“What Part of ‘Politico’ Do You Not Understand?”  —  A conversation about the dark art of driving the conversation  —  The dominant mode of Washington journalism tends to both reflect and entrench the values of its era.  The eminent writers and editors of the immediate postwar age …

House passes late-term abortion ban  —  The House voted Tuesday to impose a nationwide ban on abortions after 22 weeks of pregnancy over Democratic objections that the bill represents a dramatic attempt by Republicans to restrict abortion rights.  —  As expected, the vote fell …

Breaking: Full House committee transcripts shed new light on genesis of IRS targeting  —  Democrats on the House Oversight Committee have just released a full transcript of testimony from a key witness in the investigation of IRS targeting of conservatives — and it appears to confirm …

Statement On Michael Hastings  —  BuzzFeed is saddened to report that Michael Hastings died in a car accident early this morning in Los Angeles.  He was 33.  —  Ben Smith, BuzzFeed Editor-in-Chief, said in a statement:  —  We are shocked and devastated by the news that Michael Hastings is gone.

Google challenges U.S. gag order, citing First Amendment  —  Google asked the secretive Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court on Tuesday to ease long-standing gag orders over data requests it makes, arguing that the company has a constitutional right to speak about information it's forced to give the government.

CBO estimates Senate immigration bill cuts deficit by $197 billion  —  The Senate immigration bill would reduce deficits by $197 billion over 10 years, according to the Congressional Budget Office.  —  The bill would increase spending by $262 billion between 2014 and 2023 …

GOP needs action, not navel-gazing  —  We've had enough.  Yes, we just lost our second straight presidential election to Barack Obama.  Yes, losing is painful and has consequences.  Yes, when you lose, you make adjustments.  Enough already.  Let's get on with it.  —  Yes, we have plenty of changes to make.

McConnell To Reid: If You Go Nuclear On Nominations, I'll Go Nuclear On Everything When I'm Majority Leader  —  Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) on Tuesday starkly warned Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) not to eliminate the filibuster on presidential nominations …

Gen. Helms and the Senator's ‘Hold’  —  An Air Force commander exercised her discretion in a sexual-assault case.  Now her career is being blocked by Sen. Claire McCaskill.  Why?  —  Lt. Gen. Susan Helms is a pioneering woman who finds her career stalled because of a war on men …

Federal Budget Cuts Blamed for Girl's Rape, Mother's Murder  —  At least one probation officer has been fired and another demoted in the horrifying New York case of a federal child pornography suspect who raped a 10-year-old and murdered the girl's mother while the suspect was under court-ordered supervision.

CNN Poll: Did White House order IRS targeting?  —  Washington (CNN) - A growing number of Americans believe that senior White House officials ordered the Internal Revenue Service to target conservative political groups, according to a new national poll.  —  And a CNN/ORC International survey …

WAS JUSTICE ROBERTS INTIMIDATED INTO VOTING FOR ‘OBAMACARE’?  SENATOR MIKE LEE PRESENTS THE EVIDENCE  —  After Chief Supreme Court Justice John Roberts voted to uphold the Affordable Care Act, more commonly known as “ObamaCare,” many wondered if there could be a yet-unknown reason …

GOP leaders: Stop community efforts to provide LGBT protections  —  MCCALL, Idaho (AP) — Republican Party leaders are urging the Idaho Legislature to put a stop to local communities' efforts to provide discrimination protections for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals.

Photographer sues BuzzFeed for $3.6M over viral sharing model  —  A photographer says BuzzFeed should pay copyright damages not only for an unauthorized photo that appeared on its site — but for the dozens of other sites on which the photo appeared.  —  An Idaho photographer, Kai Eiselein …

3 Former NSA Employees Praise Edward Snowden, Corroborate Key Claims  —  The men, all whistleblowers, say he succeeded where they failed.  —  USA Today has published an extraordinary interview with three former NSA employees who praise Edward Snowden's leaks, corroborate some of his claims, and warn about unlawful government acts.