The Secret Gingrich-Santorum ‘Unity Ticket’ That Nearly Toppled Romney  —  It's one of the great untold stories of the 2012 presidential campaign, a tale of ego and intrigue that nearly upended the Republican primary contest and might even have produced a different nominee …

Congress turns to domestic policy after budget battles  —  WASHINGTON — A brief reprieve in the fiscal battles between President Obama and a divided Congress will allow two contentious and politically divisive domestic issues — guns and immigration — to take center stage in the national debate this spring.

Detroit native Carson could break barriers in Senate race  —  Dr. Ben Carson is a Black History month staple.  Each February, schoolchildren hear the story of the impoverished African-American boy from Detroit, a struggling student whose mother made him read two books a week until he bloomed into a scholar.

Treasure Island Trauma  —  A couple of years ago, the journalist Nicholas Shaxson published a fascinating, chilling book titled “Treasure Islands,” which explained how international tax havens — which are also, as the author pointed out, “secrecy jurisdictions” where many rules don't apply — undermine economies around the world.

Ryan's budget rejected in Senate on 40-59 vote  —  The Senate rejected House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan's (R-Wis.) budget Thursday night.  —  Senate Budget Committee Chairwoman Patty Murray (D-Wash.) forced Senate Republicans to vote on Paul's plan through an amendment she offered, which failed on a 40-59 vote.

1 Person Killed at Quantico Marine Base  —  One person was killed in a shooting at the Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia Thursday night, forcing the entire base to go on lockdown.  —  The shooter, believed to be a Marine, is barricaded inside a barracks building near the east side …

Noonan: Can the Republican Party Recover From Iraq?  —  The war almost killed the GOP.  Whether it can come back is yet to be seen.  —  The air has been full of 10th-anniversary Iraq war retrospectives.  One that caught my eye was a smart piece by Tom Curry, national affairs writer for NBC News …

The Man Who Could Turn Texas Blue: Rick Perry  —  By opposing Medicaid expansion, the governor could hurt the GOP in a must-win state.  —  AUSTIN, Texas—Big in all things, Texas leads the nation in failing to provide health insurance.  About one in four Texans are uninsured, the highest percentage in any state.

Mrs. Warren goes to Washington  —  Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren's credentials, support, and savvy make her almost untouchable — and she knows it.  —  Elizabeth Warren was the only senator on the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, aside from the chair and ranking minority …

Why Republicans still run K Street  —  Democrats control the White House and the Senate, but you wouldn't know it by looking down K Street.  —  Republicans hold more than 30 of the 50 highest-profile, in-house lobbying jobs in town, a POLITICO analysis found.

Priebus slams ‘idiotic statements’ by Republicans as reason for losses  —  Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus on Friday said the party played into a “caricature” of itself in the 2012 election cycle, citing “idiotic statements” and “biologically stupid things” said by Mitt Romney and other GOP candidates.

Simple Plan  —  Of all the vast literature on the current plight of the Republican Party, this fairly simple statement from Rich Lowry makes the most sense to me: … Now to be sure, Jack Kemp's reputation as an idea man is being considerably inflated by Lowry.  But it's the right idea.

Is Hillary Clinton Too Conservative To Become President?  —  While she was at the State Department — and out of politics for four years — Clinton's party was moving to the left, and fast.  “Now that she's unshackled by the boundaries of her office, she'll step up the mic,” says Singer.

Banks Are Too Big to Fail Say ... Conservatives?  —  Members of the Federal Reserve don't usually make the rounds at partisan gatherings.  But amid the tri-cornered hats and “#StandWithRand” buttons of last week's Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC)—the largest annual gathering …

Pope Francis Calls For More Dialogue With Islam  —  VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis has called for more dialogue with Islam and offered an olive branch to China and other countries that don't have diplomatic relations with the Holy See.  —  Francis met Friday with ambassadors …

Lululemon Sheer Yoga Pants Undetected Until Bend-Over Test  —  Wall Street analysts from Robert W. Baird & Co. to Sterne Agee & Leach Inc. peppered Lululemon Athletica Inc. (LULU) executives today with questions about how the yoga-wear retailer is handling a recall of women's pants for being too transparent.

Did the Assault-Weapons Ban Kill Gun Control?  —  The Democrats' likely failure to reinstate the assault-weapons ban is a blow to gun-control efforts, writes Adam Winkler.  And that's not because the ban was effective or necessary.  —  Sen. Harry Reid announced Tuesday that he would not be including …

Colorado civil unions bill signed by Gov. John Hickenlooper at History Colorado Center  —  Crowds packed History Colorado Center on Thursday to watch as Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper signed Senate Bill 11 legalizing civil unions.  —  House Speaker Mark Ferrandino, a gay Denver Democrat who backed the bill, said in prepared remarks:

Ohio's Republican Governor Endorses Civil Unions, Then Takes It Back  —  John Kasich's office says he was using the term “loosely” when he said he supported civil unions.  —  Image by Rick Osentoski / AP  —  Ohio Republican Gov. John Kasich said he favored civil unions …