Double trouble: House GOP eyes default, shutdown  —  House Republicans are seriously entertaining dramatic steps, including default or shutting down the government, to force President Barack Obama to finally cut spending by the end of March.  —  The idea of allowing the country to default …

Legal Case Strained Troubled Web Activist  —  Just days before he hanged himself, Internet activist Aaron Swartz's hopes for a deal with federal prosecutors fell apart.  —  Two years ago, the advocate for free information online, who was known to have suffered from depression …

Lies on Gun Background Checks Are a Focus Both Sides Agree On  —  WASHINGTON — Nearly 80,000 Americans were denied guns in 2010, according to Justice Department data, because they lied or provided inaccurate information about their criminal histories on background-check forms.

In California, It's U.S. vs. State Over Marijuana  —  STOCKTON, Calif. — Matthew R. Davies graduated from college with a master's degree in business and a taste for enterprise, working in real estate, restaurants and mobile home parks before seizing on what he saw as uncharted territory …

Maryland Gov. O'Malley to push for tougher gun-control rules  —  Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley will seek to institute some of the nation's strictest gun-licensing requirements, ban assault weapons and restrict visitor access to schools in one of the most expansive government responses sought …

Americans' Dissatisfaction With Gun Laws Spikes to 38%  —  Close to four in 10 say gun laws should be stricter, up from 25% in 2012  —  PRINCETON, NJ — In the aftermath of the Newtown, Conn., school shootings, and as Vice President Joe Biden leads a federal task force that will recommend ways …

Scarborough Apologizes To Mika Brzezinski For Rant On ‘Morning Joe’ (VIDEO)  —  Joe Scarborough on Monday apologized to his “Morning Joe” co-host Mika Brzezinski for accusing her of hypocrisy over the lack of women in President's Obama's inner circle last week.

Journal News gun permit map used by burglars to target White Plains home?  —  A White Plains residence pinpointed on a controversial handgun permit database was burglarized Saturday, and the burglars' target was the homeowner's gun safe.  —  At least two burglars broke into a home on Davis Avenue …

One Month After Newtown Shooting, NRA Releases Shooting Game App With Coffin-Shaped Targets  —  When 20 children and 6 adults were gunned down in Sandy Hook Elementary School exactly one month ago today, the National Rifle Association rushed to blame video games, not guns, for inspiring such mass murders.

‘Game Change’ scores at the Golden Globes  —  HBO's “Game Change,” based on the 2008 campaign book by journalists Mark Halperin and John Heilemann, took home three Golden Globes at Sunday's ceremony, including in the category of best television miniseries or television movie.

Michelle Rhee, the education celebrity who rocketed from obscurity to Oprah  —  In camera-ready red, Michelle Rhee started the week on the set of MSNBC's “Morning Joe.”  The next night, she was the subject of an hour-long documentary on “Frontline.”  In several weeks, she'll tour the country to promote her new memoir, “Radical.”

EXCLUSIVE: Teacher claims discrimination over fear of kids  —  MARIEMONT — A longtime French and Spanish high school teacher is suing the Mariemont school district, alleging it discriminated against her because she has a disability - she has a phobia of young children.

Why you should never, ever use two spaces after a period.  —  Exactly two years ago, Farhad Manjoo ranted against people who still type two spaces after a period.  To this day, people are still talking about the article.  And some of them make a point to leave two spaces after all of their periods.

SOUTHERN DISCOMFORT  —  The New Year's Day vote in Congress that brought a temporary truce to the fiscal wars showed the Republicans to be far more divided than the Democrats, and the division broke along regional lines.  House Republicans from the Far West and from the Northeast favored …

Hagel to Meet Schumer to Discuss Policy Issues  —  WASHINGTON — In what could be a crucial moment in the Obama administration's efforts to advance the nomination of former Senator Chuck Hagel as secretary of defense, he will meet this week with Senator Charles E. Schumer …