A Rand Paul rout in CPAC straw poll  —  NATIONAL HARBOR, Md.—Rand Paul handily won the presidential straw poll at the Conservative Political Action Conference Saturday, one gauge of the Republican base's mood less than two years before the 2016 primary season kicks off.

Obama to Dems: It's time to worry  —  The election is coming, the election is coming!  —  That's the message coming from President Obama as he tries desperately to rouse Democrats out of a midterm election stupor that could cost his party control of the Senate — and bury his agenda once and for all.

Leading Republicans Move to Stamp Out Challenges From Right  —  WASHINGTON — As conservative activist groups stirred up trouble for establishment Republican Senate candidates in 2010 and 2012, party leaders in Washington first tried to ignore the insurgents, then tried to reason with them …

Malaysia Airlines plane vanishes over South China Sea; Vietnamese reportedly spot oil slicks  —  BEIJING — Vietnamese air force planes have spotted two large oil slicks that officials believe are from a Malaysia Airlines flight that suddenly vanished from air traffic control screens …

Mitt Romney gathers top advisers for campaign reunion in Utah  —  Is Mitt Romney getting the band back together?  —  The 2012 Republican presidential nominee has invited his debate prep advisers and senior campaign aides to his mountaintop chalet in Park City, Utah, for a weekend of skiing later this month …

Little R-S-P-E-C-T  —  WASHINGTON — IF you can't spell it, you can't get it.  —  President Obama pulled a Quayle Thursday night at a White House performance by the women of soul and muffed the title of Aretha Franklin's anthem.  “R-S-P-E-C-T,” he said, looking a bit confused and eliciting laughter.

Is US losing new cold war?  —  If there is a new cold war with Russia, many observers believe the U.S. is losing it.  —  First under President George W. Bush and now under President Obama, the U.S. and Vladimir Putin's Russia have engaged in a series of foreign policy battles — and Putin has repeatedly got his way.

McConnell waves musket, falls flat at CPAC  —  The normally sharp-shooting Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell may have misfired on Thursday when he took to the stage at the Conservatives Political Action Conference brandishing a gun.  —  The gun was actually an award from the National Rifle Association …

Has the Conservative Political Action Conference Purged the Kooks?  —  The annual conservative confab was notable for who wasn't there.  —  Pete Marovich/Mct/ZUMA  —  In the bowels of the National Harbor convention center in suburban Maryland on Thursday, a nonprofit called Empact America …

Is Ben Carson 2016's sleeper candidate?  —  Neurologist Ben Carson could be 2016's sleeper presidential contender.  —  You won't find him in early polls, and he doesn't make headlines for huddling with top advisers in primary states.  —  Carson is lauded for his plainspoken yet forceful ability …

Reaching My Autistic Son Through Disney  —  In our first year in Washington, our son disappeared.  —  Just shy of his 3rd birthday, an engaged, chatty child, full of typical speech — “I love you,” “Where are my Ninja Turtles?”  “Let's get ice cream!”  — fell silent.  He cried, inconsolably.

The IRS's behavior taxes credulity  —  What's been said of confession — that it is good for one's soul but bad for one's reputation — can also be true of testifying to Congress, so Lois Lerner has chosen to stay silent.  Hers, however, is an eloquent silence.