The Effects of a Minimum-Wage Increase on Employment and Family Income  —  Increasing the minimum wage would have two principal effects on low-wage workers.  Most of them would receive higher pay that would increase their family's income, and some of those families would see their income rise above the federal poverty threshold.

Obamacare's Latest Surprise for Taxpayers?  —  Industry sources tell the Washington Examiner's Susan Ferrechio that the Barack Obama administration is thinking of extending the Affordable Care Act's “risk corridors,” the federal reimbursement program for health-insurance companies that lose money …

Ex-Rep. Baca bashes ‘bimbo’ Negrete McLeod, won't run for seat  —  Former Rep. Joe Baca (D-Calif.) won't switch districts to run for Rep. Gloria Negrete McLeod's (D-Calif.) seat.  —  “No, I'm running for the 31st Congressional seat,” Baca told The Hill when reached by phone shortly …

Rand Paul's Republican revolution  —  DALLAS — It's 7 a.m. on a Saturday, Rand Paul is exhausted and airport security has just confiscated his morning joe.  —  “The TSA took away my coffee,” the libertarian-leaning senator, Houston-bound for a day of events with GOP activists, complains of the federal agency he's proposed abolishing.

Melvin Reynolds arrested in Zimbabwe, Zimbabwean official says  —  HARARE, Zimbabwe — Former U.S. Rep. Melvin Jay Reynolds has been arrested in Zimbabwe, said a Zimbabwean immigration official.  —  The official, Ario Mabika, told The Associated Press Tuesday that Reynolds is being investigated.

Michael Dunn Compares Himself To Rape Victim In Newly Released Calls From Jail  —  CREDIT: AP Photo/The Florida Times-Union, Bob Mack, Pool  —  In newly released audio of phone calls made by Michael Dunn while in jail, the man who shot 17-year-old Jordan Davis after a loud music dispute claiming self-defense …

Financier Plans Big Ad Campaign on Climate Change  —  A billionaire retired investor is forging plans to spend as much as $100 million during the 2014 election, seeking to pressure federal and state officials to enact climate change measures through a hard-edge campaign of attack ads against governors and lawmakers.

Poll: 71% of Obama voters, 55% Democrats ‘regret’ voting for his re-election  —  WASHINGTON SECRETS BARACK OBAMA HILLARY CLINTON POLLS 2012 ELECTIONS 2016 ELECTIONS CAMPAIGNS MITT ROMNEY  —  Over seven in 10 Obama voters, and 55 percent of Democrats, regret voting for President Obama's reelection in 2012 …

Kathleen Sebelius: No job loss under Obamacare  —  Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius says there is “absolutely no evidence” that the Affordable Care Act will drive down employment, despite a report from the Congressional Budget Office released Feb. 4 predicting fewer people would be working.

Ted Cruz: White House ‘hostile’ to marriage  —  Sen. Ted Cruz says President Barack Obama's administration is “hostile” to traditional marriage, calling it the most hostile White House in history.  —  The Texas Republican has been plugging his State Marriage Defense Act …

Unemployment Rises to Top Problem in the U.S.  —  Fewer Americans name the government as the most important problem in February  —  WASHINGTON, D.C. — Americans have a new No. 1 problem.  Nearly one in four Americans mention jobs and unemployment as the most important problem facing the country, up from 16% in January.

Teachers could spank harder under bill pending in KS Legislature  —  A Kansas lawmaker wants to give school teachers and caregivers more power to spank children.  —  Kansas House member Gail Finney, D-Wichita, said the bill is designed to restore parental rights.

After comment to Gov. McCrory, food store cook fired in Charlotte  —  CHARLOTTE — An employee at a Myers Park gourmet food store was fired after Gov. Pat McCrory's security detail complained Sunday about a comment the worker made to the governor.  —  On Sunday afternoon …

Black Boy Interrupted  —  On the unfinished life of Jordan Davis  —  I got up at 5 a.m. today in hopes of making the gym before my train to D.C. I handled business and with some time to spare, walked over to my favorite bakery for a touch of that summer love, now lost to my life upon these shores.

Representative Rush Holt, of New Jersey, Will Not Seek Re-election  —  Representative Rush D. Holt Jr. of New Jersey, a research physicist who became Congress' chief advocate for scientific research over eight terms, plans to announce Tuesday that he is not seeking re-election.

Snowden Documents Reveal Covert Surveillance and Pressure Tactics Aimed at WikiLeaks and Its Supporters  —  Top-secret documents from the National Security Agency and its British counterpart reveal for the first time how the governments of the United States and the United Kingdom targeted WikiLeaks …

‘Abundant evidence’ of crimes against humanity in North Korea, panel says  —  (CNN) — A stunning catalog of torture and the widespread abuse of even the weakest of North Koreans reveal a portrait of a brutal state “that does not have any parallel in the contemporary world,” a United Nations panel reported Monday.

Exclusive: Mega-donors plan GOP war council  —  A group of major GOP donors, led by New York billionaire Paul Singer, is quietly expanding its political footprint ahead of the midterm elections in an increasingly assertive effort to shape the direction of the Republican Party.

James Piereson: The Truth About the ‘One Percent’  —  The typical ‘rich’ person works for a salary.  Only 18% are in the financial industry.  —  'Income inequality" has emerged as the issue du jour in national politics, threatening to displace the unpopular health-care law and the slow-growing economy this election year.

Spy Chief: We Should've Told You We Track Your Calls  —  The U.S. government long considered its collection of Americans' call records to be a state secret.  Now the Director of National Intelligence admits it would have been better if Washington had acknowledged the surveillance in the first place.

‘Joe The Plumber’ Describes His New Union Job, Contemplates The Meaning Of ‘Tea Bagger’  —  Samuel Wurzelbacher's encounter with Barack Obama gave some material to Republicans who were eager to brand the Illinois senator a socialist.  Today, the man better-known as “Joe The Plumber” has himself a union job.

Noose Found Around The Neck Of Statue Honoring Civil Rights Icon At Ole Miss  —  Police at the University of Mississippi are investigating a racially inflammatory incident involving a statue depicting a civil rights icon.  —  According to The Daily Mississippian, the student-run newspaper at Ole Miss …