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.

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?

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 …

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.

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 …

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.

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.

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 …

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 …

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 …

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.

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.

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.

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 …