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.

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.

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 …

Coulter Destroys Feinstein Over Cruz Debate On Hannity: ‘Liberal Women Should Not Be Able To Hold Office’  —  Sean Hannity invited Ann Coulter on his Thursday night Fox News show to get her take on this morning's Senate showdown between Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX).

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 …

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 …

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.

Obama couldn't eat at Hill meeting without food ‘taster’ [AUDIO]  —  WASHINGTON — Following President Obama's lunch meeting with Senate Republicans on Capitol Hill, Maine Republican Sen. Susan Collins described the food served and the president's reaction to what was on menu.

Younger Generations Lag Parents in Wealth-Building  —  WASHINGTON — Pearl Brady has a stable job with good benefits and holds two degrees, a bachelor's and a master's.  But despite her best efforts, she has no savings, and worries that it will be years before she manages to start putting away money …

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 …

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 …

Iraq War: 190,000 lives, $2.2 trillion  —  More than 70 percent of deaths from direct war violence have been civilians.  That does not include indirect deaths from disease or injury suffered in conditions degraded by war.  Credit: Kevin Holden for U.S. Army

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 …

Bill Gates: Boy Scouts Should Stop Discriminating 'Because It's 2013′  —  During an interview with Mike Allen for Politico's Playbook Cocktails, billionaire Bill Gates described some of the things he learned as a Boy Scout, then made it clear that the organization should lift the ban on gay Scouts and leaders.

Sequestration NIMBYism Grips GOP  —  A strange sickness is afflicting congressional Republicans.  —  Unwilling to team up with Democrats to replace sequestration with a mix of spending cuts and tax increases, and unable to pass a cuts-only sequestration measure on their own …