Cruz: I didn't want to throw GOP under bus  —  Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) said on Wednesday that he did want to throw any of his colleagues under the bus by forcing a 60-vote threshold on a bill to increase the debt ceiling earlier this month.  —  Cruz said in a CNN interview that he heard …

Four Reasons The GOP Has A Huge Advantage In The 2014 Elections  —  For all their internal divisions and long-term worries as a party, political scientists and historical trends give Republicans a clear edge in the upcoming 2014 congressional elections.  —  Forget Obamacare …

McNider and Christy: Why Kerry Is Flat Wrong on Climate Change  —  It was the scientific skeptics who bucked the ‘consensus’ and said the Earth was round.  —  In a Feb. 16 speech in Indonesia, Secretary of State John Kerry assailed climate-change skeptics as members of the “Flat Earth Society” …

Truce crumbles amid gunfire in Ukraine, protesters claim 100 dead  —  Are you in Ukraine?  Send us your photos and experiences but please stay safe.  —  Kiev, Ukraine (CNN) — A shaky truce crumbled Thursday as gunfire erupted at Independence Square, the center of anti-government protests …

CPAC Welcomes Gay-Rights Groups After Years of Exclusion  —  Meet the kinder, gentler Conservative Political Action Conference.  —  New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, snubbed last year after palling around with President Obama, is coming.  So is GOProud, the gay-rights group that was banned …

Rep. Jared Wright leaves loaded handgun in House committee room  —  In the moments after lawmakers and visitors cleared a committee room Feb. 6 following a debate on concealed handgun permits, Rep. Jonathan Singer found a black canvas bag under the table where lawmakers sit.

19F - The Night Venezuela Finally Imploded  —  Tonight, Venezuela is seeing a spasm of violence that's unlike anything the country has experienced since 1989.  Information is fragmented, since an almost complete media black-out is in place, but you don't need the media to hear your neighbor's screams.

Joe Biden: Obamacare enrollment may miss mark  —  MINNEAPOLIS — Vice President Joe Biden said Wednesday that it would be a good start for the federal health care law if 5 million to 6 million people sign up by the end of March, an acknowledgement that enrollments might fall significantly short …

House GOP plots anti-reg blitz  —  House Republicans next week will pass a legislative package aimed at making federal regulations more transparent and less costly to the economy.  —  The legislation is the GOP's latest attempt to reduce the regulatory red tape that they say is stifling job creation.

The Powerlessness of Positive Thinking  —  Since publishing “The Secret,” in 2006, the Australian author Rhonda Byrne has been writing self-help manifestos based on the idea that people who think positive thoughts are rewarded with happiness, wealth, influence, wisdom, and success.

Dems press Holder on secret FBI letters  —  Two House Democrats are calling on Attorney General Eric Holder to make changes to secret letters that the FBI uses to get information.  —  In a letter on Wednesday, the lawmakers demanded answers about the FBI's National Security Letters …

The Clear Benefits of a Higher Wage  —  Republicans sputtered with outrage when the Congressional Budget Office said that immigration reform would lower the deficit, strengthen Social Security and speed up economic growth.  They called for the office to be abolished when it dared to point …

Release Detail  —  February 20, 2014 - Clinton Sweeps 2016 Ohio Field As Christie Drops, Quinnipiac University Poll Finds; Obama Approval Goes From Terrible To Bad  —  Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton sweeps the 2016 presidential field in Ohio as New Jersey Gov. Christopher Christie …

Facebook to Acquire WhatsApp  —  Facebook today announced that it has reached a definitive agreement to acquire WhatsApp, a rapidly growing cross-platform mobile messaging company, for a total of approximately $16 billion, including $4 billion in cash and approximately $12 billion worth of Facebook shares.

Start-Up Site Hires Critic of Wall St.  —  Matt Taibbi, who made a name as a fierce critic of Wall Street at Rolling Stone magazine, has joined First Look Media, the latest big-name journalist to leave an established brand to enter the thriving and well-financed world of news start-ups.

Obama may escalate role in Syrian war  —  Americans unquestionably oppose any U.S. military intervention in Syria of the “boots on the ground” variety.  They're not fans of the idea of air strikes there, either.  But how would they respond to narrowly tailored attacks targeting Islamist fighters …

Law and Politics  —  I first read about Robert A. Dahl's death earlier this month in the Yale Daily News.  Why would the editors of a student newspaper publish a Page 1 obituary of a 98-year-old political science professor who had retired from teaching well before any of today's undergraduates were born?