The New Pope: Bergoglio of Argentina  —  VATICAN CITY — With a puff of white smoke from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel and to the cheers of thousands of rain-soaked faithful, a gathering of Catholic cardinals picked a new pope from among their midst on Wednesday — choosing the cardinal from Argentina …

Obama and House G.O.P. Meet Over Budget, Still Far Apart  —  WASHINGTON — President Obama's meeting with a restive and resistant House Republican majority on Wednesday underscored their deep divisions over fiscal policy as both sides acknowledged that an overarching budget compromise was in doubt despite a new push by the White House.

Meet Scott Prouty, the 47 Percent Video Source  —  For months, he and I shared a big secret and repeatedly discussed whether he should go public or stay hidden.  —  “Scott Prouty.”  —  The fellow on the other end of the phone call pronounced his name with hesitation.

GOP lawmakers threaten to subpoena Benghazi survivors  —  Exasperated GOP members say unless they get more answers from the White House, they will call on the survivors to testify before Congress, and might hold up President Obama's nomination to replace the U.S. ambassador who was killed on Sept. 11, 2012 in Libya.

Aaron Swartz Lawyers Accuse Prosecutor Stephen Heymann Of Misconduct  —  WASHINGTON - Federal prosecutor Stephen Heymann engaged in prosecutorial misconduct by withholding key evidence from the defense team of Aaron Swartz, the late Internet activist's legal team alleged in a letter to an internal Justice Department ethics unit.

Pro-Gun Measures Snuck into New Government Funding Bill  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — A bipartisan Senate bill preventing a federal shutdown would make four long-standing gun protections permanent, including one preventing the Justice Department from requiring firearms dealers to conduct inventories …

CPAC's absent GOP rock stars  —  Bob McDonnell and Chris Christie are two of the Republican Party's big success stories: popular East Coast governors who have enacted conservative policies in states that President Barack Obama won twice.  Elected together in 2009, the pair formed an advance guard for the 2010 Republican revolution.

GOP Congressman Says Supreme Court Doesn't Actually Get To Decide Whether Laws Are Constitutional  —  Still smarting over last year's ruling upholding Obamacare, freshman Rep. Jim Bridenstine (R-OK) dismissed the idea that the Supreme Court decides whether or not laws are constitutional.

EXCLUSIVE - U.S. to let spy agencies scour Americans' finances  —  (Reuters) - The Obama administration is drawing up plans to give all U.S. spy agencies full access to a massive database that contains financial data on American citizens and others who bank in the country, according to a Treasury Department document seen by Reuters.

President Obama: I'm no Dick Cheney on drones  —  President Barack Obama's defense to Democratic senators complaining about how little his administration has told Congress about the legal justifications for his drone policy: Dick Cheney was worse.  —  That's part of what two senators …

North Korea Trolls American Poverty In Greatest Propaganda Video Ever  —  Living in tents.  Drinking coffee made from snow.  This is your life in America, filtered through the incisive prism of North Korean propaganda.  —  The world's most militarized society is shaking its head …