Boehner's Epic Burn  —  You may have seen that Israeli officials announced this evening that US House Speaker John Boehner will leave at the end of March for a 10 day victory tour through Israel.  The trip, purportedly, was planned during Netanyahu's visit to Washington earlier this month …

How I unfairly maligned two Secret Service agents in POLITICO Magazine  —  It seemed like a refrain: News reports surfaced on March 11 about an incident at the White House involving drunken Secret Service agents.  The first accounts suggested that the agents' conduct was egregious and even cartoonish.

First on CNN: FBI, federal prosecutors investigating Aaron Schock  —  Washington (CNN)The FBI and the federal prosecutors in Illinois are investigating whether Rep. Aaron Schock broke the law in accounting for campaign expenses, according to people familiar with the matter.

Trillion Dollar Fraudsters  —  By now it's a Republican Party tradition: Every year the party produces a budget that allegedly slashes deficits, but which turns out to contain a trillion-dollar “magic asterisk” — a line that promises huge spending cuts and/or revenue increases …

John Boehner defies conservatives, goes bold on budget  —  The House GOP's battered leadership team is determined to score some wins.  —  Speaker John Boehner's newest tack is to go big.  —  Over the next week, the Ohio Republican and his top lieutenants plan to jam two big-ticket items through …

California proposal to legalize killing gays hard to stop  —  ›  —  ‹  —  For less than the cost of an Apple iPad, Matt McLaughlin started a statewide legal conversation.  —  An attorney from Huntington Beach, McLaughlin in late February spent $200 to propose a ballot measure …

Yemen crisis: More than 100 die in attacks on Sanaa mosques  —  Suicide bombers have attacked two mosques in Yemen's capital, Sanaa, killing at least 126 people and wounding many others, reports say.  —  Worshippers were attending noon prayers at the Badr and al-Hashoosh mosques when at least four attackers struck.

Petraeus: The Islamic State isn't our biggest problem in Iraq  —  General David Petraeus, who commanded U.S. troops during the 2007-2008 surge, was back in Iraq last week for the first time in more than three years.  He was attending the annual Sulaimani Forum, a get-together of Iraqi leaders …

These Republicans Want to Take Away Your Weekend  —  In Wisconsin, a new bill is threatening to kill workers' one day of rest. … As Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker signed the so-called “right to work” bill on March 9, making Wisconsin the twenty-fifth right-to-work state in the country …

Both Parties Are Nervous About 2016  —  Hillary is the only thing holding Democrats together, and Bushes always break the Republican Party.  —  The 2016 presidential campaign is here, pushed up prematurely by the Hillary Clinton email controversy.  When a major candidate of a major party …

McConnell Makes Changes, but Senate Gridlock Remains  —  WASHINGTON — When he became majority leader, propelled by sweeping Republican victories last year, Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky vowed to run a more productive and traditional Senate than his Democratic predecessor, Senator Harry Reid of Nevada.

Jon Stewart Asks When Fox Is Going To Hold Themselves Accountable For Their Anger And Divisiveness  —  The Daily Show's Jon Stewart took a whack at Fox “news” for the double standard when it comes to their screaming for accountability on Ferguson while refusing to hold themselves accountable for their Benghazi witch hunt.

Stephen King: LePage ‘full of the stuff that makes the grass grow green’  —  Author Stephen King turned Gov. Paul LePage's effort to kill Maine's income tax into a horror show for the governor Thursday.  —  In a weekly radio address LePage's office released on Wednesday …

Barack Obama Asks Iran to Free Jason Rezaian and Other Americans  —  President Barack Obama on Friday called on Iran to release a Washington Post reporter and two other Americans held there.  —  Mr. Obama, in a statement released by the White House, said Iran must release Post reporter Jason Rezaian …

Ben Carson: Arm Ukraine, Expand NATO, Rethink Russia's Position on UN Security Council  —  Ben Carson Confused About Whether The Baltic States Are Part Of NATO  —  Ben Carson stumbles over questions about NATO, al Qaeda  —  “I am still in the stage of rapidly learning about the political dynamics of global politics.”

Obamas may be buying ‘Magnum, P.I.’ home in Hawaii  —  When he's done being president, could Barack Obama grow a mustache, don a Hawaiian shirt, and start driving a red Ferrari?  —  Obama loves Hawaii - the land of his childhood, the place where he can retreat to spectacular beaches and shaved ice …

ATF Director B. Todd Jones Stepping Down After Nearly 4 Years on Job … The man brought into repair one of the nation's top law enforcement agencies after it was scarred by a gun-running scandal is stepping down, ABC News has learned.  —  Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Director B. Todd Jones …

Thanks for the Stock Tip, Mr. Senator  —  Inside the shadowy, poorly policed world of “political intelligence.”  —  On April 1, 2013, an hour before the markets closed, a congressional staffer named Brian Sutter passed along to a lobbyist the kind of tip that can make a savvy investor a quick fortune …

SOCIAL ISSUES … PRINCETON, N.J. — The San Francisco metropolitan area has the highest percentage of the adult population who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (LGBT) of any of the top 50 U.S. metropolitan areas, followed by Portland, Oregon, and Austin, Texas.

A Rare Total Solar Eclipse  —  By a lucky coincidence, the moon and the sun appear to be almost the same size, each subtending about half a degree of arc in diameter.  As a result, the endless and repetitive wobbly dance of the worlds causes the moon to pass directly in front of the sun every year or two …

Rick Perry in Iowa: ‘My views are the ones that matter’  —  Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry said the country is only a few conservative decisions — lower taxes, beef up the military, prevent federal intrusion into state functions — from seeing an explosion in prosperity.

Clinton's Nixonian path to office  —  The effective kickoff of Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign was an act of deck-clearing so breathtaking, so brazen, that it remains difficult to process.  —  The former secretary of state summoned reporters to the United Nations …