Meet The 7 Democrats Who Just Voted Down A Civil Rights Nominee For Supporting Civil Rights  —  Civil Rights nominee Debo Adegbile speaks before the Supreme Court  —  Debo Adegbile, who previously served as the acting head of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, is one of the nation's top civil rights attorneys.

Exclusive: RT Anchor Liz Wahl Explains Why She Quit  —  Liz Wahl wasn't just disgusted by the Kremlin-funded TV network's handling of Ukraine, she says in an exclusive interview.  RT's coverage of the entire world “made me feel sick.”  —  American journalist Liz Wahl just made Vladimir Putin's enemies list.

Ranking Dem Flips Out At IRS Hearing After Issa Cuts His Mic  —  Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) had looked forward to Wednesday.  —  The chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee planned to haul former IRS official Lois Lerner back before the committee.

Probe: Did the CIA spy on the U.S. Senate?  —  WASHINGTON — The CIA Inspector General's Office has asked the Justice Department to investigate allegations of malfeasance at the spy agency in connection with a yet-to-be released Senate Intelligence Committee report into the CIA's secret detention …

Why Putin Doesn't Respect Us  —  Just as we've turned the coverage of politics into sports, we're doing the same with geopolitics.  There is much nonsense being written about how Vladimir Putin showed how he is “tougher” than Barack Obama and how Obama now needs to demonstrate his manhood.

‘Upskirt’ Photos Not Illegal, Mass. High Court Rules  —  BOSTON — A man who took cellphone photos up the skirts of women riding the Boston subway did not violate state law because the women were not nude or partially nude, Massachusetts' highest court ruled Wednesday.

27 Democrats support House GOP measure to delay ObamaCare penalty  —  Twenty-seven Democrats on Wednesday sided with House Republicans on a bill to delay tax penalties for failing to buy health insurance this year under ObamaCare.  —  The vote, which reflects growing Republican frustration …

Republican Rand Paul: There ‘should be a struggle to make the party better’  —  Washington (CNN) - Sen. Rand Paul delivered a fervent plea Wednesday to expand the Republican Party and make the GOP more compassionate toward those “who aren't treated fairly by the criminal justice system,” …

Vladimir Putin nominated for Nobel Peace Prize  —  Shares -  —  OSLO — Russian President Vladimir Putin has been nominated for the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize — but the conflict in Ukraine is also likely to be on the Nobel committee's agenda.  —  A record 278 candidates, including 47 organizations …

Rep. Alvin Holmes says white Republican lawmakers would abort mixed-race grandchildren (audio)  —  MONTGOMERY, Alabama — A debate Tuesday over a bill to ban abortions after a fetal heartbeat is detected turned to race after Rep. Mary Sue McClurkin, R-Indian Springs, compared her bill to Brown vs. the Board of Education.

Facebook cracks down on gun posts, sales  —  Facebook is cracking down on gun-related posts.  —  The social media giant is blocking minors from seeing postings of gun sales and will take down sales that don't require a background check or cross state lines.

Arizona Sen. Gallardo discloses he's gay  —  FONT:  —  State Sen. Steve Gallardo, D-Phoenix, disclosed he is gay at a news conference Wednesday morning, saying the furor over Senate Bill 1062 prompted his decision to go public.  —  “Two weeks ago was a difference, Feb. 19 was an actual game changer …

Welcome to Paradise  —  When Germany legalised prostitution in 2002 it triggered an apparently unstoppable growth in the country's sex industry.  It's now worth 15 billion euros a year and embraces everything from 12-storey mega-brothels to outdoor sex boxes.  Nisha Lilia Diu visits some of them to find out who won and who lost

A New SAT Aims to Realign With Schoolwork  —  Saying its college admission exams do not focus enough on the important academic skills, the College Board announced on Wednesday a fundamental rethinking of the SAT, ending the longstanding penalty for guessing wrong, cutting obscure vocabulary words and making the essay optional.

Some Policies Get More Time in Health Shift  —  WASHINGTON — The Obama administration, grappling with continued political fallout over its health care law, said Wednesday that it would allow consumers to renew health insurance policies that did not comply with the new law for two more years …