John McCain: Getting Back To Maverick, With An Eye On Retirement  —  WASHINGTON — Last August, a few minutes before GOP vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan took the stage at the Republican National Convention in Tampa, Fla., I was hurrying down a flight of stairs to get to the floor to watch.

How the GOP forced President Obama's hand  —  President Barack Obama used to want a grand deficit deal because he philosophically believed it was best for the country, and politically believed it was best for him.  —  Now he needs it because he has no choice.

It's time to overturn DOMA  —  In 1996, I signed the Defense of Marriage Act.  Although that was only 17 years ago, it was a very different time.  In no state in the union was same-sex marriage recognized, much less available as a legal right, but some were moving in that direction.

Unemployment rate falls to lowest level since 2008  —  Hiring picked up in February, helping to bring the unemployment rate down to its lowest level since December 2008.  —  The U.S. economy added 236,000 jobs in February, according to a Labor Department report released Friday.

The Scariest Climate Change Graph Just Got Scarier … Back in 1999, Penn State University climate scientist Michael Mann released the climate change movement's most potent symbol: The “hockey stick,” a line graph of global temperature over the last 1,500 years that shows an unmistakable …

Wonket Sexclusive: Totally Blameless Crime-Stopper James O'Keefe To Pay $100,000 To ACORN Criminal  —  James O'Keefe—the blonde bombshell who set the conservative world of hidden-camera YouTube movies ablaze—has just agreed to a $100,000 settlement to calm down the unjustly fired …

Juan Williams' plagiarism problem  —  EXCLUSIVE: Fox News pundit blames researcher for word-for-word similarities.  “Unacceptable,” says Hill editor  —  In a case of apparent plagiarism, Fox News pundit Juan Williams lifted — sometimes word for word — from a Center for American Progress report …

Daugaard signs ‘school sentinels’ bill  —  Gov. Dennis Daugaard has signed the “school sentinels” bill letting schools arm volunteer defenders.  —  Hotly debated this legislative session, it was pitched as a way for small schools without nearby law enforcement to protect themselves against shooters or other dangers.

New Study Finds Firearms Laws Do Nothing to Prevent Homicides  —  That's the headline you should be seeing, but won't.  Instead, you will see headlines like this one, on CNN: “Study links gun laws and lower gun mortality.”  Or this one, from the Chicago Tribune: “States with strict gun laws found to have fewer shooting deaths.”

Noonan: The Anti-Confidence Man  —  Just when America needs a boost, we're stuck with Dr. Doom in the White House.  —  It's not a debt and deficit crisis, it's a jobs crisis.  The debt and the deficit are part of it, part of the general fear that we're on a long slide and can't turn it around.

Secret supper  —  President Barack Obama has been hosting a lot of high-profile dinner companions lately, but here's one guest list that didn't leak for a week:  —  On March 1st, the president, First Lady Michelle, former President Bill Clinton and outgoing Secretary of State Hillary Clinton enjoyed …

Rand Paul Praises Horrendous Supreme Court Decision, Would Let Employers Ruthlessly Exploit Workers  —  Lochner v. New York is widely viewed as one of the worst Supreme Court decisions in American history.  It is taught in law schools, alongside decisions upholding segregation …

Priebus: GOP needs new strategy  —  He says party must look beyond early caucuses, primaries.  —  If the GOP is going to win presidential elections, candidates can't compete just in Iowa and the seven other early states, the party's national chairman said during a visit here Thursday.

Syrian Rebels In Jordan Trained In U.S.-Led Effort  —  Exclusive: UK and French instructors involved in US-led effort to strengthen secular elements in Syria's opposition, say sources  —  Western training of Syrian rebels is under way in Jordan in an effort to strengthen secular elements …