IRS Official in Charge During Tea Party Targeting Now Runs Health Care Office  —  (Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg via Getty Images)  —  The Internal Revenue Service official in charge of the tax-exempt organizations at the time when the unit targeted tea party groups now runs the IRS office responsible for the health care legislation.

The scandals are falling apart  —  Things go wrong in government.  Sometimes it's just bad luck.  Sometimes it's rank incompetence.  Sometimes it's criminal wrongdoing.  Most of the time you never hear about it.  Or, if you do hear about it, the media eventually gets bored talking about it (see warming, global).

Benghazi auditors Mullen, Pickering refuse meeting with Issa  —  The co-leaders of the independent audit into the Benghazi attack have categorically refused to meet with Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) for a private interview.  —  Thomas Pickering and Michael Mullen called the proposed closed-door proceeding …

Boston bombings suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev left note in boat he hid in, sources say  —  (CBS News) Boston bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev left claiming responsibility for the April 13 attack on the Boston Marathon, reports CBS News senior correspondent John Miller.

Onset of Woes Casts Pall Over Obama's Policy Aspirations  —  WASHINGTON — Thwarted on Capitol Hill, stymied in the Middle East and now beset by scandal, President Obama has reached a point just six months after a heady re-election where the second term he had hoped for has collided with the second term he actually has.

Obama Calls Over Marines to Shield Himself and Turkish PM from Rain  —  At an outdoor White House press conference, President Obama called over Marines to shield himself and the Turkish prime minister from the rain:

Men who are physically strong are more likely to have right wing political views  —  Men who are physically strong are more likely to take a right wing political stance, while weaker men are inclined to support the welfare state, according to a new study.  —  Researchers discovered political …

Theater Night: Vigilantes 1, Vulgarians 0  —  I had a genuinely new experience at the theater tonight: I was thrown out.  —  The show was Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812, which was quite good and which I recommend.  The audience, on the other hand, was horrible — talking …

Obama eyes Gov. Deval Patrick to replace Eric Holder at Justice  —  Tipsville . . .  Sneed is told that Attorney General Eric “Fast and Furious” Holder's days are numbered.  —  Sneed hears President Barack Obama, who is this/close to Holder, has set his sights on Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick …

Exclusive: Anthony Weiner Spotted Shooting Campaign-Style Video at Childhood Home  —  Anthony Weiner was spotted shooting a campaign-style video on the stoop of his childhood home in Brooklyn Thursday as he weighs whether to run for mayor, NBC 4 New York reports exclusively.

Fight Over Obama Appointees May Spur Senate Rule Change  —  Washington — The escalating Senate fight over President Obama's cabinet appointments moved closer to a showdown on Thursday as two nominees headed to the floor with no Republican support.  —  Gina McCarthy, Mr. Obama's choice …

Former Sen. John Edwards to speak at retreat for lawyers a year after corruption trial  —  RALEIGH, N.C. — Former presidential contender John Edwards is setting out on the speaking circuit.  —  The former U.S. senator and 2004 Democratic vice-presidential nominee from North Carolina …

‘Cooter’ and ‘Fast Eddie’  —  It isn't every day that one makes preparations to go and play music for some friends but instead ends up being portrayed in the national press and on the Internet as some sort of antediluvian racist who should not be seen in the company of someone aspiring to the Senate.

First on CNN: Witness Protection Program lost two ‘known or suspected terrorists’  —  This report has been updated.  —  The U.S. Marshals Service lost two former participants in the federal Witness Security Program “identified as known or suspected terrorists,” according to the public summary …

House votes to repeal ObamaCare  —  The House voted to repeal ObamaCare on Thursday for the third time since Republicans took over the chamber in 2011.  —  Only two Democrats sided with Republicans in the party-line 229-195 vote — Jim Matheson (Utah) and Mike McIntyre (N.C.).

Scandal Is Not an Agenda  —  It says something about the kind of fortnight the president has been having that the controversies facing his administration can be divided into tiers.  —  The Benghazi debacle and the IRS's targeting of conservative groups are, as it were, “tier one” scandals …

NRCC Blog Post On IRS Scandal Includes Lawmakers No Longer In Office, Mayor Of Colombian City  —  WASHINGTON — An attempt by the National Republican Congressional Committee to embarrass Democrats went awry on Thursday, when the group published a blog post riddled with errors.

Dems offer gun control bill inspired by James Bond  —  House Democrats on Wednesday proposed legislation that would require all new handguns to be produced with “personalization technology” that lets owners designate who is authorized to fire them.  —  Rep. John Tierney (D-Mass.) …