Holder runs into roadblocks on off-the-record meetings on leaks  —  Washington (CNN) - Attorney General Eric Holder's plans to sit down with media representatives to discuss guidelines for handling investigations into leaks to the news media have run into trouble.

Release Detail  —  May 30, 2013 - American Voters 4-1 Want Special Prosecutor For IRS, Quinnipiac University National Poll Finds; But Fixing Economy Is More Important, Voters Say 3-1  —  American voters say 76 - 17 percent, including 63 - 30 percent among Democrats, that a special prosecutor …

The Distribution of Major Tax Expenditures in the Individual Income Tax System  —  A number of exclusions, deductions, preferential rates, and credits in the federal tax system cause revenues to be much lower than they would be otherwise for any given structure of tax rates.

Bobby Rush rips Mark Kirk's mass gang arrests proposal as ‘elitist white boy solution’  —  Rep. Bobby Rush (D-Ill.) is highly critical of a proposal by Sen. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) for mass arrests of 18,000 Gangster Disciples, telling the Sun-Times on Wednesday that Kirk's approach is …

IRS's Shulman had more public White House visits than any cabinet member  —  Publicly released records show that embattled former IRS Commissioner Douglas Shulman visited the White House at least 157 times during the Obama administration, more recorded visits than even the most trusted members of the president's Cabinet.

Lincoln Chafee switches affiliation to Democrat  —  Obama has returned the favor: he declined to endorse a Democrat for governor in 2010, when Chafee was running as an independent in a three-way race.  And when Chafee ran TV ads featuring archival footage of the president praising him, Obama and his aides did not object.

MSNBC Lands In Fourth Place In May; Maddow Hits Ratings Lows  —  MSNBC got some very tough ratings news on Wednesday.  —  Another month of big crime and disaster news saw the network struggle to keep up with rivals CNN, HLN and Fox News.  MSNBC was presumably expecting some dropoff from its 2012 numbers …

Sequester not biting District yet  —  In the months since the automatic federal spending cuts known as the sequester took effect, the Washington area has added 40,000 jobs.  Income-tax receipts have surged in Virginia, beating expectations.  Few government contractors have laid off workers.

McCain Wasn't Posing With Rebel Kidnapper, Spokesman Says  —  “Regrettable” if true, McCain spokesman says.  —  Via: Handout/Reuter / Reuters  —  WASHINGTON — Senator John McCain's office is pushing back against reports that while visiting Syria this week he posed in a photo with rebels who kidnapped 11 Lebanese Shi'ite pilgrims.

Rob Ford video scandal: Mayor Ford said he knew where video was, sources say  —  The mayor cited “our contacts” as the source of his information, according to insiders familiar with an unusual May 17 session in his office. … Toronto Mayor Rob Ford speaks during a press conference at City Hall …

Tea Partying Strip Club Mogul: The IRS Targeted Me, Too  —  Meet Selim “Sam” Zherka.  New York City strip club proprietor.  Westchester county newspaper owner.  And the self-described “loudest voice” for the Tea Party in New York state.  —  In the weeks since the revelation …

Assad Says Syria Has Received Advanced Missiles From Russia  —  BEIRUT, Lebanon — President Bashar al-Assad of Syria said in a television interview to be broadcast on Thursday that Russia has delivered S-30 air defense missiles to his country, weapons that Israel has said present a threat …

Third Letter Sent to President Obama, Similar to NY Mayor Ricin Letters: Officials  —  Mayor Michael Bloomberg and his anti-gun group received threatening letters sent from Shreveport, La.  —  A threatening letter was mailed to President Obama that is similar to two letters containing poisonous ricin sent …

EXCLUSIVE: LERNER INTRIGUE GOES BACK TO '96 DURBIN/SALVI U.S. SENATE RACE  —  CHICAGO - The IRS scandal may have its roots in Illinois politics.  Specifically, the 1996 U.S. Senate race between Democrat Congressman Dick Durbin and conservative Republican State Rep. Al Salvi.

Conservative Icon Calls GOP's Need To Court Hispanics A ‘Great Myth’  —  Phyllis Schlafly of the pro-family group Eagle Forum called the GOP's need to reach out to Hispanic voters a “great myth” during a conservative radio program Wednesday.  —  “The Hispanics who have come …

Republican Red Flags All Over in Bellwether States  —  The GOP's recruitment struggles in Virginia and Colorado don't bode well for the party's long-term health.  —  For all the lip service given by Republicans to the party's efforts to modernize its image, a quick look at the GOP's standing …

First quarter GDP revised slightly lower; austerity bites  —  (Reuters) - A drop in government spending dragged more on the U.S. economy than initially thought in the first three months of the year, a sign of increasing pain from Washington's austerity drive.

Ted Cruz opens up on immigration … What, exactly, is Ted Cruz's position on comprehensive immigration reform?  There's no doubt the outspoken and still very new Texas senator opposes the Gang of Eight proposal.  From that, some Democrats and commentators on the left have concluded that Cruz …