Can Robert Menendez survive?  —  In a state with a colorful history, it takes a lot for a New Jersey politician to cross the line into political toxicity.  —  Democratic Sen. Robert Menendez has found himself at the center of a growing controversy, with accusations swirling of a questionable friendship …

Secret House group close to immigration-reform agreement  —  A bipartisan group of House negotiators is even further along in drafting a comprehensive immigration overhaul than its counterpart in the Senate, but the path to passage in the lower chamber is lined with thorns.

Super Bowl City Leads on Energy Efficient Forefront  —  New Orleans' Mercedes-Benz Superdome features more than 26,000 LED lights on the building's exterior.  The system uses only 10 kilowatts of electricity, equivalent to powering a small home.  Photo courtesy of SMG.

Friends of Fraud  —  Like many advocates of financial reform, I was a bit disappointed in the bill that finally emerged.  Dodd-Frank gave regulators the power to rein in many financial excesses; but it was and is less clear that future regulators will use that power.

Chuck Hagel's Defenseless Performance  —  Nothing could have harmed the nominee for secretary of defense more than his own confirmation answers.  —  It shouldn't have been surprising that the Senate hearings to confirm Chuck Hagel as the next secretary of defense ended up shedding light …

NYC schools giving out tens of thousands of doses of the ‘morning-after pill’  —  Plan B has become Plan A in the Bloomberg administration's stealth war on teen pregnancy.  —  Handouts of the “morning-after pill” to sexually active students have skyrocketed under an unpublicized project …

Americans Closest to Retirement Were Hardest Hit by Recession  —  Young graduates are in debt, out of work and on their parents' couches.  People in their 30s and 40s can't afford to buy homes or have children.  Retirees are earning near-zero interest on their savings.

Senate to Move on Gun Control  —  Senate Democratic leaders expect to introduce a gun bill that includes most of the proposals backed by President Barack Obama, with the notable exception of a ban on military-style, semiautomatic weapons, a top aide to Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada said.

Ex-Navy sniper killed at Texas gun range  —  (CNN) — Former Navy SEAL Chris Kyle, author of the best-selling autobiography “American Sniper,” was one of two people killed Saturday at a gun range, authorities said.  —  The 38-year-old, who declared himself the “most lethal sniper in U.S. history …

Senate plan would give Napolitano the final say on border security  —  Under a bipartisan Senate framework, Democrats say, Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano would have final say over whether the border is secure enough to put 11 million illegal immigrants on a path to citizenship.

Paul Krugman Destroys GOP's Talking Points On Government Jobs  —  On Sunday, economist Paul Krugman hit back against GOP claims that public sector employment has increased under Obama, and that such jobs consist mainly of wasteful bureaucrats and somehow count less economically than private sector ones.

Prince George's considers copyright policy that takes ownership of students' work  —  A proposal by the Prince George's County Board of Education to copyright work created by staff and students for school could mean that a picture drawn by a first-grader, a lesson plan developed by a teacher …

Syrian Weapons Center Said to Be Damaged  —  WASHINGTON — The Israeli attack last week on a Syrian convoy of antiaircraft weapons appears to have also hit the country's main research center for work on biological and chemical weapons, according to American officials who are sorting through intelligence reports.

Fox News Host Calls Out NRA Chief: 'That's Ridiculous And You Know It, Sir' (VIDEO)  —  Fox News host Chris Wallace called out National Rifle Association CEO Wayne LaPierre on Sunday for arguing that President Obama's children live under the same threats to their security as all other school children.

Why immigration reform in 1986 fell short  —  When Ronald Reagan signed a comprehensive immigration overhaul in 1986, he confidently predicted: “Future generations of Americans will be thankful for our efforts to humanely regain control of our borders and thereby preserve the value …

Obama mocked for releasing skeet shoot photo during gun-control debate  —  He's full of skeet!  —  Gun owners lampooned President Obama as Elmer Fudd yesterday after the White House released a photo — in the middle of a fierce national firearms debate — of the commander-in-chief shooting clay targets at Camp David over the summer.

Crossroads effort mocked on right  —  Two powerful conservative groups reacted with scorn Sunday to a newly unveiled American Crossroads initiative, dubbed the Conservative Victory Project, that plans to work against Republican primary candidates it views as unelectable.