Durbin Hits Back At NRA's LaPierre: ‘You Missed That Point Completely’ (VIDEO)  —  After National Rifle Association exectuive vice president Wayne LaPierre insisted during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on gun violence Wednesday that universal background checks on firearms purchases …

Tennessee 'Don't Say Gay' Bill Now Requires Teachers To Inform Parents If Their Child Is Gay  —  Tennessee's so-called 'Don't Say Gay' bill died with the adjournment of the state assembly last year.  But now the measure is back — with new, harsher requirements.

Gabby Giffords's Handwritten Notes for Her Testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee  —  The former U.S. representative wrote her speech in pen, and on binder paper.  —  Americans for Responsible Solutions  —  This morning, Gabby Giffords made an unannounced appearance at the Senate Judiciary Committee's hearing on gun violence.

White House Blames GDP Drop On Republicans  —  “It's not a game — it's the American economy,” Carney scolds.  —  Press Secretary Jay Carney briefs reporters at the White House in Washington, Monday, Jan. 28, 2013.  —  Image by Charles Dharapak / AP  —  WASHINGTON — White House Press …

Chinese Hackers Infiltrate New York Times Computers  —  SAN FRANCISCO — For the last four months, Chinese hackers have persistently attacked The New York Times, infiltrating its computer systems and getting passwords for its reporters and other employees.  —  After surreptitiously tracking …

Gayle Trotter Testimony Captivates Senate Gun Control Hearing  —  Gun Control, Video, Second Amendment, Senate Gun Control, Senate Gun Hearing, Gayle Trotter, Gayle Trotter Gun Control, Gayle Trotter Gun Rights, Gayle Trotter Senate Hearing, Women And Guns, Women Gun Control, Politics News

Why defense spending plunged 22% last quarter — and killed GDP  —  On Wednesday, the government announced that the economy had shrunk at a 0.1 percent annual pace between October and December.  That came as a surprise to most economists, who were expecting at least modest growth.  So what happened?

SYRIA CONFIRMS ISRAELI JETS BOMBED MILITARY SITE  —  You are here  —  Home » Israel » Syria confirms Israeli jets bombed military site  —  BEIRUT (AP) — Israel conducted a rare airstrike on a military target inside Syria, foreign officials and Syrian state TV said Wednesday …

Obama expects immigration reform bill as early as June  —  President Obama said Wednesday he expects an immigration reform bill will be signed into law by year's end, and possibly as early as June.  —  “I'm hopeful that this can get done, and I don't think that it should take many, many months …

Teen Performer At Inaugural Events Fatally Shot In Chicago  —  Hadiyah Pendleton, 15, was shot in the back while hanging out with a group of teens on Tuesday  —  Hadiya Pendleton died after she was shot in the back while hanging out with a group of teens on Tuesday.  Police say she wasn't the intended target.

Obama administration takes steps to implement individual mandate  —  The Obama administration took new steps Wednesday toward implementing the individual mandate in its signature healthcare law, downplaying the scope of the unpopular provision by stressing rules that allow exemptions from the requirement to purchase insurance.

EXCLUSIVE: Actor Jim Nabors marries his longtime male partner  —  Jim Nabors, the Hawaii resident well known for his starring role in the 1960s television sitcom “Gomer Pyle, USMC,” married his longtime male partner early this month, he told Hawaii News Now Tuesday.

Reid Tips His Hand Over Dems' Sequester Strategy  —  In the House of Representatives, Republicans claim they've braced themselves to let the full force of the sequester hit government programs of all kinds on March 1, defense most directly, rather than compromise with Democrats to replace …

CNN ‘Starting Point’ Staffers Brace Themselves  —  The announcement that CNN is totally revamping its morning show and scrapping Soledad O'Brien's “Starting Point” has sent shivers through her staff.  —  Insiders tell us Executive VP Ken Jautz and VP Bart Feder addressed the staff after the show went off the air today.

Video Games Are ‘A Bigger Problem Than Guns,’ Says Actual U.S. Senator  —  On MSNBC today, U.S. senator Lamar Alexander (a Tennessee Republican) set a new benchmark for insanity by claiming that games are worse than guns.  —  “I think video games is a bigger problem than guns …

Niners CB says openly gay players would not be welcomed on the team  —  NEW ORLEANS - San Francisco 49ers cornerback Chris Culliver has made inflammatory comments regarding homosexuality in football just a few days before Super Bowl XLVII.  —  Shock jock Artie Lange revealed he had interviewed Culliver …

IGNORE LENA DUNHAM'S ‘GIRLS’ AT YOUR OWN PERIL, CONSERVATIVES  —  There's plenty about Girls to annoy conservatives, yet this often creepy, usually skeevy, critically-acclaimed HBO series is also a test for conservatives.  —  Will we finally heed Andrew Breitbart's warnings about the importance …

Obama goes ‘skeet shooting all the time’?  Hardly ever, sources say  —  Jan. 29, 2013: President Obama waves to reporters as he walks on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington.AP  —  News of President Obama's apparently long-secret fondness for skeet shooting came as a surprise …

Center for American Progress' Christie Hefner: Climate change a factor in Chicago's murder rate  —  On Wednesday's broadcast of MSNBC's “Morning Joe,” the Center for American Progress' Christie Hefner said that Chicago's sky-high murder rate could be blamed — at least in part — on climate change.

What Professor Hagel Taught  —  Cyberwar and Bjorn Lomborg at Georgetown.  A former student is “disgusted” by the nomination process.  —  Before he became President Obama's Secretary of Defense nominee, Senator Chuck Hagel a professor at Georgetown's School of Foreign Service for three years.

Making Voting Constitutional  —  In Fairfax County, Virginia, a voter holds their voting permit and ID card at the Washington Mill Elementary School near Mount Vernon, Tuesday, November 6, 2012.  Fairfax County is a Washington suburb with more than 1 million residents and is the biggest battleground …

Obama's Flip-Flops on Money in Politics: A Brief History  —  When President Obama told supporters that he would morph his campaign into a new nonprofit that would accept unlimited corporate donations, the announcement set off a familiar round of griping from campaign finance reformers.

3 shot at Phoenix office building  —  FONT:  —  The Arizona Republic-12 News Breaking News Team  —  Three people suffered gunshot wounds during a shooting at an office complex in north-central Phoenix Wednesday morning, officials said.  —  Three others were transported to area hospitals …

Dr. Phil: Hoax mastermind fell ‘deeply, romantically in love’ with Te'o  —  The mastermind of the fake girlfriend that ensnared Notre Dame football star Manti Te'o is speaking out, telling talk show host Dr. Phil McGraw that Te'o was an innocent victim and insisting he was the voice speaking on the phone …

Police: Hostage Taker in Alabama Standoff Has ‘Anti-America’ Views  —  The man who ignited a hostage standoff in southern Alabama when he shot a bus driver and took a child into an underground bunker is a “survivalist” who has ties to the antigovernment movement, an official …