building, according to several White House sources who say they haven't seen him around much since the fiscal cliff deal.

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 …

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 …

Biden Hints at Outlawing Unregulated ‘Private’ Gun Sales  —  Vice President Joe Biden, in remarks today before a meeting on guns, suggested the Obama administration is seriously considering outlawing unregulated “private” gun sales:  —  /p>  —  “And so the kinds of things that there's …

Ryan on 2016: 'I've decided not to decide'  —  Former vice presidential nominee Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) was decidedly evasive when asked about a 2016 presidential run on Wednesday, but declined to rule anything out.  —  “I've decided not to decide,” Ryan said when asked about his future plans, according to the Wisconsin State Journal.

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.

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 …