Robert Gates, former defense secretary, offers harsh critique of Obama's leadership in ‘Duty’  —  In a new memoir, former defense secretary Robert Gates unleashes harsh judgments about President Obama's leadership and his commitment to the Afghanistan war, writing that by early 2010 …

House GOP leaders coach rank-and-file on discussing unemployment  —  House Republican leaders sent a memo this week to the entire GOP conference with talking points designed to help rank-and-file Republicans show compassion for the unemployed and explain the Republican position on unemployment benefits.

Emails link top Christie aide to GWB lane-closing controversy  —  Private messages between Governor's Christie's deputy chief of staff and two of his top executives at the Port Authority reveal a vindictive effort to create “traffic problems in Fort Lee” by shutting lanes to the George Washington Bridge …

Biography Casts Critical Light on Fox News Chief  —  Roger Ailes was so eager to influence national politics that in the run-up to the 2012 presidential election, he told fellow Fox News executives point-blank: “I want to elect the next president.”  —  In the corporate thicket of News Corporation …

Drama roils race to replace Rep. Bill Young  —  The GOP race to replace the late Rep. Bill Young (R-Fla.) has become a political soap opera that could jeopardize Republicans' hold on the seat.  —  It has all the makings of a daytime drama: a widow disavowing her son due to opposing primary allegiances …

Record-High 42% of Americans Identify as Independents  —  Republican identification lowest in at least 25 years  —  PRINCETON, NJ — Forty-two percent of Americans, on average, identified as political independents in 2013, the highest Gallup has measured since it began conducting interviews by telephone 25 years ago.

Rush Limbaugh's Polar Vortex ‘Hoax’ Comments Knocked Down By Weatherman (VIDEO)  —  Rush Limbaugh made headlines Monday when he called the “polar vortex” of dangerously cold conditions sweeping across the Midwest a “hoax,” but now an actual weatherman is saying otherwise.

Flawless Trans Women Carmen Carrera and Laverne Cox Respond Flawlessly To Katie Couric's Invasive Questions  —  On Monday, transgender model Carmen Carrera and Orange is the New Black actress Laverne Cox made a daytime TV talk show appearance on the ABC show Katie hosted by Katie Couric.

The Lessons of Physical Therapy  —  TODAY, the anniversary of the shooting in Tucson that put a bullet through my head and killed six of my constituents, is when I make my annual resolutions.  —  Many may look at me and see mostly what I have lost.  I struggle to speak, my eyesight's not great …

Former Guantanamo detainee implicated in Benghazi attack  —  U.S. officials suspect that a former Guantanamo Bay detainee played a role in the attack on the American diplomatic compound in Benghazi, Libya, and are planning to designate the group he leads as a foreign terrorist organization …

LePage says children should have work option  —  Not allowing children to work is ‘causing damage to our economy,’ the governor says.  —  AUGUSTA — Gov. Paul LePage told attendees of the 73rd annual Maine Agricultural Trades Show on Tuesday that 12-year-olds should be allowed to work in Maine.

Robert Rector: How the War on Poverty Was Lost  —  Fifty years and $20 trillion later, LBJ's goal to help the poor become self-supporting has failed.

Daisy Coleman hospitalized in Kansas City after suicide attempt  —  KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A Maryville Mo., teenager, who has been at the center of a rape case which made national headlines, was in a Kansas City hospital on Monday night after attempting to take her own life.

Half of sex attackers, violent criminals and burglars avoid jail  —  Half of convicted child sex attackers, violent criminals and burglars are walking free from court amid claims that justice system is failing victims  —  Half of convicted sex attackers, violent criminals and burglars …

China blocks the Guardian, censorship-tracking website says  —  Attempts to access the Guardian site in Beijing fail, but no clear reason for China's leadership to take issue with recent content  —  The Guardian's website has been completely blocked in China, according to a censorship-tracking website.