NSA Said to Exploit Heartbleed Bug for Intelligence for Years  —  The U.S. National Security Agency knew for at least two years about a flaw in the way that many websites send sensitive information, now dubbed the Heartbleed bug, and regularly used it to gather critical intelligence, two people familiar with the matter said.

Obama hits GOP on voting rights  —  President Barack Obama struck hard at restrictive voting rights laws Friday, calling them a Republican political tactic conceived to address a made-up problem.  —  Pretending that there's widespread impropriety, he said, is just about keeping Democrats from winning.

Social Security, Treasury target taxpayers for their parents' decades-old debts  —  A few weeks ago, with no notice, the U.S. government intercepted Mary Grice's tax refunds from both the IRS and the state of Maryland.  Grice had no idea that Uncle Sam had seized her money until some days later …

Michael Isikoff Out at NBC News  —  First on TVNewser: This is Michael Isikoff's last day at NBC News, TVNewser has learned.  —  Isikoff joined NBC News in 2010 as a Washington, DC-based investigative correspondent, after 16 years with Newsweek.  The news comes three months …

Here's George W. Bush Telling A Very Dirty Joke At A Civil Rights Summit (VIDEO)  —  Former President George W. Bush showed off his ribald side on Thursday at a summit commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act.  —  Bush used the event's venue, Lyndon Johnson's presidential library …

Who Watches More Porn: Republicans Or Democrats?  —  Let's take a look at the body politic, shall we?  Turns out that porn is a highly accurate predictor of presidential politics.  —  BuzzFeed teamed up with Pornhub to take a look at who watches the most porn, red states or blue states.

Why Gay-Marriage Opponents Should Not Be Treated Like Racists  —  Liberals generally think of themselves as proponents of tolerance, pluralism, and diversity.  Some liberals are also eager to stigmatize and punish opponents of gay marriage.  Is that a betrayal of their values?

‘A Disgraceful Act’  —  The distinguished intellectual historian Jeffrey Herf, whose Ph.D. is from Brandeis, has written an eloquent and powerful letter to Brandeis president Fred Lawrence.  Prof. Herf concludes: … Here's the complete letter, well worth reading in full.

President Obama and Vice President Biden's 2013 Tax Returns  —  Today, the President released his 2013 federal income tax returns.  He and the First Lady filed their income tax returns jointly and reported adjusted gross income of $481,098.  The Obamas paid $98,169 in total tax.

WH RT: ‘Kathleen Sebelius Is Resigning Because Obamacare Has Won’  —  The first official word from the Obama administration on Kathleen Sebelius's resignation as secretary of health and human services is a retweet by the official White House Twitter account of a tweet by Vox.com's Ezra Klein:

Picking Colbert to replace Letterman?  CBS really screwed up  —  Stephen Colbert is a comedy genius because he's perfected the art of saying the opposite of what he believes.  —  That's right: Stephen Colbert invented sarcasm.  —  So huzzah for the trailblazing, game-changing …

CIA's use of harsh interrogation went beyond legal authority, Senate report says  —  WASHINGTON — A still-secret Senate Intelligence Committee report calls into question the legal foundation of the CIA's use of waterboarding and other harsh interrogation techniques on suspected terrorists …

Mike Ellis drops out of state Senate race  —  Secretly recorded video revealed discussion of illegal political action committee  —  By Patrick Marley and Jason Stein of the Journal Sentinel  —  Madison — State Senate President Mike Ellis dropped out of his re-election race Friday …

GOP congressman to announce retirement  —  Washington (CNN) - Add Rep. Tom Petri to the growing list of House members who are retiring at the end of the year rather than running for re-election.  —  The Wisconsin Republican's office put out a statement Friday that the 17-term congressman …

Americans Remain Negative Toward Healthcare Law  —  Forty-three percent approve, 54% disapprove  —  PRINCETON, NJ — With the open enrollment period for obtaining health insurance through a federal government exchange now over, Americans' views on the broader healthcare law remain more negative than positive.

Kevin McCarthy sends GOP to school  —  Rep. Kevin McCarthy is assigning some recess-week homework to House Republicans.  —  The House majority whip is asking Republicans to visit charter schools in their districts during the two-week break in hopes of boosting support ahead of a pending House vote to increase funding for the schools.

Miss. Senate Candidate Chris McDaniel Distances Himself from Comments on Reparations and ‘Mamacita’  —  Mississippi state senator Chris McDaniel is widely regarded as the Tea Party candidate with the best shot of knocking off an incumbent U.S. senator in a GOP primary this year.

Marsha Blackburn to “Test the Waters” for 2016 Bid  —  PORTSMOUTH, N.H. — Tennessee Congresswoman Marsha Blackburn will consider running for president in 2016 — if she sees an opportunity to do so, an aide to the 7th District Republican told RealClearPolitics.

Global Image of U.S. Leadership Rebounds  —  Median approval rating of 45% in Asia is highest on record  —  WASHINGTON, D.C. — After hitting a low point at the end of President Barack Obama's first term, U.S. leadership ratings worldwide rallied in 2013 as he began his second.