McConnell Throws in Towel on DHS Fight, but Reid Is Waiting for Boehner to Cave (Updated)  —  Updated 5:20 p.m. |  In an extraordinary sequence of events, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell offered Democrats exactly what they have been asking for Tuesday — “clean” full-year funding for the Department of Homeland Security.

Obama: Keystone pipeline bill ‘has earned my veto’  —  WASHINGTON — President Obama vetoed a bill Tuesday that would have approved the Keystone XL pipeline, making good on a threat to reject a proposal embraced by Republicans as a jobs measure but opposed by environmentalists as contributing to climate change.

As Republicans Concede, F.C.C. Is Expected to Enforce Net Neutrality  —  WASHINGTON — Last April, a dozen New York-based Internet companies gathered in the Flatiron Building boardroom of the social media website Tumblr to hear dire warnings that broadband providers were about to get the right …

The disappeared: Chicago police detain Americans at abuse-laden ‘black site’  —  The Chicago police department operates an off-the-books interrogation compound, rendering Americans unable to be found by family or attorneys while locked inside what lawyers say is the domestic equivalent of a CIA black site.

Federal Officials Close Investigation Into Death of Trayvon Martin  —  The Justice Department announced today that the independent federal investigation found insufficient evidence to pursue federal criminal civil rights charges against George Zimmerman for the fatal shooting of Trayvon Martin on Feb. 26, 2012, in Sanford, Florida.

Nevada Lawmaker Says Cancer Is A Fungus, Recommends Simply Washing It Out  —  CREDIT: AP Photo/Cathleen Allison, File  —  Nevada Assemblywoman Michele Fiore (R) wants to reform the rules of end-of-life medical care so that more cancer patients can simply flush out their disease using baking soda.

Rev. Graham: America is ‘Morally Crumbling Within ... We Have Turned Our Back on God’  —  “Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani has taken a lot of heat from the media for his remark that he's not sure if President Obama really loves America,” said Rev. Graham in a Feb. 24 Facebook post.

50 years after Selma, John Lewis on unfinished business  —  Shannon Rae Green, Darr Beiser, Paulo Fugen  —  WASHINGTON — John Lewis rubs the scar, still visible on his forehead, from the blow of a nightstick as Alabama state troopers assaulted the civil-rights marchers he was leading across …

Former L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa won't run for U.S. Senate  —  Former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa announced Tuesday that he would not enter the race for Barbara Boxer's seat in the U.S. Senate, leaving state Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris as the only major candidate.

Ron Paul: Black Caucus Only Against War Because They Want That Money For Food Stamps  —  “They are really against war because they want all of that money to go to food stamps for people here.”  —  w.soundcloud.com  —  Former Republican Rep. Ron Paul, the father of potential presidential candidate Rand Paul …

Research Shows White Privilege Is Real  —  NEW HAVEN — THE recent reunion show for the 40th anniversary of “Saturday Night Live” re-aired a portion of Eddie Murphy's 1984 classic “White Like Me” skit, in which he disguised himself to appear Caucasian and quickly learned that …

Obama Aide Calls Netanyahu's Planned Visit ‘Destructive’ to U.S.-Israel Ties  —  WASHINGTON — Susan E. Rice, President Obama's national security adviser, sharply criticized Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel on Tuesday over his plans to address a joint meeting of Congress next week …

Clinton '16 Would Give Gender More of a Role Than Clinton '08 Did  —  SANTA CLARA, Calif. — The last time Hillary Rodham Clinton ran for president, she seemed torn over whether to emphasize her chance to make history, or to play down her gender and reassure voters that she was tough enough for the job.