Rand Paul edges Rubio to win CPAC straw poll  —  Rand Paul edged out Marco Rubio in the presidential straw poll at the Conservative Political Action Conference Saturday, reinforcing their standing as the preeminent favorites of the Republican base heading into 2016.

Facing Bailout Tax, Cypriots Try to Get Cash Out of Banks  —  ATHENS — In a move that could set off new fears of contagion across the euro zone, anxious depositors lined up at cash machines on Saturday in Cyprus to withdraw money hours after European officials in Brussels required that part …

Pamela Geller: CPAC's Muslim Board Member Is ‘Worse Than Al-Awlaki’  —  Another year, another attack on Suhail Khan  —  NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. — A prominent conservative activist Saturday accused of Muslim conservative of waging a “stealth Jihad” against the movement, warning his position …

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 …

Sarah Palin fires up conservative grassroots in speech at CPAC  —  Sarah Palin called for the conservative grassroots to avoid consultants in a fiercely anti-establishment speech that received the strongest response yet from a packed auditorium at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) on Saturday.

American public incrreasingly 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 …

The Dread That Is Ted  —  It is possible that the high point of this week in Washington came when Senator Dianne Feinstein told Senator Ted Cruz to stop treating her as if she were in middle school.  —  Let me set the stage.  First, pretend you're Feinstein.  You started your political career in San Francisco.

The Lyndon Johnson tapes: Richard Nixon's ‘treason’  —  Declassified tapes of President Lyndon Johnson's telephone calls provide a fresh insight into his world.  Among the revelations - he planned to fly into the 1968 Democratic Convention and win the presidential nomination.

US asks Turkey for help with ME peace process  —  Kerry calls Turkish counterpart, asks for Ankara's help in restarting Israeli-Palestinian peace process; Ankara turns down request.  —  US Secretary of State John Kerry called his Turkish counterpart Ahmet Davutoglu this week …

The Very Confident Jean-Claude Trichet  —  I'm somewhat belatedly getting to Jean-Claude Trichet's op-ed in the Times; now that I have, I find myself puzzled.  What, exactly, was his purpose in writing this?  For that matter, what, exactly, did it say?  I live and breathe this stuff …

Bachmann Accuses Obama Of Living A Life Of Excess  —  In one of her first major addresses since winning a close re-election bid in November, the Tea Party favorite conceded during her address at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) on Saturday that Obama and his family …