Bachmann Won't Seek Re-election Next Year  —  Representative Michele Bachmann, the Minnesota Republican who made an ill-fated run for the Republican presidential nomination in 2012, announced Wednesday that she would not seek a fifth term in Congress next year.

A Bad Relationship: How the Press Came To Love Obama More Than Itself  —  As the scandals pile up, the press keeps finding excuses for the president, writes Stuart Stevens.  —  In Dan Brown's new novel, Inferno, the lead character is struck with amnesia, unable to remember critical events even as he's trying to save the world.

IRS higher-ups requested info on conservative groups, letters show  —  Lois Lerner, director of Exempt Organizations for the IRS, is surrounded by Capitol police as she boards an elevator after being excused from a House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing in Washington on Wednesday.

Sources: Lincoln Chafee to switch parties  —  Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Chafee has notified senior Democratic Party officials that he intends to switch his party registration and join the Democratic Party, multiple sources familiar with Chafee's decision told POLITICO.

The GOP and abortion legislation  —  All of the new Oklahoma laws aimed at limiting abortion and contraception are great for the Republican family that lives in a gingerbread house with a two-car garage, two planned kids and a dog.  In the real world, they are less than perfect.

AP EXCLUSIVE: RISE OF AL-QAIDA SAHARA TERRORIST  —  You are here  —  Home » Osama bin Laden » AP Exclusive: Rise of al-Qaida Sahara terrorist  —  DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — After years of trying to discipline him, the leaders of al-Qaida's North African branch sent one final letter to their most difficult employee.

No IRS Special Prosecutor  —  Indictments are less important than political accountability.  —  Like dumber follows dumb, the scandal of politicized IRS tax enforcement has been followed by calls for a “special prosecutor.”  Republicans are predictably leading this call against a Democratic Administration …

Working women should be molested: Saudi writer  —  Writer campaigning against moves to bring women into mixed-gender work environments  —  Abu Dhabi: A Saudi writer has urged his Twitter followers to sexually molest women hired to work as cashiers in big grocery stores …

Adam Levine caught on hot mic: ‘I hate this country’; Responds to backlash with douche-tweets … Yes, yes he did.  On “The Voice” Tuesday night, a hot mic picked up coach Adam Levine saying, “I hate this country,” as one member of Team Adam advanced and two others were voted off the show.

Confirmed: Polk County, FL schools conducted iris scans on students without permission  —  Florida parents are right to be outraged at the outrageous privacy violations that took place late last week in at least 3 Polk County, Florida schools.  —  I just got off the phone with Rob Davis …

I was a liberal mole at Fox News: From Bill O'Reilly to Roger Ailes, here's all the inside dope  —  Inside the beast: O'Reilly hates Hannity.  Producers know what's acceptable.  Everyone fears a call from Roger Ailes  —  Excerpted from “An Atheist in the FOXhole: A Liberal's Eight-Year Odyssey Inside …

McAuliffe leads in lesser of 2 evils race  —  PPP's first look at the race for Governor of Virginia since January finds that as voters get to know the candidates better...more are becoming undecided.  That's not the normal trend, but it's also not normal to have an election where voters dislike both candidates five months out.

Why the Clinton Scandals Were a Bigger Deal Than the Obama Ones  —  Or, how to tell a personal scandal from a policy controversy  —  President Obama visited the Jersey Shore Tuesday, where Gov. Chris Christie presented him with a stuffed bear at an arcade and the two declared the shore open …

Schlafly Encourages GOP to Ignore Latinos, Focus on White Turnout  —  Eagle Forum's Phyllis Schlafly is riled up about comprehensive immigration reform, and she has hardly been hiding the reason why.  Last month, Schlafly predicted that comprehensive reform would be “suicide for the Republican Party” …

Obama to Pick Former Bush Official to Lead F.B.I.  —  WASHINGTON — President Obama plans to nominate James B. Comey, a former hedge fund executive and a former senior Justice Department official under President George W. Bush, to replace Robert S. Mueller III as the director of the Federal Bureau …

Breadwinner Moms  —  Mothers Are the Sole or Primary Provider in Four-in-Ten Households with Children; Public Conflicted about the Growing Trend  —  CHAPTER 1: OVERVIEW  —  A record 40% of all households with children under the age of 18 include mothers who are either the sole or primary source …

LePage renews claims of State House censorship  —  ‘The minute we start stifling our speech, we might as well go home, roll up our sleeves and get our guns out,’ the governor says.  —  AUGUSTA - Gov. Paul LePage is still upset about being silenced during a recent meeting …

HOLDER TO MEET WITH BUREAU CHIEFS on changes to guidelines for media subpoenas — JASON FURMAN to chair CEA, adding juice to office — FACING PROBES AND TOUGH RACE, BACHMANN folds in pre-dawn video  —  BULLETIN: The Justice Department began contacting D.C. bureau chiefs of major print …

Larry King joins RT with brand new politics show  —  Award-winning interviewer Larry King will host a mold-breaking political talk show on RT from next month, speaking to both leading establishment figures, and those who are not afraid to go against the grain.

Letter Sent to Bloomberg Is Said to Have Tested Positive for Ricin  —  A letter addressed to Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg that arrived late last week at a municipal building has tested positive for ricin, according to two people familiar with the matter.  —  A second letter containing …