With Bachmann not running, Jim Graves pulls out of 6th District race  —  As of today, Jim Graves is going to indefinitely suspend his campaign for Congress from the 6th District.  —  Translation: He is not running.  He is dropping out of politics to concentrate on his family and his business.

G.O.P. Sizes Up Obama as Midterm Target  —  WASHINGTON — His name won't be on any ballot in 2014.  Or ever again, for that matter.  —  But plenty of Republicans are still eager to wage a midterm campaign against President Obama, convinced that the spate of recent troubles dogging …

Why I secretly recorded Mitch McConnell  —  Earlier this year, I secretly made an audio recording of Sen. Mitch McConnell, the most powerful Republican on the planet, at his campaign headquarters in Kentucky.  The released portion of the recording clocks in at less than 12 minutes, but those few minutes changed my life.

Eric Holder to media: I get it  —  Attorney General Eric Holder expressed concern on Thursday about how the Department of Justice has handled recent media investigations at an off-the-record meeting with leading representatives of the press, according to those who were present.

The Fake Story About the IRS Commissioner and the White House  —  White House records show Douglas Shulman signed in for 11 visits, not 157, between 2009 and 2012.  —  This building is technically the White House, too.  It's called the Eisenhower Executive Office Building.  (Whitehouse.gov)

From the Mouths of Babes  —  Like many observers, I usually read reports about political goings-on with a sort of weary cynicism.  Every once in a while, however, politicians do something so wrong, substantively and morally, that cynicism just won't cut it; it's time to get really angry instead.

IRS may have targeted conservatives more broadly  —  Susan Martinek, right, and Mary Cherion pray as they walk the block around the Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Planned Parenthood, on Wednesday, May 29, 2013.  Martinek is the president and Cherion serves on the board of Coalition for Life of Iowa …

Poll: Hillary Clinton's favorability rating dives amid Benghazi probe  —  Hillary Clinton's favorability rating dropped significantly in a Quinnipiac University poll released Friday, as the months-long investigation into the terrorist attacks in Benghazi have begun to drag on the former secretary of State.

El Salvador Will Allow Dying Woman To End Her Pregnancy: 'What Matters Is To Protect Beatriz's Life'  —  “Beatriz has the right to live.  I respect reproductive rights.”  (Credit: Amnesty International)  —  Beatriz, the 22-year-old El Salvadoran woman who needs an emergency abortion in order to survive …

Rising economy shifts 2014 landscape  —  The 2014 midterm election is shaping up as something the United States has not seen in nearly a decade: a campaign run in a strengthening economy with deficits on the decline.  —  No one is popping champagne corks yet, and risks remain.

Cowboy-style cap gun gets 5-year-old suspended from school in Calvert County  —  A kindergartner who brought a cowboy-style cap gun onto his Calvert County school bus was suspended for 10 days after showing a friend the orange-tipped toy, which he had tucked inside his backpack on his way to school, according to his family and a lawyer.

Noonan: An Antidote to Cynicism Poisoning  —  Restoring public faith will require a full investigation of the IRS's politicization.  —  The Benghazi scandal was and is shocking, and the Justice Department assault on the free press, in which dogged reporters are tailed like enemy spies, is shocking.

Romney Planning to Rejoin National Dialogue  —  Months After Election Loss, He Will Host Event in Utah for 200 Friends and Campaign Supporters  —  More than half a year after his election loss, Mitt Romney is putting a tentative foot back onto the public stage.

Americans Oppose U.S. Military Involvement in Syria  —  Publlic does not expect diplomatic efforts to succeed in ending civil war  —  PRINCETON, NJ — Sixty-eight percent of Americans say the United States should not use military action in Syria to attempt to end the civil war there if diplomatic …

‘Rogue’ IRS agent who wrote threatening letters gets promotion … President Obama may have promised “to hold the responsible parties accountable” for the Internal Revenue Service targeting of conservative non-profit groups, but one of the agents at the center of the scandal was recently promoted …

SAN FRANCISCO — Companies from Silicon Valley to Detroit to Germany are developing cars that park, steer and even drive themselves.  Now the federal agency for traffic safety has said it wants to come along for the ride.  —  On Thursday, the Transportation Department made its first formal policy statement on autonomous vehicles.

DOJ: Social Media Posts Trashing Muslims May Violate Civil Rights  —  In its latest effort to protect followers of Islam in the U.S. the Obama Justice Department warns against using social media to spread information considered inflammatory against Muslims, threatening that it could constitute a violation of civil rights.

Chicago Teachers Union Files Lawsuit to Stop School Closings  —  Mayor Rahm Emanuel's latest attempt to privatize education in Chicago is running into considerable opposition.  The Chicago Teachers Union, joining up with concerned parents, has filed a lawsuit to halt the school closings the privatizer-heavy Board of Education ordered.

Republican Senate candidate Gabriel Gomez again ducks question on Blunt Amendment  —  WELLESLEY — Republican US Senate candidate Gabriel E. Gomez on Thursday again demurred when asked whether he would have supported last year's Senate bill limiting contraceptive coverage, saying he had already been clear about his position.

Medicare on track for insolvency in 2026; Social Security in 2033  —  Social Security's two trust funds will become insolvent by 2033, the program's trustees reported Friday, while Medicare will reach insolvency by 2026.  —  Unless Congress acts, Social Security will no longer be able to pay full benefits to retirees after 2033.