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 …

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.

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.

‘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 …

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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)

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.

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.

WWII Drug: The German Granddaddy of Crystal Meth  —  Crystal meth is notorious for being highly addictive and ravaging countless communities.  But few know that the drug can be traced back to Nazi Germany, where it first became popular as a way to keep pilots and soldiers alert in battle during World War II.

Watch the Men of Fox News Freak Out Over Female Breadwinners  —  Most of the time, conservatives pooh-pooh the pay gap as a result of women's “choice” to work less and attend to the home more.  They're not against equality, they assure us, but equality just naturally fails on its own because women make it so!

Record unemployment, low inflation underline Europe's pain  —  (Reuters) - Unemployment has reached a new high in the euro zone and inflation remains well below the European Central Bank's target, stepping up pressure on EU leaders and the ECB for action to revive the bloc's sickly economy.

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 …