Brewer's Foolish Veto  —  In addition to the federal government, 18 states have such statutes and about a dozen other states interpret their state constitutions as extending the same protections, according to the letter.  The statutes, the scholars write, “say that before government can burden …

GCHQ intercepted webcam images of millions of Yahoo users worldwide  —  • Optic Nerve program collected Yahoo webcam images in bulk  —  • 1.8m users targeted by UK agency in six-month period alone  —  • Yahoo: ‘A whole new level of violation of our users’ privacy'

Bradley A. Smith: Connecting the Dots in the IRS Scandal  —  The ‘smoking gun’ in the targeting of conservative groups has been hiding in plain sight.  —  The mainstream press has justified its lack of coverage over the Internal Revenue Service targeting of conservative groups because there's been no …

Cruz won't promise to stay out of primaries  —  Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) on Thursday didn't rule out involvement in GOP primaries this year against incumbent Republican senators.  —  Cruz said he had made no “ironclad promise” to stay out of the primaries.  —  “What I have said is that I'm likely …

Most Americans disappointed in Obama's presidency, poll says  —  Shares -  —  Amid continued pessimism about the economy and direction of the country, 59 percent of Americans say they are disappointed in Mr. Obama's presidency (including 37 percent who are very disappointed); 40 percent are satisfied.

Ukraine leader warns Russia after armed men seize government HQ in Crimea  —  (Reuters) - Armed men seized the regional government headquarters and parliament in Ukraine's Crimea on Thursday and raised the Russian flag, alarming Kiev's new rulers, who urged Moscow not to abuse its navy base rights …

Clinton endorses looking at Obamacare fixes, but defends law  —  Orlando (CNN) - Hillary Clinton backed efforts to alter Obamacare on Wednesday, but also used her remarks to a health care group in Florida to offer a full defense of the sweeping and controversial law.

Republicans flip-flop on ‘judicial activism’  —  There was a time not too long ago when Republicans decried “activist judges.”  Now they're lamenting that judges are not being activist enough.  —  “Unfortunately, the courts have been reluctant to exercise their constitutionally conferred power …

New F.D.A. Nutrition Labels Would Make ‘Serving Sizes’ Reflect Actual Servings  —  WASHINGTON — The Food and Drug Administration for the first time in two decades will propose major changes to nutrition labels on food packages, putting calorie counts in large type and adjusting portion sizes to reflect how much Americans actually eat.

Was Bush Really a Champion of Democracy?  —  For five years now, it's happened again and again.  A dictatorship somewhere wobbles, protesters crowd the streets, and the Obama administration strikes a careful tone, urging respect for human rights while trying to safeguard various American interests.

Paula Deen Compares Her Struggles to ‘That Black’ Openly Gay NFL Prospect Michael Sam  —  The celebrity chef also expressed a newfound “empathy” for other controversial public figures such as “Duck Dynasty” star Phil Robertson  —  Paula Deen's $100 million empire crumbled last year …

Generic Ballot Model Shows Senate Control at Tipping Point  —  Look for more partisan conflict and polarization in new Senate  —  Crystal Ball Senior Columnist Alan Abramowitz's discussion of his Senate elections model not only confirms how close we expect the 2014 Senate campaign will be …

Insurers become O-Care foot soldiers  —  Insurance companies are serving as foot soldiers for ObamaCare with a multimillion-dollar ad campaign intended to push customers into the insurance exchanges.  —  Though the companies are reluctant to publicize their role in the unpopular law …

UPDATED: House subcommittee tosses discrimination elements from religious freedom bill  —  The Mississippi House of Representatives Civil Subcommittee late Wednesday voted to strike provisions of a so-called “religious freedom” bill that the ACLU and other legal experts said invites widespread discrimination …

De Blasio's school fight: Column  —  New York disagreement over charter schools spotlights Democrat vs. Democrat battle.  —  Most non-New Yorkers know only two things about Bill de Blasio, the city's new progressive mayor: He eats pizza with a knife and fork, and Al Roker attacked him for sending students to school in a snowstorm.

Obama's Pipeline  —  WASHINGTON — WHEN I was elected to Congress in 2002, George W. Bush was president and big business wrote environmental policy.  We all remember Vice President Dick Cheney's energy task force — a who's who of mining and oil interests — and the administration's constant questioning of climate science.

Joe Biden in winter  —  “The only thing I know is I ain't changing my brand.  I know what I believe.  I'm confident in what I know.  And I'm gonna say it.  And if folks like it, wonderful.  If they don't like it, I understand.”  —  Vice President Joe Biden and I were riding the Amtrak to Philly on a frigid February day.