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.

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 …

Obama to headline April DCCC fundraiser in Calif.  —  President Obama will headline his first Democratic fundraiser of the 2014 election cycle at an event next month in San Francisco with House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif).  —  Invitations for the April 4 event …

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 …

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.

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 …

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.

Religious right calls Chief Justice Roberts' adoption of 2 kids “second best”  —  It's already being called the religious right's “47% video.”  John Eastman, the chairman of the National Organization for Marriage (NOM), the lead religious right organization fighting against marriage equality for gay couples …

Sources: Benghazi suspect detained in Libya  —  (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).

Baptist pastor: Sex with underage girl ‘is exactly what Christ desires’  —  The former pastor of a Indiana megachurch who is awaiting sentencing in a sex crimes case told a 17-year-old girl that Jesus wanted her to have sexual relations with him.  —  Federal prosecutors on Wednesday released letters …

Dems plotting to lay a tax trap for GOP  —  I'm told that national Democrats are planning to mount a major campaign to hammer Republican candidates — particularly ones in swing areas — over a specific aspect of the Paul Ryan budget: The possibility that it could result in middle class tax hikes.

New Poultry Plant Rule Would Give Food Inspectors 1/3 Of A Second To Examine A Chicken  —  A new food inspection rule proposed by the US Department of Agriculture would let poultry plants conduct their own inspections, removing federal food inspectors from the assembly line.

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 …

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 …

Congressional Progressive Caucus Shows You What a Liberal Budget Looks Like  —  CPC members unveil their sequestration replacement plan.  —  Official photo  —  There's an unfortunate tendency in the media to define the polls of the debate as being between the median member …