Rob Portman commentary: Gay couples also deserve chance to get married  —  I have come to believe that if two people are prepared to make a lifetime commitment to love and care for each other in good times and in bad, the government shouldn't deny them the opportunity to get married.

A Kildee Comeuppance?  Or More Obama Aloofness?  —  Michigan Democratic Rep. Dan Kildee has been in Congress for a little more than two months, and today the leader of the free world gave him a gentle ribbing about just how new he is to Capitol Hill.  —  At a closed-door meeting between …

Mitt Romney gets B-list treatment at CPAC  —  Indifference awaits Mitt Romney Friday at the Conservative Political Action Conference as he delivers his first public speech since election night.  —  The base moved on four months ago, and most Republican activists don't really care what their failed nominee thinks any more.

Former Web Producer Indicted in California for Conspiring with “Anonymous” Members to Attack Internet News Site  —  A former web producer for a Tribune Company-owned television station in Sacramento, Calif., was charged today in an indictment for allegedly conspiring with members of the hacker group …

Grand jury investigating Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), people familiar with probe say  —  View Photo Gallery — Sen. Robert Menendez: Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) has been embroiled in a controversy involving his relations with a Miami campaign contributor and the awarding …

Dianne Feinstein, Ted Cruz trade barbs over gun ban  —  Yet gun-control advocates hailed today's vote as a victory, even if the bill faces a bleak outlook.  —  “There are plenty of weapons out there,” Feinstein said during Thursday's hearing.  “The whole point of this bill is to reduce …

Sarah Palin's next act: Candidate or ‘Kardashian’?  —  In January 2009, Sarah Palin had the world on a string.  A potential Republican presidential field-clearer for the presidency, every sentence she uttered was news.  A Fox News contract awaited her.  So did book deals.

John Boehner Turns Down Obama Invitation To Join Visit To Vatican, New Pope  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — House Speaker John Boehner says he's turning down President Barack Obama's invitation to be in the U.S. delegation to the installation of Pope Francis.  —  The Ohio Republican says in a statement …

Obama Says Iran More Than a Year Away From Nuclear Weapon  —  JERUSALEM/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama told Israelis Iran is still more than year away from developing a nuclear weapon and sought to reassure them that military force remains a U.S. option if sanctions and diplomacy fail to thwart its nuclear ambitions.

Conservative Groups Warn GOP Lawmakers  —  WASHINGTON—President Barack Obama's wooing of congressional Republicans in the past week has spurred the party's most conservative faction into girding to keep GOP lawmakers in line.  —  Conservative activists and organizations …

Live-Blogging Senate Hearing Tomorrow, When J.P. Morgan Chase Will Be Torn a New One  —  Beginning at 9:30 a.m. tomorrow, I'm going to be live-blogging a hearing held by Senator Carl Levin's Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations - the best crew of high-end detectives this side of The Wire …

Pope Francis delivers stern message to cardinals at Sistine Chapel  —  “When we walk without the cross, when we build without the cross and when we proclaim Christ without the cross, we are not disciples of the Lord,” he says.  “We are worldly.”  —  VATICAN CITY — In his first mass as head …

Obama support group off to sluggish start  —  Two months after Organizing for Action was founded to bolster President Obama's agenda, his poll numbers are slipping and the group remains on the defensive.  —  A link between Obama's declining approval numbers and the group's struggles is tenuous at best …

After the Flimflam  —  It has been a big week for budget documents.  In fact, members of Congress have presented not one but two full-fledged, serious proposals for spending and taxes over the next decade.  —  Before I get to that, however, let me talk briefly about the third proposal presented …

Sources: Benghazi suspect detained  —  (CNN) — A man suspected of involvement in the September attack on the U.S. diplomatic compound in Benghazi is being held in Libya, according to two sources who have spoken with CNN.  —  Both sources confirmed the man's name as Faraj al-Shibli (also spelled Chalabi).