Source: Progress Kentucky Behind Mitch McConnell Campaign Recording  —  A secret recording of a campaign strategy session between U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell and his advisors was taped by leaders of the Progress Kentucky super PAC, says a longtime local Democratic operative.

Man no longer allowed to visit husband at KC hospital  —  LEE'S SUMMIT, Mo. — A Lee's Summit man is fighting a restraining order that he says was issued against him after he says he was arrested for refusing to leave the bedside of his sick partner.  —  Roger Gorley went to visit his partner …

Senate overcomes filibuster, clearing the way for debate on gun bill  —  Washington (CNN) — The U.S. Senate voted Thursday to overcome a Republican-led filibuster against tougher gun laws, clearing the way for a major congressional debate on a package of proposals sought by President Barack Obama …

Pentagon Says Nuclear Missile Is in Grasp for North Korea  —  WASHINGTON — A new assessment of North Korea's nuclear capability conducted by the Pentagon's intelligence arm has concluded for the first time, with “moderate confidence,” that the country has learned how to make a nuclear weapon small enough …

The promise of Ripple  —  This is a chart of the value of bitcoin yesterday, Wednesday.  It's hardly a secret that bitcoins are a highly volatile asset class, so relatively few eyebrows were raised when the price soared from an opening level of $230 all the way to a high of $266.

JAY Z “Open Letter”  —  I got an onion from Universal and didn't even weep...  I got an onion from Universal and didn't even weep...  I got an onion from Universal and didn't even weep...  N!  CE  —  N!  CE  —  N!  CE  —  Does Kevin Hart get a check for the hook?

Senators who split with their party on guns  —  Sixteen Republicans split with their party leaders and voted Thursday to end the GOP filibuster of gun control legislation and begin what will be a contentious Senate debate on the issue.  —  The final vote was 68-31.

Elizabeth Warren Tears Into Federal Regulators For Shielding Big Banks  —  Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) embarrassed government regulators during a Senate Banking Committee hearing on Thursday morning as she demanded to know why they won't reveal how frequently big banks illegally foreclosed on homeowners.

Federal Appeals Court Explains Why Rubber Fetuses And High Schools Don't Mix  —  An anti-abortion student group in Roswell, New Mexico thought it would be a good idea to pass out hundreds of small rubber replicas of fetuses to students at two high schools.  As it turns out, this was not such a good idea:

Philadelphia abortion clinic horror: Column  —  We've forgotten what belongs on Page One.  —  Infant beheadings.  Severed baby feet in jars.  A child screaming after it was delivered alive during an abortion procedure.  Haven't heard about these sickening accusations?  —  It's not your fault.

Boehner Disagrees With NRCC Chair's Criticism Of Obama Budget  —  House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) on Thursday told reporters that he disagrees with the criticism of President Obama's budget from Rep. Greg Walden (R-OR), who called the President's proposal “a shocking attack on seniors.”

GOP Rep. Duncan likens gun registration to Rwandan genocide  —  Rep. Jeff Duncan (R-S.C.) warned in a Facebook post on Thursday that a national gun registry would be similar to a database used by the ruling Hutu tribe in Rwanda in the 1990s to locate and slaughter members of an opposing tribe …

Foursquare Gets $41 Million Investment, Time to Grow  —  When Dennis Crowley debuted Foursquare, his location-based social media app, at South by Southwest in 2009, he got rave reviews.  The tech blog Mashable called Foursquare the “breakout mobile app” of the event.  VentureBeat called it “the next Twitter.”

Steve Cohen deletes flirty tweet to Cyndi Lauper  —  Rep. Steve Cohen appears to have sent and then deleted an eyebrow-raising tweet to performer Cyndi Lauper.  —  “@cyndilauper great night,couldn't believe how hot u were.see you again next Tuesday.try a little tenderness. http://t.co/zz4Orccryf …

Gold, Long a Secure Investment, Loses Its Luster  —  Below the streets of Lower Manhattan, in the vault of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, the world's largest trove of gold — half a million bars — has lost about $75 billion of its value.  In Fort Knox, Ky., at the United States Bullion Depository, the damage totals $50 billion.