President Barack Obama: Now is the time  —  As a society, our first task must be to care for our children — to shield them from harm and give them the tools they need not only to pursue their dreams, but to help build this country.  That is how we will be judged.

Manti Te'o's Dead Girlfriend, The Most Heartbreaking And Inspirational Story Of The College Football Season, Is A Hoax  —  Notre Dame's Manti Te'o, the stories said, played this season under a terrible burden.  A Mormon linebacker who led his Catholic school's football program back to glory …

Rand Paul Plans To Nullify Obama's Gun Executive Actions  —  Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) has a plan to undo President Obama's executive actions on guns.  —  Paul plans to debut the proposal on Wednesday's edition of Hannity on Fox.  Details of the plan shared with TPM Wednesday show Paul plans …

Six hostages, 8 kidnappers killed in Algeria siege; 7 still held  —  (Reuters) - Six foreign hostages and eight of their captors were killed when Algerian forces fired on a vehicle being used by besieged gunmen at a gas plant in the remote Algerian desert on Thursday, a local source told Reuters.

NRA planning ‘the fight of the century’ against Obama … The National Rifle Association cast its opposition to Obama's plans as “the fight of the century” in a letter circulated at the 35th annual Shooting, Hunting, Outdoor Trade Show and Conference, known in the trade as “the SHOT show,” in Las Vegas.

Franken undecided on assault weapons ban  —  On the day that President Obama proposed a sweeping package of gun-control measures, U.S. Sen. Al Franken signaled his support for several components of Obama's plan.  —  Franken, speaking during a press event in Rochester, said he supports limits …

Republicans worry they'll lose House if they botch debt talks  —  There's growing angst among Republicans that the party's House majority could be at risk in 2014 if the deep GOP divisions that emerged during the recent “fiscal cliff” negotiations persist in looming negotiations over a slew of budgetary issues.

I Went After Guns.  Obama Can, Too.  —  IT is for Americans and their elected representatives to determine the right response to President Obama's proposals on gun control.  I wouldn't presume to lecture Americans on the subject.  I can, however, describe what I, as prime minister of Australia …

GOP puts forward schedule to get budget done ahead of deadline  —  Republicans on the Senate Budget Committee have put forward a schedule for producing a budget resolution this year to committee Chairwoman Patty Murray (D-Wash.).  —  The Senate has not passed a budget resolution since 2009 …

9 in 10 back universal gun background checks  —  Ninety-two percent of Americans favor background checks for all potential gun buyers, according to a new CBS News/New York Times poll.  —  Universal background checks are one of the proposals that President Obama has called on Congress to pass …

Wealthy CEOs Want To Force Americans To Retire Later  —  The group argues that Social Security is no longer affordable and plans to lobby Congressional lawmakers and the administration for its plan: … CEO's representing an organization called “Fix the Debt” have made the same argument.

US confirms Americans among hostages taken by militants in Algeria  —  Several Americans have been taken hostage by Islamist militants in Algeria, the State Department confirmed Wednesday, but no U.S. casualties have been reported.  —  Al Qaeda-linked militants claim to have taken some 400 hostages …

Mark Levin: Obama's Executive Orders ‘Un-American,’ ‘Fascistic’  —  Conservative radio host Mark Levin tore into President Barack Obama on Wednesday after the president signed several executive orders aimed at curbing gun violence.  Levin told Fox News Channel host Neil Cavuto …

Revenge on the Bitter Clingers  —  RUSH: I'm gonna take a stab at answering my question.  Obama is literally pushing people to snap, attacking the very sanity of the country.  To what end?  Aside from wanting everybody's name on a list of some kind, why is Obama doing all of this?

Bundesbank weighs bullion against public pressure  —  No one would quite admit it, but the announcement on Wednesday by the Bundesbank that it was undertaking a huge transport operation to move gold bars worth €27bn from Paris and New York to Frankfurt signalled that the proudly independent central bank …

Obama turns to ‘team player’ McDonough as chief of staff  —  President Barack Obama plans to name Deputy National Security Adviser Denis McDonough as his next chief of staff, a Democratic source briefed on the plans tells POLITICO.  McDonough would replace Jack Lew, whom Obama nominated to be his new Treasury secretary.