U.S. Economy Unexpectedly Contracts in Fourth Quarter  —  Private-Sector Hiring Rose by 192,000 in January, ADP Reports  —  WASHINGTON—U.S. economic momentum screeched to a halt in the final months of 2012, as businesses pared back inventories and government spending fell sharply …

Gabrielle Giffords' husband smacks down Wayne LaPierre  —  Perhaps the most important moment so far in today's Senate Judiciary hearing on guns came when astronaut Mark Kelly directly confronted NRA head Wayne LaPierre over the shooting of his wife, Gabrielle Giffords.

SYRIA CONFIRMS ISRAELI JETS BOMBED MILITARY SITE  —  You are here  —  Home » Israel » Syria confirms Israeli jets bombed military site  —  BEIRUT (AP) — Israel conducted a rare airstrike on a military target inside Syria, foreign officials and Syrian state TV said Wednesday …

William ‘Mo’ Cowan is Governor Deval Patrick's pick to serve as interim US senator  —  William “Mo” Cowan is Governor Deval Patrick's choice to serve as the interim US senator until the successor to John F. Kerry is chosen by the voters June 25, according to a source in the governor's office.

I Don't Like Marco Rubio's Plan  —  There.  I said it.  —  You'd be surprised how long it has taken to say this.  I've let multiple friends vet the various drafts of posts I've written on this and they all wind up arguing with each other over the details.  Is it amnesty or isn't it?

White House Blames GDP Drop On Republicans  —  “It's not a game — it's the American economy,” Carney scolds.  —  Press Secretary Jay Carney briefs reporters at the White House in Washington, Monday, Jan. 28, 2013.  —  Image by Charles Dharapak / AP  —  WASHINGTON — White House Press …

Tennessee 'Don't Say Gay' Bill Now Requires Teachers To Inform Parents If Their Child Is Gay  —  Tennessee's so-called 'Don't Say Gay' bill died with the adjournment of the state assembly last year.  But now the measure is back — with new, harsher requirements.

President Obama's popularity surges to three-year high  —  President Obama is riding a wave of personal popularity into his second term, with his highest favorability ratings since his first year in office, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.  —  Fully 60 percent of Americans …

EXCLUSIVE: Actor Jim Nabors marries his longtime male partner  —  Jim Nabors, the Hawaii resident well known for his starring role in the 1960s television sitcom “Gomer Pyle, USMC,” married his longtime male partner early this month, he told Hawaii News Now Tuesday.

Gayle Trotter Testimony Captivates Senate Gun Control Hearing  —  Gun Control, Video, Second Amendment, Senate Gun Control, Senate Gun Hearing, Gayle Trotter, Gayle Trotter Gun Control, Gayle Trotter Gun Rights, Gayle Trotter Senate Hearing, Women And Guns, Women Gun Control, Politics News

FBI wraps up raid at West Palm Beach office of doctor tied to U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez  —  Agents with the FBI and HHS continued their search Wednesday of a South Florida eye doctor who last year was accused of providing prostitutes to longtime ally Sen. Bob Menendez, a New Jersey Democrat.

MSNBC ‘reviewing’ Newtown ‘heckled’ video  —  Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy  —  MSNBC is reviewing its portrayal of the testimony of Neil Heslin, the father of a Sandy Hook victim, at a legislative hearing in Hartford on Monday.

Biden defends new foreign policy team in interview with CNN  —  Washington (CNN) - With controversial Defense Secretary nominee Chuck Hagel set to face harsh questioning in his confirmation hearing Thursday, Vice President Joe Biden is defending the administration's new foreign policy team …

CNN ‘Starting Point’ Staffers Brace Themselves  —  The announcement that CNN is totally revamping its morning show and scrapping Soledad O'Brien's “Starting Point” has sent shivers through her staff.  —  Insiders tell us Executive VP Ken Jautz and VP Bart Feder addressed the staff after the show went off the air today.

Obama administration takes steps to implement individual mandate  —  The Obama administration took new steps Wednesday toward implementing the individual mandate in its signature healthcare law, downplaying the scope of the unpopular provision by stressing rules that allow exemptions from the requirement to purchase insurance.

Why I hate Twitter  —  The social sharing tool was once a vision.  Now it's a prison  —  S  —  oren Dayton and Rob Bluey — two conservative tech geniuses — talked me into joining Twitter during a lunch Ed Morrissey organized at an Iraqi restaurant in Minneapolis during the 2008 Republican convention.

Fox News ratings hit 12-year low  —  Fox News had its worst ratings since 2001 in January, according to the latest figures.  —  The network had a 12-year low in the coveted 25-54 demographic in primetime and fell to its lowest total day ratings since 2008, a press release from rival cable channel MSNBC stated on Tuesday.

Girl who performed at Obama inaugural events slain on South Side  —  A 15-year-old girl who got the chance to perform in Washington for the President's inauguration was shot to death after leaving school yesterday.  —  After taking their exams Tuesday, Hadiya Pendleton and a group …

Making Voting Constitutional  —  In Fairfax County, Virginia, a voter holds their voting permit and ID card at the Washington Mill Elementary School near Mount Vernon, Tuesday, November 6, 2012.  Fairfax County is a Washington suburb with more than 1 million residents and is the biggest battleground …

Video Games Are ‘A Bigger Problem Than Guns,’ Says Actual U.S. Senator  —  On MSNBC today, U.S. senator Lamar Alexander (a Tennessee Republican) set a new benchmark for insanity by claiming that games are worse than guns.  —  “I think video games is a bigger problem than guns …