Award-winning Actor Philip Seymour Hoffman Found Dead in Manhattan Apartment, Law-Enforcement Official Said  —  The New York Police Department is investigating, and the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner to determine exact cause of death

Subpoenaed Christie staffer Christina Renna resigns  —  A Chris Christie aide who was subpoenaed in a growing New Jersey traffic scandal resigned Friday, the aide's lawyer confirmed to POLITICO.  —  Christina Renna becomes the second person to leave the Republican governor's office since the scandal escalated in January.

Delusions of Failure  —  The Republican response to the State of the Union was delivered by Cathy McMorris Rodgers, Republican representative from Washington — and it was remarkable for its lack of content.  A bit of uplifting personal biography, a check list of good things her party wants …

House Republicans pivot in search of a positive message  —  CAMBRIDGE, Md. - House Republicans are at a turning point.  —  A majority of them, having spent five years in opposition to President Obama — inviting Democrats to tag them as obstructive — are now intent on shaping a positive identity as the …

Benghazi a 2016 proxy battle  —  It is hard to count all the investigations into the Benghazi, Libya, attack — the exhaustive hearings and extensive testimony, the State Department review, the Senate report, the House report, the piles of newspaper and television stories.

Scholar and Columnist Professor Barry Rubin Passed Away at 64  —  Barry Rubin's was a rare voices of clarity in the Israeli academia and in Jewish media.  He was one of the good guys.  —  Baruch Dayan Ha'Emet: Professor Barry Rubin, one of the great intellectual defenders of Israel, passed away Monday morning.

ON THE TRAIL  —  Last month, Colorado opened its first retail marijuana shops.  At the Colorado Springs airport, there are now bins to help departing travellers remember to drop their pot before flying off to less liberated states.  The law legalizing marijuana in Colorado was the result …

Coca Cola ad on Super Bowl — American's brand?  Hm.  —  I'm watching the Super Bowl, looks like good defense (Seattle) is trouncing good offense (Denver) when a Coca Cola commercial came on and it started rather patriotically with the words of “America the Beautiful.”

Bill Kristol joins ABC News  —  Bill Kristol, the editor and publisher of The Weekly Standard, has joined ABC News as a contributor, “This Week” host George Stephanopoulos announced on Sunday.  —  A source familiar with the negotiations says the former Fox News commentator has landed …

Building a Better Battery  —  SAN FRANCISCO — The next breakthrough smartphone, or maybe the one after that, might not have a traditional battery as its sole source of power.  Instead, it could pull energy from the air or power itself through television, cellular or Wi-Fi signals.

The Gospel According to Paul  —  WASHINGTON — SO how do you make Monica haunt Hillary's dreams?  —  That's what Republicans have been gnawing on, and that's what not-so-bland Rand Paul was cagey enough to figure out.  —  Fresh from taunting rival Chris Christie as “the king of bacon,” …

Woody Allen  —  Nick Kristof runs an open leter from Dylan Farow, who was the center of a child molestation situation involving Woody Allen when she was seven years old.  The attention is swirling as a consequence of Mr. Allen's recent receipt of a lifetime achievment award from the Golden Globes.