Panel approves assault weapons ban; Cruz, Feinstein get heated  —  The Senate Judiciary Committee approved a ban on the sale and manufacture of more than 150 types of semi-automatic weapons with military-style features Thursday in a party-line vote.  —  The 10-8 vote came after a heated exchange between …

Obama tells Senate GOP he's not setting a trap to win back House  —  President Obama pledged in a private meeting with Senate Republicans Thursday to challenge his own party on entitlement reform.  —  He also asked Republicans not to believe conspiracy theories that he is pushing a deficit deal …

Man in the News |  Jorge Mario Bergoglio: New Pope Theologically Conservative, but With a Common Touch  —  Like most of those in Argentina, he is a soccer fan, his favorite team being the underdog San Lorenzo squad.  Known for his outreach to the country's poor, he gave up a palace for a small apartment …

Chris Hayes to Take Over 8 P.M. Slot on MSNBC  —  Chris Hayes will take over the 8 p.m. time slot on MSNBC in the next month, the channel is expected to announce on Thursday morning, the day after the current host of that hour, Ed Schultz, said he was moving from the weekdays to the weekends.

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 …

Obama's outreach is nice, but where's the leadership?  —  So it was a good meeting.  House Republicans welcomed the chance for a frank exchange of ideas with President Obama on Wednesday.  Outreach is always positive, and more Republicans in this town need the opportunity to have an open dialogue with our president.

Dick Morris Delivers Bad News To Republicans: Give Up On Roe V. Wade  —  “Well, we lost,” said Republican strategist Dick Morris as he took the stage at the Conservative Political Action Conference outside of suburban Washington, D.C., on Thursday.  And in order to win the next election …

Mitt Romney, ‘47 Percent’ Filmmaker Had Encounter Prior To Infamous Speech  —  WASHINGTON — The bartender who secretly filmed Mitt Romney's infamous “47 percent” remarks at a Boca Raton fundraiser last May had an idea of what the former Massachusetts governor and GOP presidential nominee was really like.

Physicists say they have found long-sought Higgs boson  —  GENEVA - The search is all but over for a subatomic particle that is a crucial building block of the universe.  —  Physicists announced Thursday they believe they have discovered the subatomic particle predicted nearly a half-century ago …

South Carolina Republican Suggests GOP Opposes Medicaid Expansion Because Obama Is Black  —  On Tuesday, the South Carolina House rejected extra Obamacare funding for the state's Medicaid program.  One Republican legislator offered a novel reason for the Republican majority's decision: the President's race.

TRENDING: Big CPAC surprise: Jeb Bush not on ballot  —  (CNN) - There are 23 names on the Conservative Political Action Conference's much watched 2016 GOP presidential nomination straw poll.  —  And there's one glaring omission: Jeb Bush.  —  Follow @politicalticker

U.S. Tax Cheats Nailed After Swiss Adviser Mails It In  —  Everybody knows the danger of sending things inadvertently in an e-mail.  Beda Singenberger's case shows you also have to be pretty careful when you mail things the old-fashioned way.  —  Over an 11-year period, federal prosecutors charge …

Stimulus: The Bottom Line and the Way Forward  —  LAS VEGAS, NV - AUGUST 01: Old street lights are stacked on a truck after being removed and replaced with new LED light fixtures August 1, 2011 in Las Vegas, Nevada.  —  The “stimulus wars” have recurred lately in the blogosphere …

Enraged protesters battle cops in Brooklyn streets during third night of rioting after it's revealed that 16-year-old Kimani Gray was shot in the back  —  As fights between cops and angry teens erupted in East Flatbush, 46 were arrested Wednesday night.  Police struggled to control a furious crowd …

Google Reader Is Shutting Down; Here Are the Best Alternatives  —  Google announced today that it'll be closing Google Reader's doors on July 1st of this year, meaning you'll need to find a new way to get your news fix.  Here's how to export all your feeds and put them into a new reader.