NRA tactics erode post-Newtown support for gun-control measures  —  Sen Mark Begich declared a “sea change” in the politics of gun control immediately after the school shooting in Newtown, Conn., telling his local newspaper that he would not hesitate to buck the powerful National Rifle Association.

Why Obama's ‘Best-Looking Attorney General’ Comment Was a Gaffe  —  The system of beauty, the system of power, and Kamala Harris  —  President Obama's biggest gaffe yesterday when speaking of California Attorney General Kamala Harris was not in flirtatiously complimenting her as …

Will Demographics Doom the Dems' Demagoguery on Entitlements?  —  A friend who has been on this particular case for a long time writes: … Meanwhile, the Left is up in arms about Obama's suggestion that Social Security cost of living increases might be slowed to a more realistic level.

Pryor: “Undecided” on Same-Sex Marriage  —  U.S. Sen. Mark Pryor, D-Ark., said in an interview at 5NEWS in Fayetteville on Friday (April 5) he is undecided on same-sex marriage and has spoken about the issue with gay friends, who told him their sexual preference is not a choice.

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 …

Obama budget to take aim at wealthy IRAs  —  President Obama's budget, to be released next week, will limit how much wealthy individuals - like Mitt Romney - can keep in IRAs and other retirement accounts.  —  The proposal would save around $9 billion over a decade, a senior administration official said …

Third major oil spill in a week: Shell pipeline breaks in Texas  —  Thousands of gallons of oil have spilled from a pipeline in Texas, the third accident of its kind in only a week.  —  Shell Pipeline, a unit of Royal Dutch Shell Plc, shut down their West Columbia, Texas …

Frank Lautenberg Hill return unclear  —  New Jersey Sen. Frank Lautenberg will not return to Capitol Hill next week, and now it's unclear when — or even if — the veteran lawmaker will be back.  —  Democrats in New Jersey and Washington are watching the moves of the retiring 89-year-old senator closely …

Senator: NASA to lasso asteroid, bring it closer  —  WASHINGTON — NASA is planning for a robotic spaceship to lasso a small asteroid and park it near the moon for astronauts to explore, a top senator revealed Friday.  —  The robotic ship would capture the 500-ton 25-foot asteroid in 2019.

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 …

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.

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.

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

Biden not giving back pay, at least for now  —  Vice President Joe Biden won't be following the president's lead and returning some of his pay to the Treasury, but may if his staff faces furloughs.  —  “The vice president is committed to sharing the burden of the sequester with his staff,” his office said in a statement Friday.

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 …