California GOP leader steps into rape pregnancy controversy  —  Bay Area News Group  —  SACRAMENTO — A California Republican leader may have inadvertently revived the controversial subject of rape and pregnancy.  —  Before arriving at the state GOP's spring convention here …

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?

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.

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 …

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 …

U.S. Capitol official: Obama wrong on janitors' pay cut  —  During his news conference to announce that he and congressional leaders failed to avert the sequester cuts going into effect tonight, President Obama gave several examples of people who will be directly affected by the cuts.

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 …

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.

Iraqi forces attack FSA positions inside Syria  —  For the first time, Iraqi forces opened fire on Syria shelling the positions of the Free Syrian Army (FSA) days after Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki warned that a victory of the Syrian opposition would spread chaos in the region.

Al Qaeda issues English-language advice magazine for militants  —  (Reuters) - Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), the Islamist movement's most active branch, has released an English-language magazine advising would-be militants on how to torch parked cars and cause traffic accidents.

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.

A 2,000-Page Lubricant for Keystone XL  —  WASHINGTON — The State Department issued a revised environmental impact statement for the 1,700-mile Keystone XL pipeline on Friday that makes no recommendation about whether the project should be built but presents no conclusive environmental reason it should not be.

Church, State and Bible Class in Texas  —  It may be a little late for the holiday of Purim, but on Tuesday, in Eastland, Tex., Gay Hart will be baking hamantaschen — the traditional doughy, triangle-shaped pastries accented with dollops of prune, Nutella or some other delectable paste …

Kerry to stress need for Egypt consensus for IMF deal  —  (Reuters) - Secretary of State John Kerry will stress the importance Egypt achieves political consensus for painful economic reforms needed to secure an IMF loan, a senior U.S. official said on Saturday.

Self-destructive Europe  —  I just wanted to flag two important articles on Europe.  First, Simon Wren-Lewis reminds us that while extreme austerity is being imposed on Europe's periphery, the core has also pursued contractionary fiscal policies.  Here's the IMF's estimate …