Before Shooting in Iraq, a Warning on Blackwater  —  WASHINGTON — Just weeks before Blackwater guards fatally shot 17 civilians at Baghdad's Nisour Square in 2007, the State Department began investigating the security contractor's operations in Iraq.  But the inquiry was abandoned …

Charlatans, Cranks and Kansas  —  Two years ago Kansas embarked on a remarkable fiscal experiment: It sharply slashed income taxes without any clear idea of what would replace the lost revenue.  Sam Brownback, the governor, proposed the legislation — in percentage terms …

How Hillary Won Over the Skeptical Left  —  The surprising source of Clinton's invincibility  —  Jay Brown is a blunt-talking doctor from Ames, Iowa, the kind of guy who believes the biggest threats to the republic are the Koch brothers, Rupert Murdoch, and the corporatization of politics.

IRS staredown not going away  —  A top GOP investigator and former IRS official Lois Lerner's lawyer squared off on Sunday, underscoring that the battle over the agency's improper scrutiny of Tea Party groups isn't going anywhere this election year.  —  House Oversight Chairman Darrell Issa …

Why We Can't Talk About Gun Control  —  When one writer suggested that guns can be regulated without anyone's rights being infringed, he lost his job.  Dick Metcalf told his story this morning to a skeptical crowd.  —  ASPEN, Colo. — “I pose this question, Mr. Metcalf, as a hunter of birds.

Men's rights conference takes aim at feminism  —  ST. CLAIR SHORES, Michigan - At what was billed as the first annual international conference on men's issues, feminists were ruining everything.  —  “I call it the evil empire,” Erin Pizzey, the British founder of one of the first domestic violence shelters …

New N.S.A. Chief Calls Damage From Snowden Leaks Manageable  —  FORT MEADE, Md. — The newly installed director of the National Security Agency says that while he has seen some terrorist groups alter their communications to avoid surveillance techniques revealed by Edward J. Snowden …

Rove blasts Obama's executive actions: ‘This is imperial power’  —  Karl Rove, a former White House adviser to President George W. Bush, said Sunday that President Obama takes greater liberties with his executive power than his predecessor did.  —  Speaking to “Fox News Sunday,” …

Violent Weekend Leaves 21 Shot Across The Five Boroughs  —  NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) - It was a violent night in New York City after at least 21 people were shot in incidents spanning each of the five boroughs.  —  As CBS 2′s Janelle Burrell reported, one of the shootings happened on Staten Island …

Bush Campaign Advisor: Sending Troops Into Iraq Was A Huge Mistake The First Time  —  Matthew Dowd, the former chief strategist for the Bush-Cheney '04 presidential campaign, said that it was a mistake America got involved in fighting in Iraq the first time.

Bob McDonald, former P&G chief, to be Obama's nominee to lead Veterans Affairs  —  President Obama on Monday will nominate Bob McDonald, a West Point graduate who served as the chief executive of Procter & Gamble, to take over as head of the troubled Department of Veterans Affairs, according to White House officials.

Rep. McAllister schedules Monday news conference — likely to reveal whether he'll run for re-election  —  Vance McAllister, John Boehner, Kellyy McAllister  —  House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, left, holds a ceremonial swearing-in for newly-elected Rep. Vance McAllister …