Chief White House Calligrapher Gets Paid $96,725 Per Year  —  With the White House closing its doors to public tour groups in order to save money for the sequester, it's worth remembering some of the other costs the White House incurs annually.  —  Like the “Chief Calligrapher,” …

Rand Paul launches talking filibuster against CIA nominee  —  Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) is staging a talking filibuster against the nomination of John Brennan to be director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).  —  “I'm here to filibuster John Brennan's nomination to be director of CIA,” Paul said on the Senate floor Wednesday.

How his economically disastrous, politically effective ideology will haunt the country he ruined.  —  Even before Hugo Chávez died, he had become a ghost.  A strange, unfamiliar quiet had fallen on Venezuela for weeks as people waited to hear the voice of the president who had been part of their daily lives for nearly 14 years.

GRAPHIC: Woman packing heat, drugs in private parts  —  WARNING: Content could be considered graphic to some audiences.  —  ADA, Okla. - An unusual and graphic case in Pontotoc County leads police to a bizarre find inside a female suspect.  —  It began at Dairy Lou Drive Inn in Ada.

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.

City looks to make gun ownership mandatory  —  Every homeowner in a local town could soon have to own a gun or break the law.  It's a controversial new plan for the city of Nelson.  —  NELSON, Ga. —  Every homeowner in a local town could soon have to own a gun or break the law.

Republicans Have Won a Budget Battle, But Not the War  —  As sequestration begins, Republicans have been overtaken with something close to giddiness, and Democrats seized with gloom.  It appeared as recently as a few months ago that the threat of across-the-board cuts, disproportionately hurting defense …

Lindsey Graham: Hurricane Victims Need Assault Weapons To Shoot ‘Roaming Gangs’  —  Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) pushed back against efforts to limit the availability of assault weapons during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Wednesday by echoing the paranoia of the National Rifle Association …

Ted Cruz Goads Eric Holder Into Admitting That Killing Americans With Drones On U.S. Soil Is Unconstitutional  —  On Tuesday, the Department of Justice sent shockwaves through the nation when Attorney General Eric Holder informed Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) in writing that the White House …

Mayor Bloomberg's new health crusade: too-loud earbuds  —  Now listen up, if you can.  —  Mayor Bloomberg — who has already cracked down on smoking, junk food, trans fats, salt and super-sized drinks — is embarking on a new crusade: preventing New Yorkers from going deaf.

Over $8B of the Money You Spent Rebuilding Iraq Was Wasted Outright  —  The never-completed Khan Bani Sa'ad Prison in Diyala, Iraq.  Ultimately, the U.S. spent $40 million on the aborted project.  Photo courtesy of the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction

Revealed: Pentagon link to Iraq torture centres  —  Exclusive: General David Petraeus and ‘dirty wars’ veteran behind commando units implicated in detainee abuse  —  See the full-length documentary film of the 15-month investigation  —  The Pentagon sent a US veteran of the “dirty wars” …

Arkansas Adopts Strictest Abortion Law in the U.S.  —  In the sharpest challenge yet to Roe v. Wade, Arkansas adopted Wednesday what is by far the country's most restrictive ban on abortion, at 12 weeks of pregnancy, around the time that a fetal heartbeat can be detected by abdominal ultrasound.

Cruz: Spending bill must defund Obama healthcare law  —  Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) said Wednesday that he will object to a government spending bill if it does not cut off funds for President Obama's signature healthcare law.  —  Cruz, a staunchly conservative freshman, said he will offer …

When the facts change, should I change my mind?  —  The long economic stagnation of post-crisis Britain.  —  The British economy is still operating at levels around or below those before the 2008 financial crisis and roughly 15 per cent below an albeit unsustainable pre-crisis trend.

Report: Mitt Romney takes job at son Tagg's investment firm  —  Former GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney will be returning to work, joining his son Tagg's investment firm.  —  Romney will serve as chairman of the executive committee for Solamere Capital, where he'll work for one week …