Franken gets last laugh  —  Republicans promised to make funnyman Al Franken a one-term senator, but look who's laughing now.  —  The Minnesota Democrat looked to be a top GOP pickoff target next year after his agonizing seven-month recount and legal battle put him in the Senate in 2009 by a mere 312 votes.

Sweeping Leak Inquiries Reveal How Wide a Net U.S. Has Cast  —  WASHINGTON — Even before the F.B.I. conducted 550 interviews of officials and seized the phone records of Associated Press reporters in a leak investigation connected to a 2012 article about a Yemen bomb plot …

Dole: ‘I doubt’ I could make it in today's GOP  —  Former Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole says he doesn't believe he could make it in the modern Republican Party.  —  “I doubt it,” he said in an interview aired on “Fox News Sunday” when asked if his generation of Republican leaders could make it in today's GOP.

In North Carolina, unimpeded GOP drives state hard to the right  —  RALEIGH, N.C. — Backed by throngs of chanting supporters, dozens of liberal demonstrators are subjecting themselves to arrest each Monday at the state legislature here to protest a flurry of bills that could transform North Carolina …

Can 44 Subtract 43 From the Equation?  —  DALLAS — DO we dare to hope that the Bush administration is finally at an end?  —  After four years of bending the Constitution, the constitutional law professor now in the White House is trying to unloose the Gordian knot of W.'s martial and moral overreaches after 9/11.

California Faces a New Quandary, Too Much Money  —  LOS ANGELES — After years of grueling battles over state budget deficits and spending cuts, California has a new challenge on its hand: too much money.  An unexpected surplus is fueling an argument over how the state should respond to its turn of good fortune.

Okla. Gov. Fallin fears ‘red tape’ will slow tornado recovery  —  Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin (R) on Sunday said she was worried about bureaucratic “red tape” slowing down the recovery from a deadly tornado in her state.  —  Speaking on CNN's “State of the Union,” Fallin said she has had a …

GOP Congressman ‘Offended’ By Moral Questions Obama Addressed In Counterterror Speech  —  The House Homeland Security Committee chairman said on Sunday that he was “offended” that President Obama considered moral questions about U.S. counterterrorism policy in his major speech on national security last week.

‘A’ Is for Avoidance  —  Even before last week's Senate hearing on Apple, it was clear that the aggressive use of tax havens and other tax avoidance tactics had become standard operating procedure for global American companies.  —  Microsoft and Hewlett-Packard were the focus …

Eleven people across UK arrested for making ‘racist or anti-religious’ comments on Facebook and Twitter about British soldier's death  — Benjamin Flatters, 22, appeared in court today charged with making ‘malicious comments’ on the social networking site  — Faith Matters …

Obamacare's Other Surprise  —  LISTENING to the debate about President Obama's health care plan, some critics argue that Obamacare is going to need Obamacare — because it's going to be a “train wreck.”  Obama officials insist they're wrong.  We'll just have to wait and see whether the Affordable Care Act …