Obama's sequester deal-changer  —  Bob Woodward (woodwardb@washpost.com) is an associate editor of The Post.  His latest book is “The Price of Politics.”  Evelyn M. Duffy contributed to this column.  —  Misunderstanding, misstatements and all the classic contortions of partisan message management surround …

Top Dems Reject House GOP's Violence Against Women Act: ‘Simply Unacceptable’  —  Top Senate Democrats excoriated the competing House Republican version of the Violence Against Women Act hours after it was unveiled Friday.  —  Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT), the author of VAWA …

Detroit Tops 2013 List Of America's Most Miserable Cities  —  Forbes put Detroit Mayor Dave Bing on its cover in 2011 for a story with the optimistic headline: “City of Hope.”  The premise was that the city had hit rock bottom and was poised for a turnaround.  —  “Right now, it's all about survival,” Bing told Forbes.

Is Senator Ted Cruz Our New McCarthy?  —  Last week, Texas Senator Ted Cruz's prosecutorial style of questioning Chuck Hagel, President Obama's nominee for Defense Secretary, came so close to innuendo that it raised eyebrows in Congress, even among his Republican colleagues.

Obama Administration Urges Supreme Court To Strike Down DOMA  —  “The Constitution ... requires that Section 3 be invalidated,” Obama's Supreme Court lawyer argues.  —  Edith Windsor  —  Image by Richard Drew / AP  —  WASHINGTON — The Obama administration urged the Supreme Court to strike …

Indiana Bill Would Force Women To Undergo Two Transvaginal Probes To Take A Pill (UPDATED)  —  An abortion pill, officially known as RU-486, is the earliest available abortion option for a woman.  A patient could be as little as one week pregnant and take the pill to terminate.

See Cartoon Instructions For How To Stone Adulterers  —  122 Facebook likes, 500 Facebook shares.  A very sanitized treatment of a bloody practice.  (Updated)  —  WASHINGTON — An Islamist Facebook page uploaded a cartoon explaining how to stone adulterers on Wednesday that is getting …

As Sequester Deadline Looms, Little Support for Cutting Most Programs  —  OVERVIEW  —  As the March 1 deadline for a possible budget sequester approaches, a new national survey finds limited public support for reducing spending for a range of specific programs, including defense, entitlements, education and health care.

Ann Coulter Battles Stossel, Calls Libertarians ‘Pussies,’ And Gets Booed By Room Full Of Students  —  What do you get when you invite outspoken conservative firebrand Ann Coulter to debate outspoken libertarian John Stossel in front of an audience of 1,000+ libertarian students?  —  Fireworks, that's what.

Fairfax County's Nightmare Is Over!!!  —  Great news breaking in Fairfax County this morning.  Electoral Boards are split 2-1 in Virginia, one Republican, one Democrat and one member of the Governor's party.  When Bob McDonnell was elected, the Fairfax GOP placed noted voter-fraud conspiracy …

Why your boss is dumping your wife  —  Companies are dropping health coverage for spouses to cut costs … Companies have a new solution to rising health-insurance costs: Break up their employees' marriages.  —  By denying coverage to spouses, employers not only save the annual premiums …

Oscar Predictions, Election-Style  —  Twice before, in 2009 and 2011, I sought to predict the Academy Award winners in six major categories based on a mix of statistical factors.  My track record?  Nine correct picks in 12 tries, for a 75 percent success rate.

Today is ‘Gun Owners Support Starbucks Day,’ for Virginians who openly carry guns in public  —  The challenge coin minted by Ed Levine alters the Starbucks logo to declare the holder's support for, well, guns and coffee.  A national day of support for Starbucks, and its willingness …

Teddy Turner: Jane Fonda Turned My Dad Into a Liberal  —  More ways to share...  Mixx  —  Stumbled  —  LinkedIn  —  Vine  —  Buzzflash  —  Newstrust  —  Technocrati  —  Forward Article  —  Ted Turner was transformed from a staunch conservative into a bleeding-heart liberal …

Spidey-sense suit tingles when someone gets too close  —  FOR Peter Parker, it was a tingling sensation that alerted him to an imminent threat.  Now anyone can pretend to be Spider-Man by simply donning a suit that lets you feel how close you are to a nearby object.  It can even let the wearer navigate with their eyes closed.

Democrats lose supermajority as Fresno senator resigns  —  Sen. Michael Rubio, D-Shafter, cited the need to spend time with his family in a statement announcing his resignation.  —  “My wife and I have been blessed with two beautiful daughters, from whom we have learned a great deal,” said Rubio in a written statement.

F-35 grounding latest setback for troubled program  —  Defense officials have grounded Lockheed Martin's F-35 Lightning II over an engine problem, POLITICO learned Friday, in the latest setback for the world's most expensive weapons program one week before automatic, across-the-board budget restrictions are set to take their bite.

The Republican Party needs a reality check  —  In the summer of 1999, George W. Bush chose the first major policy speech of his presidential campaign to pick a fight with Grover Norquist.  Bush flatly rejected the “destructive” view “that if government would only get out of our way …

The Sequester Is Terrible For Traffic  —  Editors despair, but we can't stop writing about it.  Desperation breeds Kate Upton, cute animals, and the “spendocalypse.”  —  Traffic for a recent BuzzFeed story on the sequester.  —  Not since Mitt Romney ran for president has a national political story …