Welcome to The Intercept  —  We are very excited to welcome everyone to The Intercept, a publication of First Look Media (FLM).  The Intercept, which the three of us created, is the first of what will be numerous digital magazines published by FLM.  —  As soon as we resolved to build The Intercept …

Why did Gov. Scott Walker lie about voting for Reagan?  —  As noted by James Rowen at The Political Environment, Gov. Scott Walker has once again demonstrated his tenuous relationship with the truth.  In an interview with a right-wing blog Gov. Walker noted how he voted for Ronald Reagan for president (emphasis added).

Suicide Bomb Instructor Accidentally Kills Iraqi Pupils  —  BAGHDAD — A group of Sunni militants attending a suicide bombing training class at a camp north of Baghdad were killed on Monday when their commander unwittingly conducted a demonstration with a belt that was packed with explosives, army and police officials said.

N.F.L. Prospect Michael Sam Proudly Says What Teammates Knew: He's Gay  —  Coaches at the University of Missouri divided players into small groups at a preseason football practice last year for a team-building exercise.  One by one, players were asked to talk about themselves — where they grew up …

Amid Christie Scandal, Buono Says Some Democrats Have 'Buyer's Remorse'  —  METUCHEN, N.J. — The former campaign workers who partied at the home of Barbara Buono this month were “just jubilant.”  The people she bumps into on the street “are just happier to greet me.”

The Hillary Papers  —  On May 12, 1992, Stan Greenberg and Celinda Lake, top pollsters for Bill Clinton's presidential campaign, issued a confidential memo.  The memo's subject was “Research on Hillary Clinton.”  —  Voters admired the strength of the Arkansas first couple, the pollsters wrote.

Chastened G.O.P. Tries to Foil Insurgents at Primary Level  —  WASHINGTON — Richard H. Black is a Republican state senator from the Northern Virginia suburbs who once sent plastic fetuses to his colleagues with a note attached: “Would you kill this child?”  He said a statue of Lincoln …

French Media Convinced Beyoncé and President Obama Are Having Affair  —  Today in WHAT?????!!!!, a French photographer named Pascal Rostain claims that the President of the United States of America, Barack Obama, is embroiled in a love affair with internationally famous pop star Beyoncé.

White House delays health insurance mandate for medium-sized employers until 2016  —  The Obama administration announced Monday it would give medium-sized employers an extra year, until 2016, before they must offer health insurance to their full-time workers.

Reid again eyes Senate rulebook  —  Liberal groups are agitating for another round of filibuster reform after Senate Majority Harry Reid's (D-Nev.) controversial triggering of the nuclear option last year has done little to alleviate Senate gridlock.  —  A coalition of labor and liberal groups …

Release Detail  —  February 10, 2014 - Legalized Marijuana Hurts Colorado's Image, Slim Majority Tells Quinnipiac University Poll; Only 10% Say They've Used Marijuana Since Legalization  —  Legalization of marijuana for recreational use is bad for the state's image, Colorado voters say 51 …

Joe Scarborough believed to be taking idea of 2016 presidential bid seriously  —  Sources close to MSNBC host Joe Scarborough think he is seriously considering the prospect of leaving morning television to run for president in 2016.  —  Last week, Scarborough was all smiles …

Writing Off the Unemployed  —  Back in 1987 my Princeton colleague Alan Blinder published a very good book titled “Hard Heads, Soft Hearts.”  It was, as you might guess, a call for tough-minded but compassionate economic policy.  Unfortunately, what we actually got — especially …

US considers drone strike on American al-Qaida suspect abroad  —  Officials say member of-Qaida is actively planning terror attacks, but CIA drone cannot strike him because he is a US citizen  —  An American citizen who is a member of al-Qaida is actively planning attacks against Americans overseas …

DOJ Disputes Report That Holder Will Resign  —  This post has been updated.  —  The New Yorker reported that U.S. attorney general Eric Holder plans to step down this year, but the U.S. Justice Department is pushing back on that report.  —  In a feature story for the magazine's Feb. 17 issue …