On Iran, Hagel Muddles the Message  —  Dealing with Iran is complicated, but President Obama's policy on the question of whether a nuclear-armed Iran could be successfully “contained” - the way the Soviet Union was during the cold war - is simple.  —  His answer is no.

Edward I. Koch |  1924-2013: Edward I. Koch, Ex-Mayor of New York, Dies  —  Edward I. Koch, the master showman of City Hall, who parlayed shrewd political instincts and plenty of chutzpah into three tumultuous terms as mayor of New York with all the tenacity, zest and combativeness …

Scott Brown won't run for Senate  —  Former Massachusetts Republican senator Scott Brown will not run in the special election for outgoing Democratic Sen. John Kerry's seat, according to a Republican source familiar with his plans.  Brown's decision means Kerry's seat is very likely to remain in Democratic hands.

IRS: Cheapest Obamacare Plan Will Be $20,000 Per Family  —  (CNSNews.com) - In a final regulation issued Wednesday, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) assumed that under Obamacare the cheapest health insurance plan available in 2016 for a family will cost $20,000 for the year.

Hillary Clinton: ‘I am more optimistic today’  —  Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said goodbye to the nation's diplomatic corps and aid workers on her last day on the job, and said she was more upbeat about the fate of the world than she had been at the start of her tenure.

Opt out option expected for religious insurers who oppose contraceptives  —  Washington (CNN) — Religiously affiliated organizations will be able to opt out of providing their employees with insurance coverage for contraceptives under updates to an Obama administration mandate that the Department …

POLICE: SUICIDE BOMBING AT US EMBASSY, 2 DEAD … ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — A suspected suicide bomber detonated an explosive device at the entrance of the U.S. Embassy in the Turkish capital on Friday, killing himself and one other person, officials said.  —  U.S. Ambassador Francis Ricciardione …

2nd Oval Office Readied in White House Rehab Project  —  This summer there will be two Oval Offices in the White House complex, and it won't be a case of double vision.  —  In preparation for a major, two-year renovation of the West Wing, the government is undertaking extensive work to complete …

APNEWSBREAK: MARINES ISSUE SURVEY ON WOMEN'S ROLE  —  You are here  —  Home » James F. Amos » APNewsBreak: Marines issue survey on women's role  —  SAN DIEGO (AP) — A Marine Corps survey found about 17 percent of male Marine respondents who planned to stay in the service …

Hannity Explodes After Being Confronted By ThinkProgress About Previous Offer To Be Waterboarded For Charity  —  Fox News host Sean Hannity is so adamant that waterboarding is not torture that he once offered to be waterboarded at a charity event and donate the proceeds to soldiers' families.

GOP Lawmaker Behind Abortion Ban: 'We're Not Going To Allow Minorities To Run Roughshod' … On Wednesday, the Arkansas Senate approved an unconstitutional bill to ban abortion as early as six weeks into a pregnancy.  As The Nation's Lee Fang noted Friday, this is part of a larger strategy …

The Easy Problem  —  Over here in the department of punditry, we deal with a lot of hard issues, ones on which the evidence is mixed and the options are all bad.  But the immigration issue is a blessed relief.  On immigration, the evidence is overwhelming; the best way forward is clear.

Letter from Secretary Steven Chu to Energy Department Employees Announcing His Decision Not to Serve a Second Term  —  U.S. Secretary of Energy Steven Chu during an online town hall to discuss President Obama's clean energy and innovation agenda on January 11, 2011.  Photo by Charles Watkins, Contractor, Energy Department

White House adviser: Obama willing to cut Medicare, but not Medicaid  —  Sperling said the White House is no longer willing to make even the Medicaid cuts it had previously supported, but acknowledged that puts more pressure on Medicare.  —  “We are not willing to accept even the Medicaid savings …

Why Obama Is Giving Up on Right-Leaning Whites  —  For decades, Democrats shaped their policies around fears of the culturally conservative white voters to the GOP.  But Obama's winning coalition has altered that calculus.  —  With his suddenly aggressive second-term agenda …