Weiner mocks reporter, scolds staff as cameras roll at campaign event  —  “I just have a feeling I like stepped into a Monty Python bit,” Anthony Weiner said as a British journalist questioned him about his campaign to become New York City mayor.  He then offered to present an impromptu weather forecast.

Silent Circle Preemptively Shuts Down Encrypted Email Service To Prevent NSA Spying  —  “We knew USG would come after us”.  That's why Silent Circle CEO Michael Janke tells TechCrunch his company shut down its Silent Mail encrypted email service.  It hadn't been told to provide data to the government …

Rand Paul on Republicans' Voter Appeal and the Federal Reserve  —  How seriously are you thinking about the White House?  —  At this point we're thinking about ways to grow the Republican Party and won't make any decision about whether that involves me running or not for about a year.

Apple's Tim Cook, tech execs meet with Barack Obama to talk surveillance  —  President Barack Obama hosted Apple CEO Tim Cook, AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson, Google computer scientist Vint Cerf and other tech executives and civil liberties leaders on Thursday for a closed-door meeting about government surveillance, sources tell POLITICO.

Fox News Poll: Phony scandals?  Not to voters  —  Benghazi.  Snooping on reporters.  The IRS and NSA.  The White House dismisses them as phony and fake scandals.  Americans do not.  —  A Fox News national poll released Thursday finds that 78 percent of voters think the questions …

How Dumb Is Immigration Debate?  This Dumb.  —  Everything you know about immigration, particularly unauthorized immigration, is wrong.  —  So says Princeton University's Doug Massey, anyway.  Massey is one of the nation's preeminent immigration scholars.

Scott Brown's Younger Brother Arrested Heavily Armed, Impersonating Police … Bruce Brown, the brother of former senator Scott Brown, is shown in this NECN.com video.  —  NECN.com  —  Bruce W. Brown, the younger brother of former Mass. Senator Scott Brown, was arrested last night heavily armed …

EXCLUSIVE: Alec Baldwin Set To Host New MSNBC Primetime Show (UPDATED)  —  Mediaite has learned from a senior source in the cable news industry with knowledge of MSNBC's programming that actor Alec Baldwin is getting his own weekly show in MSNBC's primetime lineup.

NSA loophole allows warrantless search for US citizens' emails and phone calls  —  Exclusive: Spy agency has secret backdoor permission to search databases for individual Americans' communications  —  The National Security Agency has a secret backdoor into its vast databases under …

Seniors Leaving The GOP And It's About Time  —  Why, it seems like just yesterday that the GOP could count on the seniors!  —  I'm sure you've heard about this, but if you haven't this is really big news.  I've openly wondered for years why seniors were backing the tea party and GOP since …

The Bourne Hypocrisy: Matt Damon's Peculiar School Choice  —  The movie star's explanation for sending his four daughters to private school is disingenuous.  —  Oscar winner Matt Damon has earned millions successfully playing a super spy, tortured genius, rugby icon, and poker player.

‘Muslims peaked in the Dark Ages.  But since then?’:  Richard Dawkins embroiled in Twitter row over controversial comments  — The author of The God Delusion tweeted that the world's Muslims had won fewer Nobel Prizes than Trinity College, Cambridge  — His comments sparked anger among …

FIRST ON CNN: U.S. pulls diplomats from Lahore, Pakistan, amid terror threat  —  Washington (CNN) — The State Department has evacuated most of its diplomats from Lahore, Pakistan in response to a terrorist threat against the U.S. consulate, senior State Department and other senior U.S. officials told CNN.

National Organization for Marriage Decries Gay Activist Witch Hunt in Iowa  —  Contact: Elizabeth Ray or Jen Campbell (703-683-5004)  —  “This is another attempt to shut down criticism of activist judges and politicians who wish to redefine marriage.”  — Brian Brown, NOM president —

Phony Fear Factor  —  We live in a golden age of economic debunkery; fallacious doctrines have been dropping like flies.  No, monetary expansion needn't cause hyperinflation.  No, budget deficits in a depressed economy don't cause soaring interest rates.  No, slashing spending doesn't create jobs.

Reid raises race in discussing GOP opposition to Obama's agenda  —  Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) on Friday said he hoped GOP opposition to President Obama was not based on his race.  —  Reid made the comments in response to a question during a radio interview.

In McAuliffe's Former Car Company, Echoes of Romney and Bain  —  Remember the Democrats' withering attacks on Mitt Romney for his business dealings in China and holdings in the Caribbean?  The tables have turned.  Virginia gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe faces attacks from Republicans …

A how-to book about inciting a moral panic.  —  Paul Bedard of the Washington Examiner has uncovered a fascinating document: an 80-page “talking points” monograph titled “Preventing Gun Violence Through Effective Messaging,” written by a trio of Democratic political operatives.