Poll: Christie cruising through bridge scandal (so far)  —  Nearly 70 percent of Americans say the bridge-closure scandal engulfing Chris Christie has not changed their opinion about the New Jersey governor, according to a new NBC News/Marist poll.  In addition, 44 percent …

Armed Services Chairman McKeon retiring  —  House Armed Services Committee Chairman Buck McKeon (R-Calif.) will announced his retirement on Wednesday, according to two sources close to McKeon.  —  “Mr. McKeon will be making his announcement tomorrow morning that he'll be retiring,” a source close to McKeon tells The Hill.

GOP Congressman: Limiting Abortion ‘Promotes Job Creation’  —  Democratic opponents of a new anti-abortion bill moving through the House of Representatives criticized Republicans on Wednesday for fast-tracking a socially divisive piece of legislation that “does not create a single job.”

House easily passes $1T omnibus spending bill with 359-67 vote  —  The House on Wednesday easily approved a $1 trillion omnibus spending bill that would fund the government for the rest of fiscal 2014 and let Congress avoid the risk of a shutdown until the end of September.

Mr. Smith decides to go home  —  To put it bluntly, being a member of Congress sucks — and the 16 members in the growing caucus of legislators heading for the exits seem to agree.  —  Someone has announced his retirement every day this week — on Wednesday it was Northern Virginia Rep. Jim Moran …

U.S. to Expand Rules Limiting Use of Profiling by Federal Agents  —  The Justice Department will significantly expand its definition of racial profiling to prohibit federal agents from considering religion, national origin, gender and sexual orientation in their investigations, a government official said Wednesday.

Obama: A President Tests His Limits  —  How can the President boast of making anything happen with a “phone and pen,” while also claiming “there is no shortcut to democracy?”  Ron Christie decodes a mess of slogans.  —  Just two weeks into the New Year, trying to pin down President Obama's …

Senior UK Defense Advisor: Obama Is Clueless About ‘What He Wants To Do In The World’  —  Sir Hew Strachan, an expert on the history of war, says that the president's strategic failures in Afghanistan and Syria have crippled America's position in the world.  —  President Obama is …

Reverend Jeremiah Wright: Dr. King Had a ‘Dream,’ Obama Has a ‘Drone’  —  President Barack Obama's former pastor, Reverend Jeremiah Wright, is back in the news this week, but this time it's for some highly critical comments he made about the president at an event for the Chicago Teachers Union Wednesday.

Marijuana politics  —  So the POLITICO homepage has gone to pot: Darren Samuelsohn and Byron Tau report on how states are taking the lead on the legalization campaign; Reid Cherlin investigates the legal nightmare this creates between state and federal law — the consequences are far-ranging …

Secret Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP) - Environment Chapter  —  WikiLeaks released the secret draft text for the entire TPP (Trans-Pacific Partnership) Environment Chapter and the corresponding Chairs' Report.  The TPP transnational legal regime would cover 12 countries initially …

Virginia Legislator Running for Congress Says Spousal Rape Should Be Legal  —  State Senator Richard Black has been telling his fellow Virginians for more than a decade that spousal rape is not a crime, and now he's running for Congress.  —  Good news for Virginians living in the 13th district …

Wendy Davis's Campaign Mocks Greg Abbott for Being Paralyzed  —  Wendy Davis's campaign spin on her fundraising numbers is impressive.  She wants you to know that she raised $12 million to Republican Greg Abbot's $11.5 million.  What she is hoping you will ignore, and which much of the press will ignore …

Doubts over Common Core  —  Viewed from Washington, which often is the last to learn about important developments, opposition to the Common Core State Standards Initiative still seems as small as the biblical cloud that ariseth out of the sea, no larger than a man's hand.

Gates: Syria Red Line Was ‘Serious Mistake’  —  Video: Gates on why it was a mistake to declare a red line in Syria.  —  Former Defense Secretary Robert Gates said it was a “serious mistake” for the Obama administration to declare a red line on chemical weapons use in Syria …

Source: Missing U.S. soldier Bowe Bergdahl seen in video  —  Washington (CNN) — The U.S. military has obtained new video apparently made by those holding the lone American prisoner of war, Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl.  —  A U.S. military official told CNN the clip shows the Wood Valley, Idaho …