Did the Assault-Weapons Ban Kill Gun Control?  —  The Democrats' likely failure to reinstate the assault-weapons ban is a blow to gun-control efforts, writes Adam Winkler.  And that's not because the ban was effective or necessary.  —  Sen. Harry Reid announced Tuesday that he would not be including …

The Secret Gingrich-Santorum ‘Unity Ticket’ That Nearly Toppled Romney  —  It's one of the great untold stories of the 2012 presidential campaign, a tale of ego and intrigue that nearly upended the Republican primary contest and might even have produced a different nominee …

Treasure Island Trauma  —  A couple of years ago, the journalist Nicholas Shaxson published a fascinating, chilling book titled “Treasure Islands,” which explained how international tax havens — which are also, as the author pointed out, “secrecy jurisdictions” where many rules don't apply — undermine economies around the world.

In Israel, Obama draws race parallel  —  JERUSALEM—On his stops in the Holy Land Thursday, President Barack Obama turned again and again to a subject not obviously connected to the current troubles in the mideast: the struggles of African Americans in the United States.

Ryan's budget rejected in Senate on 40-59 vote  —  The Senate rejected House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan's (R-Wis.) budget Thursday night.  —  Senate Budget Committee Chairwoman Patty Murray (D-Wash.) forced Senate Republicans to vote on Paul's plan through an amendment she offered, which failed on a 40-59 vote.

Banks Are Too Big to Fail Say ... Conservatives?  —  Members of the Federal Reserve don't usually make the rounds at partisan gatherings.  But amid the tri-cornered hats and “#StandWithRand” buttons of last week's Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC)—the largest annual gathering …

Simple Plan  —  Of all the vast literature on the current plight of the Republican Party, this fairly simple statement from Rich Lowry makes the most sense to me: … Now to be sure, Jack Kemp's reputation as an idea man is being considerably inflated by Lowry.  But it's the right idea.

Ohio's Republican Governor Endorses Civil Unions, Then Takes It Back  —  John Kasich's office says he was using the term “loosely” when he said he supported civil unions.  —  Image by Rick Osentoski / AP  —  Ohio Republican Gov. John Kasich said he favored civil unions …

Behold the Hatred, Resentment, and Mockery Aimed at Anti-Iraq War Protesters  —  Reflecting on the apologetic Iraq War retrospectives many writers have published in recent days, Freddie deBoer observes that “one of the most obvious and salient aspects of the run up to the war” is being ignored …

All signs point to no lethal chemical weapons attack in Syria  —  As the Syrian regime and rebels trade accusations of an alleged lethal chemical weapons attack yesterday, chemical weapons experts say there is no evidence that attack occurred.  —  BEIRUT  —  An alleged chemical weapons …

Republicans keep grip on K Street  —  Democrats control the White House and the Senate, but you wouldn't know it by looking down K Street.  —  Republicans hold more than 30 of the 50 highest-profile, in-house lobbying jobs in town, a POLITICO analysis found.

Is Hillary Clinton Too Conservative To Become President?  —  While she was at the State Department — and out of politics for four years — Clinton's party was moving to the left, and fast.  “Now that she's unshackled by the boundaries of her office, she'll step up the mic,” says Singer.

Noonan: Can the Republican Party Recover From Iraq?  —  The war almost killed the GOP.  Whether it can come back is yet to be seen.  —  The air has been full of 10th-anniversary Iraq war retrospectives.  One that caught my eye was a smart piece by Tom Curry, national affairs writer for NBC News …

West Virginia paper's anti-LGBT column wants death for ‘n*ggers, spics, kikes and wops’  —  A newspaper in West Virginia is defending its decision to publish a reader's racist and homophobic comments, which called for “queers” to be put to death along with “n*ggers, spics, kikes and wops.”

Battle Brews Over Labor Demands As Immigration Talks Enter Home Stretch  —  “Every time you make progress... the unions come in the next day and throw something else on the table.  They keep moving the goal posts,” says a lobbyist.  —  WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 21: Members of the group Casa …

Yoko Ono Tweets John Lennon's Bloody Glasses  —  Yoko Ono joined the U.S. gun debate when she tweeted a picture of the blood-stained glasses her husband, John Lennon, was wearing when he died.  Lennon, one of the Beatles, died in 1980 after being shot in the back four times at the couple's New York City apartment by a crazed stalker.

1 Person Killed at Quantico Marine Base  —  One person was killed in a shooting at the Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia Thursday night, forcing the entire base to go on lockdown.  —  The shooter, believed to be a Marine, is barricaded inside a barracks building near the east side …

How the Secret Service Almost Shot Mahmoud Ahmadinejad  —  The intelligence brief on the apparent accident was three sentences long, and it scared the hell out of White House officials.  —  One morning in September 2006, during the United Nations General Assembly, President George W. Bush's …