Watchdog Report Says N.S.A. Program Is Illegal and Should End  —  WASHINGTON — An independent federal privacy watchdog has concluded that the National Security Agency's program to collect bulk phone call records has provided only “minimal” benefits in counterterrorism efforts, is illegal and should be shut down.

Huckabee: Dems think women can't control their libido  —  Former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee (R) said Thursday that Republicans need to take a more combative attitude toward winning the votes of women, by emphasizing that women aren't weaklings in need of help from the government.

Mark Herring explains gay marriage shift  —  New Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring says his decision to challenge his state's ban on gay marriage, rather than defend it on behalf of the state, is part of an evolution in his views on the subject.  —  Herring announced his decision to side …

Biggest Liberal ‘Super PAC’ to Fund Possible Clinton Bid  —  The largest liberal “super PAC” in the country has begun raising money to elect Hillary Rodham Clinton president, formally aligning itself with Mrs. Clinton's undeclared presidential ambitions more than two years away from the election.

Schumer seeks to poison Tea Party  —  Sen. Charles Schumer (N.Y.), the Senate Democrats' political guru, has a plan to poison the Tea Party by driving a wedge between its rich funders and its blue-collar rank and file.  —  Schumer, one of the Democrats' most influential strategists …

Justin Bieber arrested in Miami Beach over DUI, drag-racing  —  After allegedly smoking pot all day, drinking beer and popping anti-depressants, bad-boy pop star Justin Bieber went on a wild pre-dawn drag race in Miami Beach that landed him in jail Thursday morning, police said.

Leaning Right in Hollywood, Under a Lens  —  LOS ANGELES — In a famously left-leaning Hollywood, where Democratic fund-raisers fill the social calendar, Friends of Abe stands out as a conservative group that bucks the prevailing political winds.  —  A collection of perhaps 1,500 right-leaning players …

The Heritage Foundation Might Be Shedding Some Of Its Crazy Soon  —  2013 wasn't exactly been a banner year for the Heritage Foundation, Washington's most well-known and influential conservative think tank.  —  In its first year under former senator and tea party godfather Jim DeMint …

Pope Francis, in Social-Media Message, Calls Internet a ‘Gift From God’  —  The pope takes a stand for Internet optimism, in a time when it is fraught. … —Pope Francis  —  No, your holiness, quotes like these are the gift.  —  In this papal statement released Thursday …

CNN lays off more than 40 journalists  —  CNN has laid off more than 40 senior journalists in its newsgathering operation - including a pregnant producer who was two weeks away from giving birth to twins - as part of a reorganisation of the business under Jeff Zucker.

Guns Make Voting Even Harder  —  If you want to feel truly dispirited about the health of U.S. democracy, skip the stories about Chris Christie and Bob McDonnell and go straight to today's report on the American voting experience.  —  The report, by a presidentially appointed commission …

Obama State of the Union to focus on income inequality  —  President Obama will try to pump some vitality into a lackluster second term on Tuesday when he delivers his State of the Union address.  —  The address will include a “healthy dose” of the income inequality message the White House …

Gregory Hicks: Benghazi and the Smearing of Chris Stevens  —  Shifting blame to our dead ambassador is wrong on the facts.  I know—I was there.  —  Last week the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence issued its report on the Sept. 11, 2012, terrorist attacks in Benghazi, Libya.

Hoboken Mayor Is Said to Have Told of Threat  —  Federal authorities in New Jersey have interviewed several witnesses who said the mayor of Hoboken told them in May about a state official's threat to withhold hurricane recovery funds if the mayor did not support a development project favored by the governor …

Welder lauded by Scott Walker in speech is sex offender  —  By Daniel Bice of the Journal Sentinel  —  Emphasizing his role as a job creator, Gov. Scott Walker praised Christopher Barber's initiative during the governor's annual “state of the state” speech on Wednesday.

Poll Shows Most Republicans Think People Are Poor Because They Don't Work Hard Enough  —  Whether you're rich or poor, Republicans believe that's on you.  —  New findings released Thursday by Pew showed that most Republicans think rich people are largely responsible for their socioeconomic status.

The Fiscal Reality and its Politics  —  Ever since the election of 1992, fiscal conservatives in both parties—and in third parties—have tried to make the federal deficit a central political and economic issue.  In a series of articles and books beginning in 1982, the billionaire investor …

17 Things That The New York Times Magazine “Planet Hillary” Cover Looks Like  —  The “newspaper of record's” magazine has entered a whole new universe.  —  Here is the latest New York Times Magazine cover featuring “Planet Hillary.”  —  Ted Cruz's Wrecking Ball  —  View Entire List ›

A New Idea To Empower Workers That Employers Actually Support  —  In an effort to unionize a Volkswagen plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee, United Auto Workers (UAW) is also seeking to create a European-style works council.  The idea of unions, if disparaged, is at least familiar to Americans.

GOP House Candidate Says God Created Autism, Dementia And Tornadoes To Punish Gays  —  An Illinois Republican running for Congress believes God unleashed debilitating disorders and destructive natural disorders because he is so upset with the growing support for same-sex rights marriage.

Upward Mobility Has Not Declined, Study Says  —  The odds of moving up — or down — the income ladder in the United States have not changed appreciably in the last 20 years, according to a large new academic study that contradicts politicians in both parties who have claimed that income mobility is falling.

Security Check Firm Said to Have Defrauded U.S.  —  The company that conducted a background investigation on the contractor Edward J. Snowden fraudulently signed off on hundreds of thousands of incomplete security checks in recent years, the Justice Department said Wednesday.

Zakaria: Iran Deal is a Train Wreck  —  In an interview with CNN's Fareed Zakaria, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani forcefully asserted that Iran would not destroy its nuclear centrifuges “under any circumstances”.  —  Rouhani's comments come just days after the U.S. and Iran began to implement …