In the End, an Awful Manager  —  IN Caracas, Venezuela, you could tell a summit meeting mattered to Hugo Chávez when government workers touched up the city's rubble.  Before dignitaries arrived, teams with buckets and brushes would paint bright yellow lines along the route from the airport …

Trying to Revive Talks, Obama Goes Around G.O.P. Leaders  —  WASHINGTON — With Republican leaders in Congress forswearing budget negotiations over new revenues, President Obama has begun reaching around them to Republican lawmakers with a history of willingness to cut bipartisan deals.

GOP lawmakers say spending bill should target contraception mandate  —  A group of House Republicans said Tuesday that a bill to fund the federal government should include provisions targeting the contraception mandate in President Obama's healthcare law.  —  GOP lawmakers reintroduced …

WATCH: Bill O'Reilly Harasses Gay Colorado Speaker Over Child Molester Laws  —  As expected, Fox News host Bill O'Reilly is continuing his smear campaign against Colorado House Speaker Mark Ferrandino (D), who is openly gay, because of his opposition to instituting “Jessica's Law,” …

Exclusive Excerpt: Roger Ailes Off Camera  —  Roger Ailes is one of the most powerful—and controversial—characters in television media, pilloried by critics and many in the mainstream media and lionized by conservative viewers who can't get enough of his posse of charismatic hosts.

Congress Ready to Start Work on Budget  —  WASHINGTON - After two years of chaotic fiscal clashes, Congress on Wednesday will begin a more orderly process to get the nation's finances in order - or at least to keep the government open.  —  The so-called regular order on the federal budget …

Obama Administration Says President Can Use Lethal Force Against Americans on US Soil  — Drones: Everything You Ever Wanted to Know But Were Always Afraid to Ask  — Here's Why Obama Won't Say Whether He Can Kill You With a Drone: Because He Probably Can  — 8 Drones That Aren't Out to Kill You

THE REAL ROGER AILES — BILL GATES kicks off Playbook Cocktails — Cronkite awards: POLITICO/ABC7, CNN, Jon Karl, Martha Raddatz — Zeke Miller to TIME — Bday: Greenspan, Webster, Bond  —  CLICK DU JOUR — Vanityfair.com posts an exclusive adaptation of “Roger Ailes: Off Camera …

McConnell campaign shakes it up with Harlem Shake  —  (CNN) - The dance craze that's been sweeping the nation has made it to the campaign trail.  —  Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell's re-election team Wednesday put out a web video of a person wearing a mask of the Republican senator from Kentucky dancing to the Harlem Shake.

Lawyer: State's most important witness in George Zimmerman murder case lied  —  SANFORD — Trayvon Martin's girlfriend, the state's most important witness in the George Zimmerman murder case, was caught in a lie, it was revealed Tuesday.  —  It was not the first piece of misinformation tied to her …

White House Cancels Tours Due To Sequester  —  From a White House email sent to a Republican House member's office Tuesday:

L.A. mayor's race: Garcetti and Greuel top the field  —  City Councilman Eric Garcetti and Controller Wendy Greuel remained ahead of the pack in the race for mayor of Los Angeles early Wednesday morning with all city precincts reporting.  —  The top-two finishers in Tuesday's election …

New Report: Radical antigovernment movement continues explosive growth; SPLC urges government to review resources devoted to domestic terrorism  —  The number of conspiracy-minded antigovernment “Patriot” groups on the American radical right reached an all-time high in 2012 …