Security scrutinized in White House breach  —  WASHINGTON — The Secret Service is coming under intense scrutiny after a man who hopped the White House fence made it all the way through the front door before being apprehended.  —  President Barack Obama and his daughters had just departed …

Why Joe Biden's Gaffes Don't Matter  —  Though the vice president has a long history of blunders, they've rarely impacted his career.  —  Joe Biden misspeaking, or going too far, isn't news.  The vice president's gaffe history is legendary; mistakes are expected.  But three slips in the space of a mere 24 hours?

Rice case: purposeful misdirection by team, scant investigation by NFL  —  The seven-month scandal that is threatening Roger Goodell's future as NFL commissioner began with an unexpected phone call in the early morning hours on a Saturday in February.  —  Just hours after running …

Financial Criminals Have Been Fined Billions, but They Rarely Pay  —  On a plane earlier this week, I watched The Wolf of Wall Street.  The film's outsized antics—public masturbation, the tossing of little people, lots and lots of Quaaludes—seemed too big for a seatback screen, or, for that matter, reality.

Kerry Says Iran Has Role in Defeating Islamic State  —  U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said Iran has a role to play in an international coalition to take on Islamic State extremists.  —  “The coalition required to eliminate ISIL is not only, or even primarily, military in nature,” …

Groups edge in on Klayman NSA surveillance case  —  Two civil liberties groups are edging in on conservative gadfly Larry Klayman's legal challenge to National Security Agency surveillance.  —  On Friday, the American Civil Liberties Union and the Electronic Frontier Foundation asked to join …

Kansas Senate Ballots Will Be Sent Out Without Dem Nominee Listed  —  In an apparent reversal, Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach's office is instructing election officials in the state to send out overseas military ballots without Democratic Senate nominee Chad Taylor or any other Democratic Senate candidate listed.

Report: Obama to personally sign off on any Syria airstrikes  —  President Obama has asked to personally sign off on all airstrikes against Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) targets in Syria, according to a report from the Wall Street Journal.  —  Obama has reportedly set far …

NBC says it was wrong on Chris Christie report  —  NEWARK - NBC says a report by Brian Williams on the network's Nightly News that federal charges have been ruled out for Gov. Chris Christie in the George Washington Bridge scandal was incorrect.  —  Is Christie off the hook?

There Are Social and Political Benefits to Having Friends  —  Somebody recently asked me what I would do if I had $500 million to give away.  My first thought was that I'd become a moderate version of the Koch brothers.  I'd pay for independent candidates to run against Democratic …

DOD tackles NFL over violence allegations  —  Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel has asked for an accounting of the Defense Department's ties to the National Football League, the Pentagon said Friday, as the Obama administration leans on the NFL over its handling of players' alleged domestic violence.