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, Mayor as Brash as His City, Dies at 88  —  Edward I. Koch, the master showman of City Hall, who parlayed shrewd political instincts and plenty of chutzpah into three tumultuous terms as New York's mayor with all the tenacity …

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.

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 …

Keeping our users secure  —  As you may have read, there's been a recent uptick in large-scale security attacks aimed at U.S. technology and media companies.  Within the last two weeks, the New York Times and Wall Street Journal have chronicled breaches of their systems …

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.

Conservatives Shocked to Discover Healthcare in America is Really Expensive  —  “Can you respond to this?” asks a reader via Twitter.  “Conservative friends are posting it all over.”  It turns out that “this” is a headline from CNS: … Apparently conservatives are outraged by this …

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 …

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 …

Former First Dog Barney Bush Passes Away  —  The Bush family statement, via Reuters:

2 Dead in Suicide Bombing at U.S. Embassy in Turkey  —  ISTANBUL — A suicide bomber was killed on Friday in an attack at the American Embassy in the Turkish capital, Ankara, in which a security employee died and another person was injured, according to Alaattin Yuksel, the Ankara governor.

Meet Jason Rapert, the Koch-Backed Evangelical Steering Arkansas's Radical Abortion-Restriction Effort  —  On Wednesday, the Arkansas legislature lurched forward with a radical measure to ban most abortions if a fetal heartbeat is detected within six weeks of a pregnancy …

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.

Iran's space monkey triumph exposed as a fake … Iran enjoyed rare triumph on Monday — the successful launch of a monkey into space.  —  The regime proclaimed it as proof that Iranian scientists could match their Western counterparts, evidence that international sanctions were ineffectual, and a stepping stone to a manned flight.

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.

Keystone pipeline decision to languish until mid-June-US source  —  * No time frame for national interest determination  —  The Obama administration's decision on the Keystone XL oil pipeline will not be made until at least June, a U.S. official said, which would delay the project for months …

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 …