Obama, the puppet master  —  President Barack Obama is a master at limiting, shaping and manipulating media coverage of himself and his White House.  —  Not for the reason that conservatives suspect: namely, that a liberal press willingly and eagerly allows itself to get manipulated.

Simpson and Bowles to Offer Up Deficit Fix  —  WASHINGTON—Deficit hawks Alan Simpson and Erskine Bowles on Tuesday will propose a detailed plan for rewriting the tax code and implementing deep new spending cuts, hoping to offer a path to compromise for Democrats and Republicans, according to an outline of the plan.

Colorado Democrat: Women Don't Need Guns If They 'Feel Like They're Going To Be Raped'  —  Chill, women, says Colorado Democrat Rep. Joe Salazar.  While arguing for the disarmament of college students, Salazar says that even if women feel like they're going to be raped, they may not, so who needs a firearm for protection?

Marco Rubio: The Electable Conservative?  —  Some commentators have expressed surprise upon learning about the very conservative voting record of Senator Marco Rubio of Florida, who delivered the Republican response to the State of the Union address last week.

Chinese Army Unit Is Seen as Tied to Hacking Against U.S.  —  On the outskirts of Shanghai, in a run-down neighborhood dominated by a 12-story white office tower, sits a People's Liberation Army base for China's growing corps of cyberwarriors.  —  The building off Datong Road …

Prof Strips, Shows 9/11 Footage, Impales Stuffed Animal (VIDEO)  —  A science professor at Columbia University on Monday began a quantum mechanics lecture by stripping into his boxers and eating a banana while rap music played in the background.  —  Then it got weird.

Tea Party challenger to McConnell emerging  —  Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) could see a primary challenge from local businessman Matt Bevin, who sources say is reaching out to Tea Party groups in the state to gauge support for a 2014 Senate run.

Lawmakers Look at Ban on High Capacity Gun Magazines  —  WASHINGTON — Senator Christopher S. Murphy, Democrat of Connecticut, is haunted by many things that emerged from the investigation of the December mass shooting at a Newtown elementary school.  Among them is the nagging question …

Pistorius Denies Murdering Girlfriend  —  PRETORIA, South Africa — Facing a charge of premeditated murder in the death of his girlfriend, Oscar Pistorius, the double amputee track star and one of the world's best-known athletes, denied on Tuesday that he intended to take her life when he opened fire …

Why John McCain turned on Chuck Hagel  —  Tower, a Texas Republican, Navy veteran and powerhouse in the Senate Armed Services Committee, had befriended McCain as a young naval liaison to Congress and later helped him first run for the House in 1982.  As a freshman senator …

Filibuster Hagel  —  If Republicans refuse, they won't be standing on principle but capitulating to the president.  —  Chuck Hagel says he can't remember if he called the U.S. State Department “an adjunct of the Israeli foreign minister's office” in the Q&A following a March 2007 speech …

Newtown shooter motivated by Norway massacre, sources say  —  Law enforcement sources say Adam Lanza was motivated by violent video games and a strong desire to kill more people than another infamous mass murderer.  —  Sources say Lanza saw himself as being in direct competition with Anders Breivik …

Royal Bodies  —  Last summer at the festival in Hay-on-Wye, I was asked to name a famous person and choose a book to give them.  I hate the leaden repetitiveness of these little quizzes: who would be the guests at your ideal dinner party, what book has changed your life, which fictional character do you most resemble?