David Plouffe rips Darrell Issa ‘loose ethically’  —  Former White House senior adviser David Plouffe took to Twitter to question Rep. Darrell Issa's ethics after the California Republican trashed press secretary Jay Carney.  —  “Strong words from Mr Grand Theft Auto and suspected arsonist/insurance swindler.

US Sen. Frank Lautenberg dies at 89  —  Frank R. Lautenberg, who rose from a poor Paterson boyhood to become a multimillionaire businessman and New Jersey's longest-serving U.S.senator, died Monday at 89 of viral pneumonia, his office said.  —  The oldest member of the Senate …

Immigration reform deal hangs on border security  —  The Gang of Eight's hopes for a Senate supermajority is running into the GOP's push for a dramatic crackdown on border security — testing the limits of the bipartisan coalition that's propelling the bill through Congress.

The Geezers Are All Right  —  Last month the Congressional Budget Office released its much-anticipated projections for debt and deficits, and there were cries of lamentation from the deficit scolds who have had so much influence on our policy discourse.  The problem, you see …

Report: How GOP lost young voters  —  A new postmortem on the November elections from the nation's leading voice for college Republicans offers a searing indictment of the GOP “brand” and the major challenges the party faces in wooing young voters, according to a copy given exclusively to POLITICO.

Inside The Meltdown At America's Most Conservative, Most Christian Political Consulting Firm  —  Rex Elsass built a Republican empire on his faith, but he found himself battling his closest allies over his immortal soul.  —  DELAWARE, Ohio — About 30 miles north of Columbus …

China Is Reaping Biggest Benefits of Iraq Oil Boom  —  BAGHDAD — Since the American-led invasion of 2003, Iraq has become one of the world's top oil producers, and China is now its biggest customer.  —  China already buys nearly half the oil that Iraq produces, nearly 1.5 million barrels a day …

THE PRESIDENT AND THE PRESS  —  In 1969, when nothing excited the public's interest like the depredations of drug fiends, the Louisville Courier-Journal sent a reporter named Paul Branzburg to penetrate Kentucky's marijuana underground.  He published eyewitness accounts …

Women in the Senate Confront the Military on Sex Assaults  —  WASHINGTON — Senator Claire McCaskill wandered down the dais at the Senate Armed Services Committee's first hearing of the year and noticed a startling tableau: women to the left, women to the right.

Shane Osborn enters GOP Senate race  —  Former state Treasurer Shane Osborn is the first Republican to step into what looks like a wide-open 2014 Senate race.  —  Osborn has filed papers with the Federal Election Commission to establish a candidate committee, allowing him to begin raising funds for a Senate bid.

Microsoft Ponders Major Restructuring, Amid Renewed Wall Street Focus on Stock  —  According to sources close to the situation, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer is working on what is likely to turn into a significant restructuring of the massive software company, which could also move several current execs to more prominent roles.

Risk-Averse Culture Infects U.S. Workers, Entrepreneurs  —  Americans have long taken pride in their willingness to bet it all on a dream.  But that risk-taking spirit appears to be fading.  —  Three long-running trends suggest the U.S. economy has turned soft on risk: Companies add jobs more slowly, even in good times.