Reid Hints at Using ‘Nuclear Option’ on Judges  —  Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Friday that unless nominations start moving swiftly through the Senate, another round of dramatic rules changes may be in the offing.  —  The Nevada Democrat said that while he was “happy” …

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 …

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.

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 …

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.

Rand Paul: Defense of Marriage Act defenders 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 …

Rubio, Amid Planning, Is Yet to Commit on Immigration Bill  —  WASHINGTON — When Senator Marco Rubio, Republican of Florida, last appeared with a bipartisan group of senators to discuss their plans for a broad overhaul of the nation's immigration laws, he looked optimistic, apple-cheeked — and slightly nervous.

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.

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