Republicans, Led by Rand Paul, Finally End Filibuster  —  Updated WASHINGTON — A small group of Republicans, led by Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky, stalled the Senate on Wednesday by waging a nearly 13-hour old-school, speak-until-you-can-speak-no- more filibuster over the government's use …

Republicans emerge from Obama dinner optimistic about deficit deal  —  Senate Republicans are more optimistic about the prospect of a grand bargain on the deficit after an intimate dinner with President Obama Wednesday evening in downtown Washington.  —  Obama and a dozen Republicans discussed …

‘A Big New Power’  —  Years from now, when the Supreme Court has come to its senses, justices then sitting will look back on the spring of 2013 in bewilderment.  On what basis, they will wonder, did five conservative justices, professed believers in judicial restraint, reach out to grab …

GRAPHIC: Woman packing heat, drugs in private parts  —  WARNING: Content could be considered graphic to some audiences.  —  ADA, Okla. - An unusual and graphic case in Pontotoc County leads police to a bizarre find inside a female suspect.  —  It began at Dairy Lou Drive Inn in Ada.

Alvin Lee Is Going Home: ‘Ten Years After’ Guitarist Dies … Guitarist Alvin Lee, whose incendiary performance with the British band Ten Years After was one of the highlights of the 1969 Woodstock festival, has died. … He was 68.  Lee's website says he “passed away early this morning …

Arkansas Adopts Strictest Abortion Law in the U.S.  —  In the sharpest challenge yet to Roe v. Wade, Arkansas adopted Wednesday what is by far the country's most restrictive ban on abortion, at 12 weeks of pregnancy, around the time that a fetal heartbeat can be detected by abdominal ultrasound.

Fed: Obama's health law leading to layoffs  —  The Federal Reserve on Wednesday released an edition of its so-called “beige book,” that said the 2010 healthcare law is being cited as a reason for layoffs and a slowdown in hiring.  —  “Employers in several Districts cited the unknown effects …

Michelle Obama and John Kerry to Honor Anti-Semite and 9/11 Fan  —  On Friday March 8, Michelle Obama will join John Kerry at a special ceremony at the State Department to present ten women the Secretary of State's International Women of Courage Award.  The award, says the press release …

The Professors' Big Stage  —  I just spent the last two days at a great conference convened by M.I.T. and Harvard on “Online Learning and the Future of Residential Education” — a k a “How can colleges charge $50,000 a year if my kid can learn it all free from massive open online courses?”

Big One-Year Jump In Atmospheric CO2 Brings Climate Catastrophe Closer  —  The amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere underwent one of its biggest single-year jumps ever in 2012, according to researchers at the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration.

Cut government spending?  Sure....in theory.  —  Americans broadly support an across-the-board cut in spending for a government often seen as wasteful, but there is wide opposition to blanket cuts to the military, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.

Virginia Republican: It Can Be Better To Be Uninsured Than On Medicaid … Wealthy investor and Republican candidate for Virginia Lt. Governor Pete Snyder released a new campaign ad Wednesday criticizing bipartisan efforts to expand Medicaid under Obamacare.

Bearing Arms: Congressional Sportsmen's Foundation Promotes Gun Lobby Access  —  On a Monday evening in early February, two months into a national debate over gun violence after the massacre at a Connecticut elementary school, representatives of the firearms industry were wining and dining lawmakers in Washington.

Mideast Defies U.S. Bid to ‘Pivot’  —  CAIRO—The Obama administration hopes to “pivot” away from a hyper-focus on the Middle East during its second term, but John Kerry's maiden overseas mission as secretary of state—a nine-nation odyssey across Europe and the Persian Gulf—highlighted why that goal may be elusive.