Nugent apologizes for using term ‘subhuman mongrel’  —  (CNN) - Conservative activist and rocker Ted Nugent apologized Friday for using the term “subhuman mongrel” to describe President Barack Obama.  —  “I do apologize-not necessarily to the President-but on behalf of much better men than myself …

With 2015 budget request, Obama will call for an end to era of austerity  —  President Obama's forthcoming budget request will seek tens of billions of dollars in fresh spending for domestic priorities while abandoning a compromise proposal to tame the national debt in part by trimming Social Security benefits.

‘House of Cards’ threatens to leave if Maryland comes up short on tax credits  —  A few weeks before Season 2 of “House of Cards” debuted online, the show's production company sent Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley a letter with this warning: Give us millions more dollars in tax credits, or we will …

Bozell & Graham Column: Jimmy Fallon, Democrat Political Asset  —  The Obamas have had few more obsequious media allies than NBC's Jimmy Fallon.  Now that he's taking over the hallowed ground of “The Tonight Show,” Fallon's proven ability to spread his reach into viral videos on YouTube promises to become even more politically potent.

Negotiators reach deal to end Ukraine crisis  —  The Post's Will Englund gives a first-person account of what it's like on the ground for protesters and citizens in Kiev.  (The Washington Post)  —  KIEV, Ukraine — A deal designed to end Ukraine's long-running crisis was reached Friday …

Hillary Clinton Maintains Positive Image in U.S.  —  American public's opinion of Vice President Joe Biden is mixed  —  WASHINGTON, D.C. — A clear majority of Americans, 59%, still view Hillary Clinton favorably a year after she left her post as secretary of state.

Measure pits freedom against discrimination  —  FONT:  —  The Arizona Legislature has passed a controversial religion bill that is again thrusting Arizona into the national spotlight in a debate over discrimination.  —  House Bill 2153, written by the conservative advocacy group Center …

The GOP's Talent Gap  —  The party doesn't have enough smart people working on its campaigns, and those who do are playing out of position.  —  Republicans who run campaigns gripe they lose races because of candidates and ideology.  It's easy to understand why.

Boehner: I'd rather kill myself than raise the minimum wage  —  Speaker John Boehner is so against raising the minimum wage that he once said he would rather commit suicide than vote for a “clean” increase.  —  The Ohio Republican and son of a barkeep has repeatedly opposed federally mandated hike increases …

The myth of ‘settled science’  —  Irepeat: I'm not a global warming believer.  I'm not a global warming denier.  I've long believed that it cannot be good for humanity to be spewing tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.  I also believe that those scientists who pretend to know exactly …

Exclusive: The Dalai Lama Talks Pot, Facebook and the Pope With TIME  —  The Tibetan spiritual leader also offers surprising praise for China's new leader  —  Ahead of a lengthy two-week tour of the U.S. west coast, the Dalai Lama, the Tibetan spiritual leader, spoke with TIME religion …

Brownback extremely unpopular, trails for reelection  —  PPP's newest Kansas poll finds that Sam Brownback has continued to become even more unpopular in the last year, and that he slightly trails his Democratic opponent for reelection.  Only 33% of voters in the state approve of the job Brownback is doing …

Ratings: Is CNN's Piers Morgan Shooting Himself in the Foot?  —  In the end, are guns what killed CNN's “Piers Morgan Live”?  —  The show, hosted by anti-gun crusader Morgan, continues to struggle in the Nielsens.  And this month, the start of the Michael Dunn loud-music murder trial …

SC colleges under fire about book, course choices  —  Some S.C. public colleges are coming under fire for the books they assign students and whether they follow a state law requiring instruction on the U.S. founding documents.  —  S.C. House budget writers voted Wednesday to take away nearly $70,000 …

Democrats' Best Weapon for Midterms: Fear of a Red Senate  —  Control of the Senate depends on turnout in November.  Democrats need to tap what scares their base most: fear of an unrestrained GOP.  —  We've known for a long time now that the Democrats have a lot of Senate seats to defend …

Judge rips feds in Sherrod-Breitbart lawsuit  —  A federal judge delivered a severe tongue-lashing to a Justice Department lawyer Thursday, slamming the Obama Administration for its handling of demands for government records in the libel lawsuit fired Agriculture Department employee Shirley Sherrod filed …