Obama: ‘Will not wait’ on Congress  —  CAMBRIDGE, Md. — President Barack Obama warned once again that he wants to work with Republicans in Congress to pass needed legislation, but he “will not wait” to take action if that doesn't happen.  —  The president also suggested that passage of Obamacare …

Tom Perkins' big idea: The rich should get more votes  —  Tom Perkins suggested Thursday that only taxpayers should have the right to vote — and that wealthy Americans who pay more in taxes should get more votes.  —  The venture capitalist offered the unorthodox proposal when asked to name …

Kansas' Anti-Gay Segregation Bill Is an Abomination  —  On Tuesday, the Kansas House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved a measure designed to bring anti-gay segregation—under the guise of “religious liberty”—to the already deep-red state.  The bill, written out of fear that the state …

Federal judge strikes down Va. ban on gay marriage  —  A federal judge in Norfolk struck down Virginia's ban on same-sex marriage Thursday night, saying it violates the constitution's guarantee of equal protection.  —  U.S. District Judge Arenda L. Wright Allen stayed her decision …

Inequality, Dignity and Freedom  —  Now that the Congressional Budget Office has explicitly denied saying that Obamacare destroys jobs, some (though by no means all) Republicans have stopped lying about that issue and turned to a different argument.  O.K., they concede, any reduction …

Rand Paul's Prediction About Future Presidential Elections May Frighten Half the Country  —  Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) made a bold prediction about the remaining presidential elections in his lifetime during an interview with Glenn Beck that aired Thursday.  —  “I think Republicans will not win again …

Cruz Senate Stunt Goes Unpunished as Old Tools Don't Work  —  A growing group of Ted Cruz's Republican Senate colleagues are infuriated with his tactics.  —  So frustrated was Arizona Senator John McCain with the latest, forcing fellow Republicans to take a politically risky vote on lifting …

Obama to pitch $1B climate change ‘resilience fund’ in California  —  President Obama will pitch a new $1 billion climate change resilience fund during a visit Friday to California.  —  The fund, which would need to be approved by Congress, is intended to help communities dealing …

The Golden Egg  —  The school of literary criticism known as reception theory holds that a text should be studied in light of its effect on its contemporaries, that a reader should be aware of the “horizon of expectations” in which a text is produced.  I was reminded of this the other day as I observed …

What This Chevy Commercial Could Teach the GOP  —  To understand the rolling demographic and cultural trends threatening the GOP in presidential elections, a good place to start might be with the polychromatic ads Chevrolet is running during the Olympics.  —  First, consider the source.

Court overturns restrictions on concealed guns in much of California  —  Appeals panel finds state rules allowing counties to restrict the right to carry concealed weapons in public violate the 2nd Amendment.  —  SAN FRANCISCO — In a significant victory for gun owners …

One-Fifth of New Enrollees Under Health Care Law Fail to Pay First Premium  —  WASHINGTON — One in five people who signed up for health insurance under the new health care law failed to pay their premiums on time and therefore did not receive coverage in January, insurance companies and industry experts say.

Scott Hodge: Here's What ‘Income Equality’ Would Look Like  —  Take about $4 trillion from the top 40% of families and give it to the bottom 60%—voilà, no more inequality.  —  President Obama has talked a lot recently about reducing income inequality.

HIS WORSHIP  —  You may have wondered how it is that Rob Ford, the mayor of Toronto, has not been shamed from office.  Here's how.  And why, he tells us, things are likely to get even uglier. … Finn O'Hara  —  From the air, Toronto's iconic, late-modern City Hall looks like a wide …

Former Saints star Darren Sharper charged with drugging, raping two women in Los Angeles  —  Former Saints star safety Darren Sharper was charged Friday with drugging and raping two women in Los Angeles, one in October and one in January, according to a complaint filed by the L.A. district attorney's office.

Ralph Waite, Patriarch in TV Series ‘The Waltons,’ Dies at 85  —  Ralph Waite, a multifaceted actor who became etched in the American imagination as the craggy-faced, big-hearted patriarch of a rustic, Depression-era clan in the popular 1970s television series, “The Waltons,” died Thursday.  He was 85.

California takes down online health insurance exchange for small businesses  —  The nation's most populous state has elected to temporarily shutter its new online health insurance marketplace for small business only four months after it launched, dealing yet another blow to a key element …

Lucky Duckies In the Crosshairs  —  Ed Kilgore explains that the working poor have become the new “welfare queens”: … The only thing that's missing is a pithy moniker to refer to these lucky duckies living on easy street — or, OK, living on Poverty Lane, but somehow screwing the rest of us.