The real reason Obama tapped Susan Rice for national security adviser  —  President Obama tapped UN Ambassador Susan Rice Tuesday to serve as our nation's next national security adviser.  —  Tuesday morning my reaction was why appoint Susan Rice as national security adviser?  She will be a DISASTER.

House Talks on Immigration Reform Near Collapse  —  Rep. Raul Labrador is one of the members of the House Gang of Eight involved in immigration reform.  Image credit: Chris Maddaloni/CQ Roll Call/Getty Images  —  Bipartisan meetings in the House of Representatives on a comprehensive immigration reform bill …

Revealed: NSA collecting phone records of millions of Americans daily  —  Exclusive: Top secret court order requiring Verizon to hand over all call data shows scale of domestic surveillance under Obama  —  • Read the court order in full here  —  The National Security Agency …

Top IRS Official For Obamacare Implementation Placed On Administrative Leave  —  Sources say a key official in charge of overseeing health reform implementation, as well as another staffer, have been put on leave for accepting more than $1,000 in free meals and other items at a 2010 conference.

Lindsey Graham Isn't Sure If Bloggers Deserve ‘First Amendment Protection’  —  Of course they do.  But the question at hand is whether a media shield law should protect them as well.  —  Whether bloggers count as journalists has mostly been a matter of esoterics for reporter types.

Judge Edith Jones: Blacks and Hispanics More Violent  —  Complaint filed over Jones's discriminatory and biased comments  —  A complaint filed today by several civil rights groups, including one funded entirely by the government of Mexico, alleges that federal Judge Edith Jones has violated …

Sarah Murnaghan lung transplant case: Sebelius ordered to make exception on transplant  —  A federal judge has ordered HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius to allow Sarah Murnaghan, a 10-year-old in Pennsylvania dying of cystic fibrosis, to be moved to the adult lung transplant list.

Ex-Rep. Allen West: Holder is bigger threat than al-Qaeda  —  Former congressman Allen West (R-Fla.) says Attorney General Eric Holder is more dangerous than al-Qaeda.  —  In a new fundraising e-mail for his political action committee, the Allen West Guardian Fund, West pictures Holder next …

Secret Man Caves Found in EPA Warehouse  —  A warehouse maintained by contractors for the Environmental Protection Agency contained secret rooms full of exercise equipment, televisions and couches, according to an internal audit.  —  EPA's inspector general found contractors used partitions …

DEA: Soccer Mom Ran Massive Pot Grow Operation  —  Budding equestrian, 45, is facing federal narcotics trafficking rap  —  JUNE 4—A suburban mom—and budding equestrian—has for years maintained a secret life as the alleged head of a multimillion-dollar marijuana grow operation …

Report: Leon Panetta revealed classified SEAL unit info  —  Former CIA Director Leon Panetta revealed the name of the Navy SEAL unit that carried out the Osama Bin Laden raid and named the unit's ground commander at a 2011 ceremony attended by Zero Dark Thirty filmmaker Mark Boal …

Yes, Europe really is in the throes of austerity  —  Senate Budget Committee chair Patty Murray (D-Wash.) is skeptical of the case for austerity.  (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)  —  Two years ago, Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) was on the supercommittee, trying to hash out a multi-trillion-dollar deficit reduction package.

Carey Mulligan Eyed to Play Hillary Clinton in Biopic (Exclusive)  —  Though Scarlett Johansson, Jessica Chastain and Emma Stone have been rumored to be in the “Rodham” mix, the Brit actress has emerged as the top choice.  —  Carey Mulligan has emerged as the front-runner to play Hillary Rodham Clinton …

Publisher's letter: How the paywall will work  —  On June 12, we will begin phasing in our metered subscription model.  It will take us a few weeks to get everyone into the system, but doing that will allow us to ensure that you have the best possible experience.

In Scandal's Wake, Obama's Hardball Tactics Could Backfire  —  By appointing loyalists and dismissing GOP criticisms, the White House is cocooning itself — just as voters are growing critical.  —  A hallmark of the Obama administration is its imperviousness to conventional Washington wisdom …

Is there ACA rate shock in California?  —  I wasn't going to weigh in on this, but enough of you have asked me what I think of Avik Roy's claim that California insurance premiums, under ACA, will go up 64% to 146%.  Let me start by telling you this: based on a reading of the secondary commentary …

Possible Poisoning  —  An al Qaeda terrorist stated in a recent online posting that U.S. Ambassador to Libya Chris Stevens was killed by lethal injection after plans to kidnap him during the Sept. 11, 2012 terror attack in Benghazi went bad.  —  The veracity of the claim made by Abdallah Dhu-al-Bajadin …

Senate Bill Doubles Annual Flow of Guest Workers  —  Increase even larger than one proposed and rejected in 2007  —  A teleconference was held to discuss the findings of this report.  The teleconference was moderated by Jessica Vaughan, Director of Policy Studies at of the Center …