The big sequester gamble: How badly will the cuts hurt?  —  Evan Vucci/AP - President Barack Obama speaks in Chicago Feb. 15, 2013.  The president and congressional Republicans each seem content with the political ground they hold and are prepared to let across-the-board spending cuts take effect on March 1.

Senators near a deal on background checks for most private gun sales  —  A bipartisan group of senators is on the verge of a deal that would expand background checks to all private firearms sales with limited exemptions, but significant disagreements remain on the issue of keeping records …

Violent, Drunk and Holding a Gun  —  Multiple mass shootings by deranged young men have made keeping firearms out of the hands of mentally ill people a big part of the gun debate.  —  Given the enormity of those crimes, that is understandable.  Federal law does, in fact …

Court Finds No Right to Conceal a Firearm  —  DENVER (AP) — A federal appeals court has ruled that permits allowing people to carry concealed weapons are not protected by the Second Amendment.  —  The ruling by the United States Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit was issued Friday …

Political movies look to win big at Oscars  —  Political movies are expected to rake in the trophies at Sunday night's Academy Awards ceremony.  —  “Argo,” a film about the 1979 Iran hostage crisis, is favored to win the biggest prize of the night: Best Picture.

On the sequester, the American people ‘moved the goalposts’  —  I don't agree with my colleague Bob Woodward, who says the Obama administration is “moving the goalposts” when they insist on a sequester replacement that includes revenues.  I remember talking to both members of the Obama administration …

Gov. Rick Perry: Texas Will Never Go Blue  —  For many, it's the country's ultimate over-the-horizon electoral question: Could Texas become a blue state?  —  To which Texas Republican Gov. Rick Perry emits a hearty guffaw.  Texas going blue, he says, “is the biggest pipedream I have ever heard.”

Proposed design of NC illegal immigrant licenses sparks concern  —  RALEIGH, N.C. - A new driver's license expected to be issued to some illegal immigrants in North Carolina has prompted state lawmakers and immigrant rights groups to voice concerns over the proposal.

UK's top cardinal accused of ‘inappropriate acts’ by priests  —  Three priests and former priest report Cardinal Keith O'Brien to Vatican over claims stretching back 33 years  —  Three priests and a former priest in Scotland have reported the most senior Catholic clergyman in Britain …

Coming Up on ‘This Week’: Two Powerhouse Roundtables  —  This Week with George Stephanopoulos (U.S House of Representatives/U.S House of Representatives/Wall Street Journal/Getty Images)  —  Two powerhouse roundtables join George Stephanopoulos to tackle the latest challenges at home and abroad, Sunday on “This Week.”

ObamaCare and the ‘29ers’  —  How the new mandates are already reducing full-time employment.  —  Here's a trend you'll be reading more about: part-time “job sharing,” not only within firms but across different businesses.  —  It's already happening across the country at fast-food restaurants …