IRS Official Lois Lerner Called Lawyer To Plant Targeting Question  —  The veteran tax lawyer whose pre-arranged question to an IRS official at a panel last week prompted the admission that the agency had targeted conservative groups said in a written statement on Friday that she did not know what the answer to the question would be.

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.

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 …

Radio Host Frequented By Gun Activists Calls For Shooting of Bush Family & Obama, Sexual Violence Against Hillary Clinton  —  Pete Santilli is the kind of person we normally wouldn't cover here - an unhinged Internet ranter who exists somewhere to the crazier side of Alex Jones.

LGBT PC  —  Being against marriage equality doesn't make you a monster  —  One reason the idea of gay marriage, or “marriage equality,” spread so fast is that it seems obvious once you think about it.  It was a genuinely new idea when it first appeared in this publication in 1989.

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.

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.

LGBT: Portuguese parliament approves right to adoption - Portugal  —  Portuguese parliament has approved Friday a bill that will allow same-sex married couples to adopt their partner's bilological or adopted children.  The bill was approved with 99 votes in favor, 94 votes against, and 9 abstentions.

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 …

Federal Judge Blocks Arkansas' Stringent 12-Week Abortion Ban From Taking Effect  —  Earlier this year, Arkansas Republicans overrode their governor to enact one of the harshest abortion restrictions in the nation, a 12-week ban that would criminalize one out of every 10 abortions in the state.

(Update) We Are Raising $200,000 to Buy and Publish the Rob Ford Crack Tape  —  As you may have heard, Rob Ford, the mayor of Toronto, smokes crack cocaine.  We've seen a video of him smoking crack cocaine, and the people who have the video would like to sell it.  Through the miracle of crowdfunding, you can help.

‘Best rant ever!’  Huge applause after Rep. Mike Kelly nails acting IRS chief [video]  —  GOP Rep. Mike Kelly was a huge hit at Friday's House hearing on IRS harassment of conservative groups as he skewered acting IRS commissioner Steven Miller.  —  Some tasty highlights from his fiery rant:

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 …

Why the underwear-bomber leak infuriated the Obama administration  —  Journalists gasp and growl whenever prosecutors issue lawful subpoenas ordering them to divulge their confidential sources or to turn over potential evidence, such as notes, video outtakes or other records.

Tsarnaev's lawyer loses photo bid  —  A federal magistrate on Friday denied a bid by the defense attorneys for Boston bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev to take pictures of him in jail as he awaits trial.  —  Attorneys had filed a motion requesting permission to override the no-photography rule …

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.

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 …