US Sen. Frank Lautenberg dies at 89  —  Frank R. Lautenberg, who rose from a poor Paterson boyhood to become a multimillionaire businessman and New Jersey's longest-serving U.S.senator, died Monday at 89 of viral pneumonia, his office said.  —  The oldest member of the Senate …

David Plouffe rips Darrell Issa ‘loose ethically’  —  Former White House senior adviser David Plouffe took to Twitter to question Rep. Darrell Issa's ethics after the California Republican trashed press secretary Jay Carney.  —  “Strong words from Mr Grand Theft Auto and suspected arsonist/insurance swindler.

Report: How GOP lost young voters  —  A new postmortem on the November elections from the nation's leading voice for college Republicans offers a searing indictment of the GOP “brand” and the major challenges the party faces in wooing young voters, according to a copy given exclusively to POLITICO.

Immigration reform deal hangs on border security  —  The Gang of Eight's hopes for a Senate supermajority is running into the GOP's push for a dramatic crackdown on border security — testing the limits of the bipartisan coalition that's propelling the bill through Congress.

The Geezers Are All Right  —  Last month the Congressional Budget Office released its much-anticipated projections for debt and deficits, and there were cries of lamentation from the deficit scolds who have had so much influence on our policy discourse.  The problem, you see …

Mayhem in the city: 25 people shot in 48 hours  —  Three killed Sunday after three were killed Saturday.  One of the wounded includes an 11-year-old girl who will never walk again.  —  Cops check the scene of a deadly gun battle at Bedford Ave. and Lenox Road in Brooklyn on Sunday.

Devoted to Politics, MSNBC Slips on Breaking News  —  At MSNBC they view it as rooting against death and destruction: the last thing the channel wants is more months like the last two, filled with terror bombings, tornadoes and plant accidents.  —  It's not all altruism.

‘Constitutional crisis’ if Lords reject gay marriage, senior peer warns  —  The Government could be plunged into a “constitutional crisis” if members of the House of Lords reject plans for gay marriage this week, a senior peer has warned.  —  Opponents of the Same Sex Couples Bill …

Inside The Meltdown At America's Most Conservative, Most Christian Political Consulting Firm  —  Rex Elsass built a Republican empire on his faith, but he found himself battling his closest allies over his immortal soul.  —  DELAWARE, Ohio — About 30 miles north of Columbus …

China Is Reaping Biggest Benefits of Iraq Oil Boom  —  BAGHDAD — Since the American-led invasion of 2003, Iraq has become one of the world's top oil producers, and China is now its biggest customer.  —  China already buys nearly half the oil that Iraq produces, nearly 1.5 million barrels a day …

THE PRESIDENT AND THE PRESS  —  In 1969, when nothing excited the public's interest like the depredations of drug fiends, the Louisville Courier-Journal sent a reporter named Paul Branzburg to penetrate Kentucky's marijuana underground.  He published eyewitness accounts …

Marsha Blackburn: Women 'Don't Want' Equal Pay Laws  —  Republican congresswoman Marsha Blackburn said on Sunday that women “don't want” equal pay laws.  —  During a roundtable discussion on NBC's Meet The Press, former White House advisor David Axelrod asked if she would support a law promoting workplace gender equality.