In defense of GOP consultants: It's the candidates' fault … If there was any villain at the just-completed Conservative Political Action Conference, it was the generic figure of the Republican political consultant.  Overpaid, unprincipled, always on the lookout for the next client …

GOP Senator: Republicans Are Open To Tax Increases In Grand Bargain  —  Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN) believes Senate Republicans would be open to increasing revenue through tax reform as part of a “grand bargain” to reduce the deficit.  During an appearance on Fox News Sunday …

Cyprus' savers bear brunt of unprecedented bailout  —  (Reuters) - The euro zone agreed on Saturday to hand Cyprus a bailout worth 10 billion euros ($13 billion), but demanded depositors in its banks forfeit some money to stave off bankruptcy despite the risk of a wider run on savings.

A Decade on, Most are Critical of the U.S.-Led War in Iraq  —  Ten years after U.S. airstrikes on Baghdad punctuated the start of the Iraq war, nearly six in 10 Americans say the war was not worth fighting - a judgment shared by majorities steadily since initial success gave way to years of continued conflict.

When The GOP Told Whitey I Aint Gonna Take It No More  —  Yesterday, a CPAC breakout session on reaching out to black voters broke down in shouting and acrimony as a handful of ‘disenfranchised whites’ attacked the premise of the session (along with black complaints about slaveholders) …

Food stamps put Rhode Island town on monthly boom-and-bust cycle  —  View Photo Gallery — Rhode Island town relies on food stamps: In Woonsocket, R.I., a third of the residents use SNAP, formerly known as food stamps, to pay for groceries.  That means the businesses in the struggling town also rely on the program to survive.

New Helper mayor chosen by picking name from a basket  —  HELPER — The city's new mayor was sworn in Friday after winning his seat by luck of the draw.  —  “I was kind of shocked that I was the one whose name was drawn,” Mayor Ed Chavez Jr. said.  —  In two rounds of voting Thursday night …

Utah: Love Hires Top Hatch Strategist for Matheson Rematch  —  Love prepares for a rematch with Matheson (Chris Maddaloni/CQ Roll Call File Photo)  —  NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. — After a 1-point loss in Utah last year, Saratoga Springs Mayor Mia Love is actively laying the groundwork …

American public increasingly sympathetic towards Israel  —  The extent to which Americans sympathize more with Israelis than with Palestinians has reached its all-time high, according to a new Gallup poll.  The survey found that the sympathies of 64 percent of Americans reside with Israelis …

Scientists excited by discovery of ‘Underground Galapagos’  —  Diverse underground ecosystems buried deep beneath the Earth's crust may offer clues to the origins of life on Earth, several recent studies have revealed.  —  Whether it is tiny worms found wriggling in the depths of a South African mine …