Americans' Attention to IRS, Benghazi Stories Below Average  —  Most Americans, however, say both deserve continuing investigation  —  PRINCETON, NJ — Slim majorities of Americans are very or somewhat closely following the situations involving the Internal Revenue Service (54%) …

Cover Up  —  The Internal Revenue Service denied the existence of any documents related to its policy of targeting Tea Party organizations in response to a 2010 Freedom of Information Act request, even though such documents were later discovered by the IRS inspector general.

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.

Warren opposes derivatives bills with House traction  —  Warren is now throwing her high profile into what may be an uphill battle to prevent the changes to the Dodd-Frank financial reform law, as the House Financial Services cleared the measures with overwhelming support from both parties.

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 …

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.

Stevens: Rationale for Bush v. Gore was “unacceptable”  —  The former Supreme Court justice speaks out on John Roberts and the case that decided the 2000 election  —  Former Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens said Thursday night that he's come to the realization that the rationale behind …

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.

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 …

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 …

Karen Handel Enters Georgia Senate Race  —  Former Georgia Secretary of State Karen Handel announced her campaign for Senate on Friday morning, as the state's Republican convention was set to kick off in Athens.  —  “States, especially those with Republican governors, are doing a good job …

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.

Facing Possible Expulsion, Lopez Says He Will Resign  —  Assemblyman Vito J. Lopez, a Brooklyn Democrat who was facing possible expulsion from the Legislature for allegedly sexually harassing women employees, said Friday that he would resign from the Legislature and instead run for election to the New York City Council.

Boise Man Arrested; Terrorism Charges Filed in Idaho and Utah  —  Fazliddin Kurbanov, 30, was arrested Thursday morning in Boise, Idaho, as part of a federal terrorism investigation.  Federal terrorism charges were filed Thursday afternoon in Boise and Salt Lake City, Utah.

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.

Rewriting History: GOP Senator Pretends He Voted For Expanded Background Checks  —  On his Facebook page Friday, Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ) denied he ever voted against strengthened background checks amid blacklash over his opposition to the bipartisan Manchey-Toomey background checks amendment.

White House counsel should resign if she knew about IRS abuses  —  I've been told today by several reporters that President Obama's White House counsel, Kathryn Ruemmler, knew for several days — perhaps weeks —that some Internal Revenue Service officials were engaging in political targeting …