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 …

Disparate Theories on Fate of Jet as Search Grows  —  SEPANG, Malaysia — As military aircraft and a flotilla of ships from a half-dozen nations combed the waters south of Vietnam on Sunday for signs of a jet with 239 people onboard that vanished a day earlier, the authorities …

The Fat Drug  —  IF you walk into a farm-supply store today, you're likely to find a bag of antibiotic powder that claims to boost the growth of poultry and livestock.  That's because decades of agricultural research has shown that antibiotics seem to flip a switch in young animals' bodies, helping them pack on pounds.

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.

What Is It About CPAC?  —  In a Q&A I held yesterday at The Hive (sub req), a reader asked (in so many words), What is it about CPAC?  Every year it totally takes over the political news space.  There's wall to wall coverage.  Netroots Nation, which is also held every year …

Clinton Super PAC ‘Ready For Hillary’ Gets Readier  —  Hillary Clinton's shadow presidential campaign is shifting into overdrive with the ‘Ready For Hillary’ Super PAC's website getting a makeover  —  This weekend is a big one for the juggernaut Hillary Clinton for President shadow campaign.

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.

George Zimmerman appearance at Florida gun show draws blanks  —  George Zimmerman, the former neighborhood watchman who was acquitted of the shooting and killing of unarmed teenager Trayvon Martin, failed to draw many fans at an Orlando gun show on Saturday, according to the NY Daily News.

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 …

Meet ‘Oblasio’: De Blasio's turning into Obama's twin  —  When a politician denounces politics, you know he's feeling the heat.  When that politician is Bill de Blasio and he aims his ire at charter schools, the media and taxpayers, you know his brain is stuck in reverse.

Liberty, Equality, Efficiency  —  Most people, if pressed on the subject, would probably agree that extreme income inequality is a bad thing, although a fair number of conservatives believe that the whole subject of income distribution should be banned from public discourse.

American State Dept. Spokesman: “Palestinians need not recognize the Jewish state”  —  Despite Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's continued requests of the Palestinians to recognize Israel as a Jewish state within the framework of negotiations for peace, the American State Department spokeswoman …