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.

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.

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)

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 …

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.

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.

Why the Boomers Are the Most Hated Generation  —  F. Scott Fitzgerald's flappers also grew up in a time of plenty, but they were allowed to age out of their sybaritic image.  What makes the Boomers different?  —  Pity the baby boomers, blamed in their youth for every ill and excess …

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.

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.

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 …

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.

Northern Ireland Town Fakes Prosperity for G8 Summit … A town in Northern Ireland is getting spruced up for the arrival of some special guests.  —  World leaders are gathering in the town of Enniskillen for the G8 summit next month.  —  And to get ready, the town is putting up fake storefronts on shuttered businesses.

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.

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.

Tea Party needs a Congress, a home and a leader  —  Former Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) said that if he won the nomination for president he would choose former Rep. Dennis Kucinich, a Democrat from Ohio, for his VP.  It would have been an interesting choice, as both Paul and Kucinich were brave …

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.

Obama administration clashes with UN over budget-busting employee salaries  —  The Obama administration on Friday called on the United Nations to provide “greater clarification” for how it calculates employee salaries that are significantly higher than those paid by the federal government.

‘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 …

Ex-Gay Therapist Promises to Turn Gay Brains Straight  —  As we've noted, Daystar host Joni Lamb is hosting a special on homosexuality, and Lamb today brought on ex-gay activists such as Joe Dallas, Anne Paulk and Janet Boynes.  One of the guests, Dr. Jerry Mungadze, claimed …

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.

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.

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.