Exclusive: Beyoncé lip-synched Star Spangled Banner at inauguration  —  Beyoncé did not sing the national anthem live at President Obama's inauguration.  —  Millions of viewers around the world were stunned by the singer's spectacular rendition of the anthem but The Times …

Reid to Senate Republicans: Filibuster deal in 36 hours or face nuclear option  —  Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) is giving Republican colleagues 36 hours to agree to a deal on filibuster reform or he will move forward with the nuclear option.  —  “I hope in the next 24, 36 hours we can get something we agree on.

Lautenberg: Booker ‘entitled’ to run, but no decision yet  —  WASHINGTON — Sen. Frank Lautenberg, who might face a 2014 primary challenge from Newark Mayor Cory Booker, said his fellow Democrat is “entitled” to run if he chooses to but suggested that he had to give a “spanking” to his potential rival for so openly coveting his seat.

Two shot at Lone Star College in north Houston  —  HOUSTON (KTRK) — A campus spokesperson has confirmed shots have been fired on the campus of Lone Star College in north Houston.  Two victims have suffered gunshot wounds, according to the Harris County Emergency Corp.

Exit polls: Netanyahu, Right suffer blow, Lapid big winner  —  Israel goes Leftward as Right bloc's majority razor-thin; voter turnout 66.6%; Likud Beytenu plummets; Labor polled to get 17 seats, Bayit Yehudi 12, Shas 11, Livni and Meretz 7 each, UTJ 6.  —  Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's …

House GOP debt-limit bill gains momentum ahead of floor vote  —  A House Republican bill to suspend the debt ceiling through May 19 gained momentum on Tuesday ahead of an expected vote on Wednesday.  —  The White House blessed the GOP measure, with press secretary Jay Carney calling it …

Report: Boehner's inauguration smoke joke had first lady's eyes rolling  —  Having a smoke is no joke to Michelle Obama.  —  A lip-reader claims Speaker John Boehner's question about cigarettes at the inaugural luncheon is what triggered an eye roll from the first lady.

State school-board president defends Hitler post on Facebook  —  Not comparing him to Obama, she says  —  State Board of Education President Debe Terhar said she was not comparing President Barack Obama to Adolf Hitler when she posted a photograph of the Nazi leader on her Facebook page …

Phil Mickelson warns of ‘drastic changes’ because of state, federal tax situation [UPDATED]  —  Phil Mickelson loves throwing boulders into the placid pond that is golf, and watching the ripples spill over the sides.  Whether it's rules changes or course design, Mickelson isn't shy about speaking his mind.

As Obama heads back to office, a battle rages over the tech that got him reelected  —  Programmers and politicians spar over sharing the campaign-winning code with the public  —  The tech team behind the 2012 Obama campaign has probably received more attention than any political programmers in history.

Barack Obama Is Boring  —  I was not going to comment on President Obama's second inaugural address until I saw a headline quoting a line from the speech: “We are made for this moment.”  —  Really?  “This moment”—again?  —  “This moment” was in Obama's big speech in Berlin as a candidate …

Biden's moves spark talk of a 2016 presidential bid  —  Washington (CNN) - Vice President Joe Biden met with Democratic Party delegates Tuesday afternoon, the latest move he's made over the past few days that could be considered an early signal that the vice president may be laying the groundwork …

Local GOP official hangs American flag upside down  —  McKEESPORT, Pa. —  The head of the Mon Valley Republican party hung a flag upside down on Monday — the day of President Barack Obama's second-term inauguration.  —  Hanging for all to see outside of the party's meeting spot …

Missouri Sheriffs Pledge To Not Enforce Obama's Gun Control Laws  —  JOHNSON COUNTY, Mo (KMOX) - As President Barack Obama continues to push gun control proposals in Washington D.C., Sheriff Charles M. Heiss, R-Johnson County is asking fellow law enforcers to sign and send this letter to the president.

What do the Beltway moderates actually want?  —  Centrist thinkers keep begging Barack Obama to pursue “bipartisan” goals he already supports  —  As David Brooks taught us last week, Barack Obama's cunning plan to sabotage and undermine the Republican Party is to repeatedly force them to act …

Suspected Islamists kill 23 in two Nigeria attacks  —  (Reuters) - Gunmen killed 23 people in northern Nigeria in attacks that appeared to target gamblers and people selling ‘forbidden’ meat that Islamist militants disapprove of, officials and locals said on Tuesday.

Ken Cuccinelli: I'm Fighting The Contraception Mandate Just Like Martin Luther King, Jr.  —  Virginia chooses a new governor this November, and Democrats are already firing with both barrels at state Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, the likely Republican nominee to replace Gov. Bob McDonnell (R).

Dr. King's Dream for the Global Strike Team  —  Air Force Global Strike Command Programming Division  —  BARKSDALE AIR FORCE BASE, La. — Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s 83rd birthday was Jan. 15. . . His courageous crusade for equality was first nationally recognized on Jan. 20, 1986 …

Paul Ryan slams Obama ‘straw man’ speech  —  Rep. Paul Ryan on Tuesday blasted President Barack Obama's “straw man” attack on the Republican Party over entitlement programs.  —  The Wisconsin Republican told “The Laura Ingraham Show” that Obama's second inaugural address demonstrated …

U.S. gift of F-16 fighters headed to Egypt, despite Morsi's harsh rhetoric  —  The planes were part of a 2010 foreign aid package, that critics say should have been canceled.  (Courtesy: Carl Richards)  —  The planes, made by Lockheed-Martin, are already marked with the Egyptian flag.

Clinton 2008 now debt-free  —  More than four years after Hillary Clinton lost the Democratic nomination for president, Clinton's 2008 presidential campaign is finally debt-free, new reports filed by the campaign show.  —  Clinton's campaign committee paid off about $25 million in debt and now has a surplus of $204,832.

The American Case Against a Black Middle Class  —  I went on a Twitter rant yesterday because I'd finished Isabel Wilkerson's phenomenal The Warmth Of Other Suns.  The book is a narrative history of the Great Migration through the eyes of actual migrants.  Several points stick out for me.

Al Franken in good shape so far  —  Al Franken's in good shape heading into his reelection cycle.  Our newest poll finds 52% of Minnesota voters approving of him to 41% who disapprove.  Those solid numbers are pretty consistent with where we've found him for most of the last year.

Proposition 8 Supporters Tell Supreme Court To Keep Marriage Ban  —  “Our Constitution does not mandate the traditional gendered definition of marriage, but neither does our Constitution condemn it,” supporters of the marriage ban argue.  —  The fight over California's Proposition 8 is before the Supreme Court.