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.

CPAC Participant Defends Slavery At Minority Outreach Panel: It Gave ‘Food And Shelter’ To Blacks  —  NATIONAL HARBOR, Maryland — A panel at the Conservative Political Action Committee on Republican minority outreach exploded into controversy on Friday afternoon, after an audience member defended slavery as good for African-Americans.

Romney urges GOP to ‘learn from’ mistakes he made in 2012 campaign  —  GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney appealed for the Republican Party to learn from the mistakes of his losing 2012 presidential campaign and — as conservatives chart their future — to look to GOP governors for a path to future electoral wins.

Federal Judge Finds National Security Letters Unconstitutional, Bans Them  —  Ultra-secret national security letters that come with a gag order on the recipient are an unconstitutional impingement on free speech, a federal judge in California ruled Friday.  —  U.S. District Judge Susan Illston ordered …

The GOP Keeps Getting Whiter  —  While the country is becoming more racially diverse, Republican congressional districts are becoming less.  —  After Republicans won only 48 percent of all votes cast for the House in 2012 but 54 percent of the seats, it's no secret that the party enjoys …

House Republicans Unanimously Vote Down Minimum Wage Hike  —  House Republicans unanimously voted down a measure Friday that would have raised the federal minimum wage, from its current $7.25 per hour to $10.10 by 2015.  —  Six Democrats joined 227 Republicans in voting it down; 184 Democrats voted yes.

NYPD cops ordered to run criminal checks on domestic-abuse victims  —  Women who report domestic violence are exposing themselves to arrest under a new NYPD directive that orders cops to run criminal checks on the accused and the accuser, The Post has learned.

The Anti-Choice Olympics  —  Ever since the 2010 elections, Republican legislators and governors have been in a competition to see who can enact the most blatantly unconstitutional—at least according to existing precedents—laws on abortion in the country.  The first batch …

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 …

Want to debate Medicare costs?  You need to see this chart first.  —  It's taken as an article of faith inside the beltway: Policy makers need to do something to tamp down on out-of-control health-care costs.  —  If we don't get our Medicare and Medicaid spending under control …

Maryland will be 18th state to ban death penalty  —  The state legislature completed action to repeal capital punishment.  Gov. Martin O'Malley will sign the ban.  —  Maryland's General Assembly on Friday completed its repeal of the death penalty, nearly 40 years after the U.S. Supreme Court restored capital punishment.

Santorum delivers emotional CPAC speech inspired by nephew's death  —  Former Republican presidential contender Rick Santorum on Friday delivered an emotional address at the Conservative Political Action Conference, inspired by the death of his nephew the night before, that indicated …

House GOP Would Need $5.7 Trillion in Tax Hikes to Offset Ryan Rate Cuts  —  House Budget Committee Chair Paul Ryan's (R-WI) fiscal plan promises to balance the federal budget in 10 years, make major cuts in income tax rates for both individuals and corporations, and raise the same amount of revenue as current law.

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 …

Obama Will Use Nixon-Era Law to Fight Climate Change  —  President Barack Obama is preparing to tell all federal agencies for the first time that they have to consider the impact on global warming before approving major projects, from pipelines to highways.  —  The result could be significant delays …

‘Jeopardy’ looking at Lauer as next host  —  'I'll take Soft Landings for a thousand, Alex'  —  The answer to the “Jeopardy” clue “Alex Trebrek's replacement” has a new and surprising question:  —  “Who is Matt Lauer?”  —  The beleaguered host of the “Today” show is at the top of the list …

Dan Popkey: Top Idaho lawmaker botches civil rights history  —  ‘We need to have our Rosa Parks moment,’ says Rep. Crane during debate.  —  The No. 3 Republican leader in the Idaho House says he made a “slight mistake” when he described Rosa Parks as a champion of states' rights.

Want to join the 62-mile-high club?  Not so quick, sex in outer space could be bad for your health, say scientists  —  With commercial space flights in the pipeline and financiers appealing for a couple to volunteer for a manned (and womanned) mission to Mars, it's only going to be a matter …

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.

Vatican Rejects Argentine Accusations Against Pope Francis  —  By DANIEL J. WAKIN, ALAN COWELL and GAIA PIANIGIANI  —  VATICAN CITY — For the first time since the election of Pope Francis two days ago, the Vatican on Friday formally defended him from accusations that, decades ago …

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 …