Israel's shield no more?  —  Officials say they are revisiting the U.S. stance in light of Netanyahu rolling back his support of a Palestinian state.  —  In the wake of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's decisive re-election, the Obama administration is revisiting longtime assumptions …

As ratings plunge, MSNBC faces shakeup  —  Insiders say to expect more news, less bombast and, fresh voices.  —  It would be hard to imagine a news event better tailored to MSNBC's Venn diagram of “lean forward” liberals and “place for politics” political junkies.

Democratic support for Hillary Clinton softens: Reuters/Ipsos poll  —  (Reuters) - Democratic support for Hillary Clinton's expected presidential campaign is softening amid controversy over her use of personal email when secretary of state, but most Democrats are for now sticking by their party's presumed candidate.

Napolitano Says 'We Don't Have To Listen To This Crap' As Half-Naked Students Protest Potential UC Tuition Hikes  —  SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) - University of California President Janet Napolitano remarked to a fellow regent that they “didn't have to listen to this crap” as underwear-clad …

Obama: Maybe it's time for mandatory voting  —  Story highlights  —  (CNN)How do we offset the influence of big money in politics while fixing the country's abysmal voter turnout rate?  —  President Barack Obama suggests it might be time to make voting a requirement.

Pregnant woman's baby cut from womb after answering Craigslist ad; suspect ID'd, 911 tape released … LONGMONT, Colo. — A 26-year-old woman who was seven months pregnant is recovering in the hospital after she was stabbed while answering a Craigslist ad for baby clothes and her fetus was cut from the womb …

White Parents On Fox News Condemn School's Black History Month Event  —  A segment on Thursday morning during the Fox News program “Fox & Friends” featured an all-white panel demanding an “apology” from a school district in Virginia for a Black History Month event about police brutality.

Fiscal hawks scuttle House Republican budget efforts  —  Negotiations to resolve a dispute over defense spending blew up Wednesday night in the House Budget Committee, as the panel came up short of approving a nearly $3.8 trillion Republican blueprint.  —  Budget Chairman Tom Price (R-Ga.) …

Jeb Bush's forgotten father-in-law  —  Bush says his Mexican father-in-law abandoned his family to work in the U.S. That's not how his other relatives remember it.  —  Aides to Jeb Bush have said that his wife Columba's father left her family in Mexico when he immigrated to America.

Kaiser Health Tracking Poll: March 2015  —  Bianca DiJulio, Jamie Firth, and Mollyann Brodie … Opinion Of ACA Five Years After Passage  —  The health care law has been politically divisive since its passage in March 2010.  However, the gap between favorable and unfavorable opinions …

Judge sends strong message with teacher's sentence  —  DETROIT — Saying there is no room for double standards, an Oakland County judge sentenced a 30-year-old female teacher to spend the next six to 15 years in prison for having a sexual relationship with a student.

AP Exclusive: Iran limited to 6K centrifuges in draft accord  —  6 photos  —  LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AP) — A draft nuclear accord now being negotiated between the United States and Iran would force Iran to cut the amount of hardware it could use to make an atomic bomb by about 40 percent …

Arabic version of Pledge of Allegiance at Pine Bush High School ignites furor  — What began as an effort to celebrate national Foreign Language Week at Pine Bush High School has imploded into a raging controversy that has divided the school into angry factions.  —  » RELATED CONTENT

Google, Intel, and TAG Heuer Team Up on Luxury Smartwatch  —  Watch industry, consider yourself warned … Swiss watchmaker TAG Heuer is creating a smartwatch in partnership with American technology companies Google and Intel.  The watch is an attempt to compete with devices by consumer-electronics makers …

ISIL may have committed war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide: UN report  —  The so-called Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) may have committed all three of the most serious international crimes - namely war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide …

Jeb Bush and Ludacris Implore Georgia Lawmakers to Consider the Kids  —  The two crossed paths today in Atlanta.  —  They didn't arrive together, but potential Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush and rapper/actor Ludacris crossed paths in the Georgia Capitol on Thursday …

Warren has Fed chief's ear  —  Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen is upping her outreach to Capitol Hill, and one lawmaker is attracting the largest amount of her attention: Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.).  —  A review of Yellen's meeting records, obtained by The Hill …

Sen. Ted Cruz seeks to upend D.C. laws on contraception coverage, gay rights  —  Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.), a conservative torchbearer and potential presidential contender, turned his attention to local D.C. politics Wednesday by introducing a measure in Congress to upend one new city law regarding discrimination …

Earth had warmest winter on record  —  The Earth just had its warmest winter on record, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced Wednesday.  —  Winter is defined as the months of December, January and February in the Northern Hemisphere, and 90% of the world's population lives in the Northern Hemisphere.