Congressional Hearings on I.R.S. Scandal Begin  —  WASHINGTON — The first Congressional hearing into the Internal Revenue Service's targeting of conservative groups for special scrutiny quickly turned into partisan jousting, with House Republicans pressing to expand the inquiry …

Officials on Benghazi: “We made mistakes, but without malice”  —  Obama administration officials who were in key positions on Sept. 11, 2012 acknowledge that a range of mistakes were made the night of the attacks on the U.S. missions in Benghazi, and in messaging to Congress and the public in the aftermath.

Kinsley loves austerity because it is “spinach”  —  The liberal pundit supports a worthless international initiative  —  So the other day Paul Krugman had a long, very good piece in the New York Review of Books on the arguments and flawed research used to justify austerity measures …

Harry Reid eyeing July for the ‘nuclear option’  —  Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is increasingly focused on the month of July as the time to exercise the so-called “nuclear option” and revisit filibuster reform, and he has privately told top advisers that he's all but certain to take action …

Sarah Palin  · 3,548,133 like this  —  Mr. President, when it rains it pours, but most Americans hold their own umbrellas.  Today in the Rose Garden you dismissed the idea of a Special Counsel to investigate the IRS scandal.  With that, your galling political hubris shined bright in the midst of today's dark clouds.

Toronto Mayor Rob Ford in ‘crack cocaine’ video scandal  —  A video that appears to show Toronto's mayor smoking crack is being shopped around by a group of Somali men involved in the drug trade. … This photo shows Toronto Mayor Rob Ford with a man who, according to a source, is fatal gunshot victim Anthony Smith.

Even Obama's umbrellas are a scandal now  —  Even President Obama's use of umbrellas has become a scandal in the eyes of some Republicans.  —  On Thursday, during a joint press conference with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Erdogan, Obama signaled to two Marines and asked them to protect him and his guest from the rain.

Elizabeth Warren Slams ‘Dangerous’ Legislation That Would Weaken Wall Street Reform  —  A week after a bipartisan group of lawmakers on the House Financial Services Committee overwhelmingly approved a rollback of certain financial reforms contained in the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform Act …

Reporter Turned White House Spokesman Enjoys the Hot Seat  —  WASHINGTON — For the better part of a decade, Jay Carney sat slumped in his tiny chair in the White House briefing room, parsing, challenging and at times pillorying the words of an array of press secretaries.

BREAKING: The Scandals are Falling Apart!  —  So says Ezra Klein, who may turn out to be one of the stupidest people ever to be given column inches in a printed medium of any variety.  —  After reading Klein's desperate attempt to map onto reality his own desires, written in the form …

Syria Begins to Break Apart Under Pressure From War  —  CAIRO — The black flag of jihad flies over much of northern Syria.  In the center of the country, pro-government militias and Hezbollah fighters battle those who threaten their communities.  In the northeast, the Kurds have effectively carved out an autonomous zone.

Rep. Issa subpoenas Benghazi auditor Thomas Pickering  —  The lawmaker leading the charge to investigate the Benghazi terror attack on Friday subpoenaed the co-author of a report that slammed the State Department but didn't interview Hillary Clinton.  —  House Oversight Committee Chairman Darrell Issa …

Three life rules from Donald Rumsfeld  —  To view this content, Javascript must be enabled and Adobe Flash Player must be installed.  — Subscribe to podcast - Download audio - Embed player - Audio player assistance - Pop-Up  —  Former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld published his memoir, “Known and Unknown” in 2011.

New Jersey Hospital Is the Costliest in the Nation  —  BAYONNE, N.J. — The most expensive hospital in America is not set amid the swaying palm trees of Beverly Hills or the luxury townhouses of New York's Upper East Side.  —  It is in a faded blue-collar town 11 miles from Midtown Manhattan.

FEC fines John Ensign's family $54,000  —  The Federal Election Commission has fined former Sen. John Ensign and his parents $54,000 for improper severance payments to Cindy Hampton, a former campaign aide who had an extramarital affair with the Nevada Republican.

Under-Rehearsed Flash Mob  —  So a day after reports that it was stalemated, the House “Gang of Eight” working on immigration reform legislation announced an agreement today—or rather announced an agreement had been reached, since no details were released.  It seems, according to various sources …