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 …

Two Popes, One Secretary  —  The damage Benedict XVI has done to the Catholic church and the papacy may be far from over.  All I can say about yesterday's developments is that they seem potentially disastrous and also indicative to me of something truly weird going on underneath all of this.

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.

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 …

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 …

Dennis Rodman tells Kim Jong Un: ‘You have a friend for life’  —  SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA - Ex-NBA star Dennis Rodman met North Korea's Kim Jong Un on Thursday on the third day of his improbable journey to Pyongyang, telling the leader “You have a friend for life,” a delegation spokesman said.

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 …

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.

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 …

Arkansas gets OK on insurance funds  —  Arkansas Gov. Mike Beebe's office says the state has received approval from Health and Human Services to take federal Medicaid expansion money and use it to buy private coverage for low-income residents through the state's insurance exchange.

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 …

EXCLUSIVE: CLINT EASTWOOD SIGNS BRIEF SUPPORTING SAME-SEX MARRIAGE  —  Breitbart News has learned exclusively that Clint Eastwood has signed an amicus brief to the Supreme Court, supporting the right of same-sex couples to marry.  The brief, which will be released later this evening …

Van school worker shot during gun training class  —  The Tyler Morning Telegraph has learned that a Van Independent School District employee accidentally was shot during a district-sponsored concealed handgun license class on Wednesday.  —  The class was part of an effort to permit teachers to carry firearms on VISD campuses.