Schumer to back Hagel as defense secretary  —  Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) announced his support Tuesday for the nomination of former senator Chuck Hagel as secretary of defense, delivering a key vote for the Nebraska Republican's confirmation after weeks of voicing doubt about his positions …

Obama Poised to Back Comprehensive Plan to Curb Gun Violence  —  WASHINGTON — President Obama this week will embrace a comprehensive plan to reduce gun violence that will call for major legislation to expand background checks for gun purchases and lay out 19 separate actions the president …

Utah Smoothie Shop Charges Liberals More, Donates Surcharge To Conservative Causes  —  A smoothie shop in Vernal, Utah is sparking outrage over an unorthodox pricing structure that charges liberals an extra dollar.  The shop, tellingly named the I Love Drilling Juice and Smoothie Bar …

President Congeniality talks tough  —  “I'm a pretty friendly guy,” President Obama said near the end of his White House news conference Monday afternoon.  —  The claim might have been a touch more plausible if he hadn't spent the bulk of the previous hour demonstrating just how adversarial he could be.

Bernanke: Debt limit should be scrapped  —  Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on Monday said the debt ceiling has no value to the United States and should be scrapped.  —  “It would be a good thing if we didn't have it,” the Fed chairman said at the University of Michigan.

Harry Reid: The Assault Weapons Ban Is Probably Doomed  —  The Democratically-controlled U.S. Senate will not be a free-for-all of new gun regulations following the shooting at Sandy Hook, according to Majority Leader Harry Reid.  Instead, Senators will focus on passing legislation …

On humanity, a big failure in Aaron Swartz case  —  If it was beyond scandalous that Aaron Swartz was facing 35 years in prison and millions of dollars in fines for downloading a bunch of obscure academic treatises without a subscription, it is beyond tragic that he is now dead.

More city co-eds turning to sugar daddies for school support  —  More New York City co-eds are turning to a new source of income — sugar daddies — to cope with the rising cost of their college tuition, surprising statistics released yesterday reveal.  —  And the majority is enrolled …

House panel blocks most GOP attempts to trim Sandy disaster-relief bill  —  The Republican-led House Rules Committee late Monday approved a rule for a massive Hurricane Sandy relief package that shuts out most GOP proposals to pare back the size of the bill.

Armstrong Admits Doping, and Says He Will Testify Against Cycling Officials  —  In an interview with Oprah Winfrey that is scheduled to air on her network on Thursday, Lance Armstrong confessed that he used performance-enhancing drugs during his cycling career, according to two people briefed …

Obama is Prepared to Break Social Security, Defense Authorization and Food Safety Laws Along with Many Others  —  If the debt limit is not lifted the President could theoretically be forced to break some laws.  Congress would have required the President to give money to people while also denying …

Ann Coulter: ‘If You Compare White Populations,’ U.S. Has Same Murder Rate As Belgium (VIDEO)  —  Right-wing firebrand Ann Coulter on Monday said that the United States has a demographic problem rather than a gun problem, arguing that the country has a comparable murder rate to Belgium “if you compare white populations.”

Jon Huntsman Can't Stop Talking About The Republican Party  —  The Republican gadfly and No Labels crusader says he's only trying to help.  “I'd say we take about 2 percent of the media requests that come in.  Really.”  —  Jon Huntsman speaks to BuzzFeed staff Monday.  —  Image by Macey Foronda for BuzzFeed

The Age of Administrative Excess  —  by Richard A. Epstein (Peter and Kirsten Bedford Senior Fellow and member of the Property Rights, Freedom, and Prosperity Task Force)  —  Why is the federal government locking unwilling citizens into Medicare?  —  Earlier this month …

Rob Lowe: ‘Last Thing’ People ‘Want Is Another Hollywood Actor Telling Them Anything About Guns’  —  Maybe the sanest words out of any media member's mouth in the weeks following the massacre in Newtown, Connecticut, came from actor Rob Lowe on CNN's Piers Morgan Tonight Monday.

Why the D.C. Attorney General Should Have Recused Himself From The Gregory Case  —  We have discussed the District of Columbia's decision not to prosecute David Gregory for violating its gun law.  In doing so, we mentioned that the decision was made by District of Columbia Attorney General Irvin Nathan …