Boehner warns House GOP will be weaker without immigration reform  —  Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) and Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) urged their House Republican colleagues to pass immigration reform legislation in a closed-door meeting Wednesday, with the Speaker arguing that the party would be …

Billionaire Koch Brother Says Eliminating The Minimum Wage Will Help The Poor  —  A conservative mogul worth $43 billion says he knows the secret to helping poor people.  According to Charles Koch, the U.S. needs to get rid of the minimum wage, which he counts as a major obstacle to economic growth.

‘Free Jahar’ Chant As Boston Bombing Suspect Heads To Court  —  BOSTON (CBS/AP) - A small group of demonstrators showed up at Moakley Federal Courthouse in South Boston on Wednesday to show support for Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev.  —  Tsarnaev appeared in court for his first public hearing.

Documents Obtained by Judicial Watch Detail Role of Justice Department in Organizing Trayvon Martin Protests … Document: DOJ Community Relations Service was deployed to Sanford, FL, “to provide technical assistance for the preparation of possible marches and rallies related to the fatal shooting …

House blocks enforcement of light bulb standards  —  The House on Wednesday voted to block the enforcement of light bulb standards that many say would effectively force people to buy more expensive compact fluorescent bulbs.  —  Just like last year, Rep. Michael Burgess (R-Texas) …

Adam Kokesh charged with possessing hallucinogenic mushrooms  —  Police searched the Northern Virginia home of activist Adam Kokesh Tuesday evening and took him into custody on a charge of being in possession of hallucinogenic mushrooms while also having a gun, authorities said.

Spitzer Leads Stringer in Comptroller Race: Poll  —  Former Governor Who Resigned After Scandal Is Frontrunner  —  Former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer leads Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer by nine percentage points in the race for New York City comptroller, according to a Wall Street Journal-NBC 4 New York-Marist poll.

The NSA slide you haven't seen  —  Recent debate over U.S. government surveillance has focused on the information that American technology companies secretly provide to the National Security Agency.  But that is only one of the ways the NSA eavesdrops on international communications.

HISTORIC: Senate panel advances trans-inclusive ENDA  —  A Senate committee made history on Wednesday by approving for the first time a trans-inclusive version of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act and picking up key Republican support from Sens. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska).

Wal-Mart says it will pull out of D.C. plans should city mandate ‘living wage’  —  The world's largest retailer delivered an ultimatum to District lawmakers Tuesday, telling them less than 24 hours before a decisive vote that at least three planned Wal-Marts will not open in the city if a super-minimum-wage proposal becomes law.

Wage deflation charts of the day  —  NELP, the National Employment Law Project, has taken a detailed look at what happened to wages during the recovery — specifically, between 2009 and 2012.  They looked at the annual Occupational and Employment Statistics for three years — 2007 …

Begich: Is Palin even a resident?  —  Sarah Palin “quit on Alaska” as governor and “ has lost touch” with her home state, Mark Begich told POLITICO.  —  The Democratic senator said Palin, who said Tuesday she's considering challenging him for his seat in 2014, might not even be a resident …

Exclusive: US bankrolled anti-Morsi activists  —  Berkeley, United States - President Barack Obama recently stated the United States was not taking sides as Egypt's crisis came to a head with the military overthrow of the democratically elected president.  —  But a review of dozens …

Senate Dems heading back to the drawing board on student loans  —  Senators working on a fix for higher interest rates on student loans are headed back to the drawing board after Democrats failed Wednesday to advance their preferred plan to curb the increase.

Lois Lerner in 2011: Receiving a Thick Questionnaire from the IRS Is a “Behavior Changer”  —  A reader sends a very interesting tidbit buried in a November 17, 2011 Businessweek.com article about the IRS and not-for-profit universities.  The article is about the IRS making inquiries into …

Snowden: I never gave any information to Chinese or Russian governments l Glenn Greenwald  —  As a new poll shows widespread American approval for him, the NSA whistleblower vehemently denies media claims  —  NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden, in an interview on Saturday and then again Tuesday afternoon …

Branstad, Braley lead in Iowa  —  PPP's newest Iowa poll finds that Republican recruiting failures in the US Senate race have given Bruce Braley a substantial early advantage.  He leads by margins ranging from 9 to 13 points against the potential GOP candidates.

The Jay-Z and Beyonce bill  —  Republicans on the House Appropriations Committee are looking to limit Jay-Z and Beyonce's travel options.  —  A spending bill approved on Wednesday by one of the panel's subcommittees contains a provision that seeks to tighten travel restrictions to Cuba …

Income, Race and Voting  —  Still thinking about the new GOP idea — hey, let's go for white voters!  Why didn't we think of that before?  And I thought I'd do a cleaner version of some stuff I did a while back.  I'm venturing into political science territory here,and would be happy …

Texas Abortion Bill Author In 2007: No Health Care For Unborn Because 'They're Not Born Yet'  —  WASHINGTON — Texas State Rep. Jodie Laubenberg (R), the author of the radically anti-abortion bill making its way through the Texas Legislature this week, argued for hours on Tuesday that lawmakers …