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).

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.

This Is No Ordinary Scandal  —  Political abuse of the IRS threatens the basic integrity of our government.  —  We are in the midst of the worst Washington scandal since Watergate.  The reputation of the Obama White House has, among conservatives, gone from sketchy to sinister, and, among liberals, from unsatisfying to dangerous.

At D.C. Circuit, Contractor Case Merits Take Backseat  —  Lawyers for the Federal Election Commission and government contractors on Thursday argued in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit over a law that forbids the contract holders from making federal campaign donations.

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 …

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 …

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.

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 …

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 …

For Sale: A Video of Toronto Mayor Rob Ford Smoking Crack Cocaine  —  Rob Ford, Toronto's conservative mayor, is a wild lunatic given to making bizarre racist pronouncements and randomly slapping refrigerator magnets on cars.  One reason for this is that he smokes crack cocaine.

Why the GOP thinks it could blow it  —  Republicans are worried one thing could screw up the political gift of three Obama administration controversies at once: fellow Republicans.  —  Top GOP leaders are privately warning members to put a sock in it when it comes to silly calls for impeachment …

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 …

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.

To Buy Bonds or Not to Buy: Fed Hawks, Doves Air Views  —  Federal Reserve officials are deeply engaged in debating when to begin dialing back an $85 billion-a-month bond buying program, but don't appear near consensus on when to pull the trigger.  —  The presidents of the Dallas …

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.).