In Obama Budget, Social Programs Face a Cutback  —  WASHINGTON — President Obama next week will take the political risk of formally proposing cuts to Social Security and Medicare in his annual budget in an effort to demonstrate his willingness to compromise with Republicans and revive prospects …

How to talk about a woman's looks  —  The president of the United States fails the test — again  —  There were, perhaps, stupider things said recently than “How did it become so difficult to call a woman good-looking in public?” but I didn't happen to hear them.  So congratulations, Dylan Byers of Politico.

Ben Carson apologizes to Johns Hopkins  —  Maryland neurosurgeon Ben Carson, the nationally celebrated physician who has become a political lightning rod in recent weeks after his criticism of President Barack Obama and gay marriage, sent an apologetic email Friday to the Johns Hopkins …

The Employment Situation in March  —  While more work remains to be done, today's employment report provides further evidence that the U.S. economy is continuing to recover from the worst downturn since the Great Depression.  It is critical that we continue the policies that are helping …

Conservative Democrats Take Joint Plunge On Gay Marriage  —  North Dakota's Heitkamp and Indiana's Donnelly decided to support marriage equality together.  —  Image by Will Kincaid, File / AP  —  WASHINGTON — While America was talking about the latest unemployment numbers Friday …

Embassies face decisions as tensions rise in North Korea  —  South Korean soldiers stand guard at a sentry post at the border with North Korea in the Demilitarized Zone near Imjingak, South Korea, on April 5, , as tensions have mounted on the Korean Peninsula.  —  HIDE CAPTION

Condom scientist hits Hannity comment  —  The lead scientist of a federally funded condom research study is firing back at Fox News commentator Sean Hannity and other conservatives after they charged that the $423,000 project was wasteful spending.  —  “I would tell Sean …

Judge Orders Morning-After Pill Available for All Ages  —  A federal judge has ruled that the Unites States government must make the most common morning-after pill available over the counter for all ages, instead of requiring a prescription for girls 16 and under.

Rand Paul: Defenders of DOMA are going to ‘lose that battle’  —  Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) said that conservatives fighting to uphold the federal definition of marriage as between one man and one woman are going to “lose that battle.”  —  Paul suggested in an interview on the Christian Broadcasting Network …

Hill staff rages as LegiStorm gets personal  —  LegiStorm editor Garrett Snedeker said on Thursday that the service has long compiled all kinds of data, including travel and finances, about staffers and members of Congress.  —  “Probably the biggest thing I'd like to stress is LegiStorm publishes …

Texas A&M student body president to veto ‘Religious Funding Exemption Bill’  —  Texas A&M student body president John Claybrook has vetoed legislation from the student senate aimed at letting students opt out of funding the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgendered Resource Center …

FoxNews.com's Jana Winter should be praised, not threatened with jail time  —  While the press in Colorado is consumed with its coverage of the capital murder prosecution of James Holmes for the slaughter he perpetrated in a movie theater in the town of Aurora on July 20, 2012 …

CNN Looking To Revive ‘Crossfire’  —  CNN is looking to bring back “Crossfire,” TVNewser hears.  The long-running political debate show was canceled in 2005.  —  It isn't entirely clear what time the program would air, though we hear it would likely be a 30-minute format.

The Associated Press Revises Another Politically Charged Term  —  Stylebook entry for ‘Islamist’ revised two days after ‘illegal immigrant’ dropped  —  Following on the heels of the Tuesday decision by The Associated Press to discontinue use of the term “illegal immigrant,” …

The Dark Side of Verbs-as-Nouns  —  In my previous essay, I wrote about nominalization — the deployment as nouns of words we mostly expect to encounter as verbs or adjectives.  Aware of many people's tendency to vilify this kind of usage, I speculated about the psychology behind it.

Worry about government secrecy, Woodward tells Youngstown crowd  —  After four decades of being one of the nation's best known and widely respected journalists, you'd think Bob Woodward has seen it all.  —  “But I wake up every morning haunted by what we don't know,” he said Thursday …