NRA airs new TV ad criticizing Obama on eve of White House gun announcement  —  Washington (CNN) - The National Rifle Association released a new television commercial Tuesday night charging President Barack Obama of hypocrisy for being “skeptical” about placing armed guards at schools …

Obama Gun Proposal to Look Beyond Mass Shootings  —  A new federal assault weapons ban and background checks of all gun buyers, which President Obama is expected to propose on Wednesday, might have done little to prevent the massacre in Newtown, Conn., last month.

Bush Speechwriter Michael Gerson Exposes Obama's Sinister Being-Reasonable Ploy  —  It's a trick.  A very complicated one.  —  The Obama presidency has been an agonizing time for those few remaining moderate Republicans.  They fully oppose their party's extremism, but the gravitational loyalty …

Why debt limit must be used to force a balanced budget  —  This Monday, President Obama again asserted that the country would “default” if Congress did not raise the debt limit.  “The full and faith and credit of the United States is not a bargaining chip,” he said at a press conference.

New York passes major gun control law — first since Newtown massacre  —  New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has signed what many consider to be the toughest gun control legislation in the country, expanding an existing assault weapons ban and limiting gun magazine capacity to seven rounds.  NBC's Ron Allen reports.

How 19-year-old activist Zack Kopplin is making life hell for Louisiana's creationists  —  For Zack Kopplin, it all started back in 2008 with the passing of the Louisiana Science Education Act.  The bill made it considerably easier for teachers to introduce creationist textbooks into the classroom.

Why We're Raising the Signature Threshold for We the People  —  When we launched We the People, none of us knew how popular it would be, but it's exceeded our wildest expectations.  Through the past year, interest in We the People exploded and we're closing in on 10 million signatures.

WB redrafting Reddit-borne time-travel pic  —  Brian Miller hired to write fresh take on ‘Rome, Sweet Rome’  —  Warner Bros. has tapped “Apollo 18” scribe Brian Miller to take a crack at “Rome, Sweet Rome,” a high-concept time travel story that originated from the website Reddit.com.

U.S.-China deficit may be lower than thought  —  Stephan Savoia/AP - In this 2012 file photo, a container is loaded onto a ship from China at Massport's Conley Terminal in the port of Boston.  In releasing the study on the U.S. trade deficit with China, the WTO and OECD highlighted how the data could influence the world trade agenda.

Lawmakers slam DOJ prosecution of Swartz as ‘ridiculous, absurd’  —  House lawmakers blasted federal prosecutors on Tuesday for pushing aggressive hacking charges against Internet activist Aaron Swartz, who killed himself on Friday.  —  Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) says his Oversight panel …

Obama runs afoul of Dem base  —  The nomination of former Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.) to head the Pentagon disappointed liberals and women's groups hoping for the first female Defense secretary.  —  It was also a double blow, of sorts, as Obama picked a fight with Republicans over Hagel …

Public Option Resurfaced By House Democrats As Deficit Reduction Measure  —  FOLLOW:  —  Debt Ceiling, Deficit, Health Care, Health Care Reform, Public Option, Video, Business News, Debt Limit, Health Care Public Option, Politics News, Obamacare, Obamacare Public Option, Politics News

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar to leave cabinet position in March  —  WASHINGTON — Interior Secretary Ken Salazar will step down from his cabinet position in the Obama administration and return to Colorado to spend time with his family, his office has confirmed to The Denver Post.

Kathryn Bigelow addresses ‘Zero Dark Thirty’ torture criticism  —  ‘Zero Dark Thirty’ director Kathryn Bigelow answers criticism of the film's depiction of torture, which she says does not equal endorsement of the tactics.  —  Kathryn Bigelow.  —  For a long time, measuring more years …

A Gun Ban That Misfired  —  What I saw as a prosecutor in Washington, D.C., makes me wary of strict firearms laws.  —  In the wake of the horrific elementary-school shootings in Newtown, Conn., last month, many Americans, desperate to do something in response, have decided that much stricter gun control is the answer.

Sen. Schumer asks Craigslist and eBay not to sell inauguration tickets  —  Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) is asking online ticketing sites not to allow the sale of inauguration tickets.  —  “Having a ticket to the inauguration is a privilege, it's not something that should be used to make a profit,” he said on Monday.

Bill Clinton jests: I'm Hillary Clinton's first husband  —  Bill Clinton joked Tuesday that Hillary calls him “her first husband” — because he thinks she's so healthy that she'll live to be 120 years old and remarry.  —  “She's always been very, very healthy and she has very low blood pressure, very low standing heartbeat.

Republicans push alternative to default in debt-ceiling battle  —  (Reuters) - Republican lawmakers are preparing to introduce legislation to direct the U.S. Treasury to make interest payments on U.S. bonds first and then prioritize other government outlays in case Congress does not raise the debt ceiling.

Louisiana Governor's New Plan Would Raise Taxes On Bottom 80 Percent Of Residents  —  Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal (R) recently rolled out a plan to replace his state's personal income and corporate taxes with an increased sales tax.  Such a move would shift taxes from the rich to the poor …