Obama blames Republicans for failing to stop sequester  —  In his weekly address on Saturday, Obama said the $85 billion sequester went into effect late Friday because congressional Republicans refused to compromise.  —  “These cuts are not smart,” Obama said.  —  “They will hurt our economy and cost us jobs.

W.H. green allies slam Keystone report  —  The State Department's long-awaited environmental report on the Keystone XL pipeline leaves President Barack Obama with no real scientific reason to reject the nation's most fiercely debated energy project.  —  The sprawling 2,000-page report …

CPAC's Exclusion Of Conservative Gay Group Sparks A Schism On The Right  —  Conservative speakers and organizers will flock to Washington, DC next week for the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC).  But GOProud, an extreme right-wing gay organization, won't be invited this year …

Michigan governor clears way for state takeover of Detroit  —  (Reuters) - Michigan Governor Rick Snyder cleared the way for a state takeover of Detroit, declaring that the birthplace of the U.S. automotive industry faces a fiscal emergency and that he has identified a top candidate to assume its management.

White House has some flexibility in choosing $85B spending cuts  —  The White House says its hands are tied by the $85 billion sequester, but budget experts counter that it will have some flexibility to choose what to cut and what to save.  —  The wiggle-room is inviting accusations …

Four Islamic terrorists planned attack on British soil with guns and home-made bombs  —  Four Islamic extremists admitted plotting a terrorist attack on British soil armed with guns and home-made bombs.  —  The men were caught after in a massive multi-million pound surveillance operation by police and the security services.

Mayor Bloomberg says to lose weight you have to eat less  —  Meet Mayor Bloomberg, diet guru.  —  Only you're probably not going to like his advice for losing weight — just eat less.  —  “If you eat less than 2,000 calories you'll lose weight,” the mayor said on his weekly WOR radio show today.

Rachel Maddow Busted Using Multiple Fake Twitter Accounts To Boost Mentions Of Her Show  —  A poster on Twitter, upon seeing what he thought were very similar posts referencing MSNBC host Rachel Maddow's show, did some searching and found out that Maddow has been using phony twitter accounts to boost her …

Bob Woodward Agrees With Hannity: Journalists Should Ask Obama About Bill Ayers  —  The Washington Post's Bob Woodward appeared on Fox News' Hannity on Thursday evening to complain about National Economic Council director Gene Sperling's email disputing his characterization of the White House's role …

Mass illegal immigrant release could be headache for Obama, tricky for GOP  —  The release of hundreds of illegal immigrants into a federal monitoring system this week may be an ongoing headache for the Obama administration, as Republicans focus their scrutiny on uncovering potential missteps.

A Divide on Voting Rights in a Town Where Blood Spilled  —  McCOMB, Miss. — In the refined air of the United States Supreme Court, the questions posed by justices on Wednesday seemed so big as to be unanswerable: Are parts of the Voting Rights Act an unfair infringement on state sovereignty?

Schwarzenegger flexes muscles again in bodybuilding world  —  LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Arnold Schwarzenegger is going back to his bodybuilding roots.  —  The action movie star turned politician will become group executive editor for the magazines Flex, and Muscle & Fitness …

Al Qaeda Hits Obama for Supporting Marriage Equality  —  Al Qaeda says the United States has another crime to add to its litany of atrocities: support for same-sex marriage.  —  In the latest issue of Inspire, the Al Qaeda-produced English-language magazine that teaches readers …

Schools locked down over “ambiguous message” taken as threat  —  AMBRIDGE — Beaver County schools had their lives “flipped, turned upside down” Thursday morning when a phone greeting involving the theme song from the 1990s sitcom “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” was taken as a threat.

Philip Hammond interview: The Defence Secretary's cold war on further military cuts  —  First, you befriend your chicken, says a Royal Marine, before explaining exactly how you then break its neck.  As the marine talks, he begins to gut a bird he killed earlier.  Suddenly, the Eastleigh by-election doesn't seem quite so brutal.

More than 700 pages of healthcare rules released  —  The Obama administration on Friday released more than 700 pages of new regulations to implement portions of the Affordable Care Act.  —  The four rules, which are scheduled for publication in mid-March, finalize both major and minor parts …

3 suspected Islamist terrorists arrested in France  —  Madrid (CNN) — Three Chechens suspected of Islamist terrorist activity were arrested in France this week in a joint French-Spanish operation, Spain's Interior Ministry said Friday.  —  The arrests Tuesday were a follow-up to raids …