Lawmakers, aides may get Obamacare exemption  —  Congressional leaders in both parties are engaged in high-level, confidential talks about exempting lawmakers and Capitol Hill aides from the insurance exchanges they are mandated to join as part of President Barack Obama's health care overhaul, sources in both parties said.

CIA pushed to add Boston bomber to terror watch list  —  The CIA pushed to have one of the suspected Boston Marathon bombers placed on a U.S. counterterrorism watch list more than a year before the attacks, U.S. officials said Wednesday.  —  Russian authorities contacted the CIA in the fall …

George W. Bush library: More 9/11, less Cheney and Rove  —  UNIVERSITY PARK, Texas — George W. Bush was a wartime president, and his new museum won't let you forget it.  —  High ceilings mean visitors can hear the wail of sirens on Sept. 11 across adjoining rooms, as Bush bellows resolutely: “Today our nation saw evil.”

Fourth explosion in fuel barge fire  —  MFRD: More explosions a concern  —  MOBILE, Ala (WALA) - UPDATE: 10:07 p.m. - Mobile Mayor Sam Jones said Mobile Fire-Rescue will let the fire burn out on its own to prevent further injuries.  —  9:50 p.m. - A fourth explosion just occurred around 9:50 p.m …

Rhode Island Becomes 10th State To Approve Marriage Equality  —  The Rhode Island Senate just voted 26-12 to approve marriage equality, guaranteeing that The Ocean State will be the 10th state to allow same-sex couples to legally marry.  Because the Senate made some revisions to the bill …

Steve Kush, New Mexico GOP Official, Calls 19-Year-Old Labor Advocate ‘A Radical B*tch’  —  Steve Kush, the chairman of Bernalillo County Republican Party in New Mexico, called a 19-year-old Working America volunteer a “radical bitch” on Twitter Tuesday night after she testified …

Anthony Weiner 'can't say' if other pics exist  —  Anthony Weiner admitted in an interview Wednesday that there might be other embarrassing photos of him out there that have yet to surface.  —  In the one-on-one with RNN-TV, Weiner didn't deny that there was a possibility there could be other photos …

Breaking: Saudi Student Alharbi Visited the White House Several Times  —  HOLY CRAP-  —  Saudi student Abdul Rahman Ali Issa Al-Salimi Al-Harbi was injured in the Boston Marathon Bombings.  —  He was once a “person of interest” in the bombings.  He was put on a terror watch list after the bombings.

Escapee from psychiatric hospital slashes rabbi, son with box-cutter outside Paris synagogue  —  PARIS — An escapee from a psychiatric institution slashed a rabbi and his son with a box-cutter on Tuesday, prompting witnesses to tackle and subdue the attacker after a chase through a Paris synagogue, officials said.

GE Capital Cuts Off Lending to Gun Shops  —  General Electric Co. is quietly cutting off lending to gun shops, as the company rethinks its relationship to firearms amid the fallout from the school shooting in Newtown, Conn.  —  This month, Glenn Duncan, owner of Duncan's Outdoor Store in Bay City …

Illinois shootings: Suspect helped wounded girl after killing 5  —  Brad Teeter, whose mother-in-law and niece were among the five people fatally shot in Manchester, Ill., today discusses the crime.  —  After he shot his way into a home in the small town of Manchester …

Exclusive: Verizon eyes $100 billion bid for Vodafone's Wireless stake  —  (Reuters) - Verizon Communications has hired advisers to prepare a possible $100 billion cash and stock bid to take full control of Verizon Wireless from its partner Vodafone, two people familiar with the matter said.

Judge Denies FBI Request to Hack Computer in Probe  —  A judge in Texas denied a request by the Federal Bureau of Investigation this week for what he describes as a warrant to remotely “hack a computer suspected of criminal use,” raising questions about the legal requirements for the government …

In Florida, a food-stamp recruiter deals with wrenching choices  —  FORT PIERCE, Fla. — A good recruiter needs to be liked, so Dillie Nerios filled gift bags with dog toys for the dog people and cat food for the cat people.  She packed crates of cookies, croissants, vegetables and fresh fruit.

U.S. Sees No Conclusive Evidence of Chemical Arms Use by Syria  —  WASHINGTON — The Obama administration shares the suspicions of several of its allies that the Syrian government has used chemical weapons, a senior official said Wednesday, but it lacks the conclusive evidence that President Obama …