Report: Pol, staffer caught kissing  —  Freshman GOP Rep. Vance McAllister (La.) - who ran as conservative Christian - has been caught on video in a romantic encounter with a woman believed to be on his congressional staff just before Christmas.  —  The Ouachita Citizen, a newspaper based in West Monroe …

Al Sharpton's Secret Work As FBI Informant  —  Untold story of how activist once aided probes of NYC wiseguys  —  When friends and family members gathered recently at the White House for a private celebration of Michelle Obama's 50th birthday, one of the invited partygoers was a former paid FBI Mafia informant.

Tea Party's great dunce-off: How Ted Cruz is quietly kicking Rand Paul's butt  —  A little-noticed speech tells all you need to know about the right fringe — and why Cruz gets it more than Paul  —  There's been a lot of chatter recently about certain GOP presidential hopefuls' religious pilgrimage …

Michael Hayden under fire for Dianne Feinstein comment  —  Senate Democrats ripped former CIA Director Michael Hayden on Monday for describing Sen. Dianne Feinstein as “emotional,” calling Hayden's remarks both a “baseless smear” and condescending.  —  Hayden on Sunday said that the Senate …

WH says its gender pay gap ‘better than the national average’  —  The White House on Monday looked to deflect criticism over its own pay policies ahead of an event Tuesday on lessening wage discrimination.  —  White House press secretary Jay Carney was peppered by questions from reporters …

Bush Aides Push Jeb To Run For President  —  “We have a responsibility to make sure Jeb runs.”  The future at the celebration of the past.  —  AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee  —  COLLEGE STATION, Texas — More than a hundred Republican Party elders gathered this weekend in Texas to celebrate George H.W. Bush's legacy.

House Turns Up the Heat on Lerner, Pursues Criminal Charges  —  The House Ways and Means Committee, led by outgoing chairman Dave Camp, will vote this week to ask the Department of Justice to pursue criminal charges against former Internal Revenue Service employee Lois Lerner.

Silicon Valley scares Americans: Column  —  After the NSA spying scandal, many don't trust the techies of Google and Facebook.  —  Silicon Valley has a trust problem, and it's growing.  Some of this is the result of National Security Agency spying — and the tech community's cooperation with same …

Jonathan Chait's epic race fail: How a story about racism and Obama goes horribly wrong  —  New York magazine's cover story suggests liberals are paranoid, MSNBC is like stop-and-frisk — and other oddities  —  I'm glad Jonathan Chait told us that his poorly argued, slightly paranoid …

California Senate erases websites of 3 lawmakers, including Leland Yee  —  by The Associated Press The California Senate has erased the names and online archives of three suspended lawmakers entangled in criminal cases.  —  The Senate removed pictures, video clips and legislative archives …

Foster Friess's Obamacare-Hitler parody  —  Republican mega-donor Foster Friess is offering a parody video targeting Obamacare...starring Adolf Hitler.  —  The nearly-four minute segment, posted at FosterFriess.com and, as first reported by the Daily Beast, blasted out to his email list …

Vandals Flip Over Smart Cars in San Francisco  —  Someone's been vandalizing compact Smart cars in San Francisco, flipping the tiny vehicles on their front and rear ends in the city's streets.  —  NBC Bay Area found four of the targeted Smart cars between Sunday night and Monday morning.

Maryland Gov. O'Malley will sign marijuana decriminalization bill, he says  —  Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley (D) said Monday that he will sign a bill decriminalizing possession of small amounts of marijuana.  —  On a 34-to-8 vote, the Senate gave final approval to the legislation Monday afternoon.

The less Americans know about Ukraine's location, the more they want U.S. to intervene  —  Where's Ukraine?  Each dot depicts the location where a U.S. survey respondent situated Ukraine; the dots are colored based on how far removed they are from the actual country, with the most accurate responses …

Senate Passes Unemployment Benefits Extension  —  The Senate approved a bipartisan unemployment benefits extension Monday, with six Republicans joining Senate Democrats to clear the measure.  —  The measure passed 59 to 38 with all Democrats in attendance voting for the bill.

‘Leaving in a hurry,’ hundreds of residents chase Westboro protesters out of Oklahoma town  —  MOORE, Okla. - Hundreds of Moore residents lined Broadway across from Central Junior High Sunday afternoon.  —  They were ready and waiting for members of the notorious Westboro Baptist Church.

The ‘77 Cents on the Dollar’ Myth About Women's Pay  —  Once education, marital status and occupations are considered, the ‘gender wage gap’ all but disappears.  —  April 8 is “Equal Pay Day,” an annual event to raise awareness regarding the so-called gender wage gap.