Exclusive: The Woodward, Sperling emails revealed  —  POLITICO's “Behind the Curtain” column last night quoted Bob Woodward as saying that a senior White House official has told him in an email he would “regret” questioning White House statements on the origins of sequestration.

‘3 Amigos’ make life difficult for Mitch McConnell  —  Mitch McConnell wanted Republican senators to communicate a consistent and clear message and unite behind a single plan to overhaul the sequester spending cuts.  —  Then came the “Three Amigos.”  —  Three Republican senators …

Republicans need to go negative  —  What a sad state Republicans are in.  Leaderless and rudderless, they flail about, trying to figure out who they are and which of various political Pied Pipers onstage today will lead them from the wilderness.  —  What they fail to see is that there will …

Supreme Court Poised to Declare Racism Over  —  Conservative justices on the high court look set to scrap a key part of the Voting Rights Act.  —  Pop champagne: Racism is over.  —  “There is an old disease, and that disease is cured,” Bert Rein, the attorney leading the legal challenge …

Gruenhagen: Homosexuality is a ‘sexual addiction’  —  One of the Legislature's most vocal opponents of same-sex marriage says homosexuality is a choice and form of sexual addiction.  —  “It's an unhealthy, sexual addiction,” state Rep. Glenn Gruenhagen said Wednesday.

Poll: 60% OK gay marriage; Taveras tops  —  Survey finds 94% of voters glum about RI economy  —  PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) - More than half of Rhode Island voters support allowing same-sex marriage in the state, while most opponents of the idea say it conflicts with their religious beliefs …

U.S. to give Syrian rebels medical, food aid, not arms  —  (Reuters) - The United States will send non-lethal aid directly to Syrian rebels for the first time, Secretary of State John Kerry said on Thursday, disappointing opponents of President Bashar al-Assad who are clamoring for Western weapons.

Sequester This!  President Obama's Colossal Media Blunder  —  President Obama has gone all-in trying to get Republicans to blink and serve up another round of tax increases in lieu of the looming spending sequester.  Eschewing talks with Congress or any pretense of leadership …

5 False Assumptions Political Pundits Make All the Time  —  From voter polarization to campaign ads, a political scientist calls out the mistaken notions commonly perpetuated by election commentators.  —  If following the 2012 presidential election sometimes made you want to scream at your television …

Report: Obama to name Edith Ramirez to be next FTC chairman  —  President Obama will promote Edith Ramirez to the top spot of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), according to a report Thursday.  —  Ramirez has been an FTC commissioner since April 2010, and was a lawyer before joining the agency.

The Business Case for Healthier Food Options  —  In recent years, they have generated more than 70% of the growth in sales for packaged-goods companies.  —  For years, America's childhood obesity crisis was viewed as an insurmountable problem, one that was too complicated and too entrenched to ever really solve.

Plutocrat Jack Lew Is Confirmed, But Sessions Embarrasses Democrats  —  Jack Lew, the plutocrat nominated as Secretary of the Treasury by Barack Obama, was confirmed by the Senate this afternoon on a 71-26 vote.  What was notable about the vote was not so much the outcome as the challenge …

Republicans Working on Funding Bill  —  House Republican leaders seem to have averted a potential rift in the conference, garnering wide support for a continuing resolution that will move as soon as next week.  —  GOP leaders called a Wednesday afternoon meeting to brief members on the strategy for the CR …

National Income and Product Accounts  —  Gross Domestic Product, 4th quarter and annual 2012 (second estimate)  —  Real gross domestic product — the output of goods and services produced by labor and property located in the United States — increased at an annual rate of .1 percent …