The Republican Debt Ceiling Gambit Is Unconstitutional  —  House Republicans are backing away from their threat to plunge the United States into a catastrophic budget default and will instead pursue the somewhat less reckless strategy of passing a three-month increase in the debt limit.

Obama pushes gun control in address  —  President Obama on Saturday called on Congress to act on his gun-control proposals.  —  In his weekly address, the president said his administration has taken several steps this week to reduce gun violence.  But lawmakers on Capitol Hill need …

Lance Armstrong May Have Lied to Winfrey: Investigators  —  Lance Armstrong may have lied to Oprah Winfrey during his so-called confession Thursday night about his doping during the Tour de France bicycle race, investigators told ABC News today.  —  Armstrong, 41, admitted …

Alabama's Clinic Escorts Protect Women From Anti-Abortion Protesters Singing ‘Happy Birthday Dead Baby’  —  As the 40th anniversary of the landmark Roe v. Wade decision approaches, anti-abortion fervor is reaching a fever pitch in some conservative areas.  At Alabama's Women Center …

PolitiFact Concedes Their ‘Lie of the Year’ is the ‘Literal Truth’  —  Earlier today, I wrote a lengthy critique pointing out the inconvenient fact that PolitiFact's Lie of the Year — “The Romney campaign's ad on Jeeps made in China” — turns out to be true.

The Next Four Years  —  President Obama's second inaugural comes at an interesting moment, what you might call the end of the era of the Grand Bargain.  Throughout his first term, Democrats and Republicans didn't achieve a Grand Bargain on spending and taxes, but there was a sense that history was moving in that direction.

Aurora theater shooting: Judge OKs effort to subpoena Fox News reporter Jana Winter  —  The judge overseeing the murder case against accused Aurora movie theater shooter James Holmes has signed off on a defense effort to subpoena a New York-based Fox News reporter over a story the woman wrote.

Conservative group blasts Schumer for supporting Hagel  —  The conservative American Future Fund group is questioning Sen. Charles Schumer's (D-N.Y.) decision to back former Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.) for secretary of Defense.  —  The group, which launched a media campaign earlier in the week …

One American dead in Algeria hostage crisis  —  U.S. officials confirmed Friday that one American has died in the hostage standoff at the Algerian natural gas field, The Associated Press reported, though reliable details about the terror attack there remained elusive.

Fox News poll: Twice as many favor more guns over banning guns to reduce crime  —  Nearly twice as many voters say there would be less violent crime if more law-abiding Americans owned guns, than if guns were banned.  —  In addition, while American voters generally favor strengthening gun laws …

Stephen Colbert's sister will run for Congress  —  Stephen Colbert may have “run for president,” but his sister is actually going to run for Congress.  —  Elizabeth Colbert-Busch's soon-to-be-official campaign has informed South Carolina Democratic Party executive director Amanda Loveday …

IMMEDIATE RELEASE  —  Convening Authority for Military Commissions Declines to Withdraw Conspiracy Charge Against Alleged 9/11 Co-Conspirators Pending Appellate Ruling  —  The Department of Defense announced today that the convening authority for military commissions declined to withdraw …

Law School Enrollments are Plummeting.  What Happens Next?  —  A whole lot of changes ahead  —  “I couldn't do this if I didn't have tenure.”  —  That's what law professor Paul Campos told me, sitting at a table in Brasserie Beck after a Cato panel on law schools.

Gallup and USA Today part ways  —  Gallup will no longer be conducting polls for USA Today, the two organizations announced Friday.  —  Both said the split, after 20 years of collaboration, was a mutual decision based on the changing media and polling landscape.

Time Warner Cable Bans Gun Ads  —  Company-wide initiative comes weeks after Sandy Hook tragedy  —  Just weeks after the mass shooting at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., Time Warner Cable has initiated a company-wide ban on certain gun ads.

NRA President Blames Obama For ‘Hundreds’ Of Death Threats … On a right-wing talk show on Thursday, David Keene, the president of the National Rifle Association, blamed President Obama and the left for what he says have been hundreds of death threats made against him and his family.