How Smoking Ban Increases Bowling Shoes Lawsuits

It has to be the granddaddy of unintended effects of New York state's 10-year-old ban on indoor smoking: more lawsuits from clumsy bowlers. As the Albany Times-Union explains, bowling centers have seen a spike in lawsuits in recent years from bowlers who step outside for a smoke while wearing their...

Holder Backed Fox News Probe

Eric Holder has deftly sidestepped accountability for the Justice Department's spying on the AP by saying he recused himself from the case , but he can't pull the same trick in the Fox News case . The attorney general personally signed off on the search warrant targeting Fox reporter James Rosen, NBC...

IRS's Lerner Placed on Leave

The IRS official at the center of the recent scandal has been placed on administrative leave, reports the National Review . Lois Lerner had been in charge of the agency's tax-exempt unit, which singled out conservative groups for added scrutiny. Her immediate boss already has been forced into early retirement , and...

Obama Sees an End to 'Perpetual' War on Terror

In his big policy speech today, President Obama did indeed promise to rein in drone strikes —a higher threshold for targets will be required, along with a "near certainty" that no civilians will be killed—and to push once again for Gitmo's closure. The full text is here . Some highlights:...

Conservative Economists Praise the New Immigration Bill

Conservative economists appear to have gotten the memo about the GOP's new immigration-friendly stance. More than 100 of them today signed a letter praising the reform bill coming to the Senate floor, saying it would have a "positive impact on population growth, labor force growth, housing, and other markets," the...

In Major Shift, Obama Will Clamp Down on Drone Strikes

President Obama will today outline a new course against terror, including two big goals: cutting down on drone strikes and attempting, once again, to close the Guantanamo Bay prison. The speech comes after the administration yesterday admitted killing four US citizens with drones. Under new drone rules, strikes on foreign...

Tesla Pays Off US Loan 9 Years Early

Tesla has come a long way since Mitt Romney labeled it a "loser" in the presidential debates. The company has paid off its $465 million 2010 loan from the Department of Energy—plus interest—nine years before it was due, Businessweek reports. With yesterday's payment for $451.8 million, "Tesla...

Apple Case Clinches It: We Need Tax Reform Now

So what can we take away from Apple chief Tim Cook's testimony on Capitol Hill yesterday about the company's byzantine tax strategy ? Not that Apple did anything illegal, only that it's savvy enough to employ "smart accountants and tax lawyers," says the editorial board of the Wall Street Journal...

IRS Honcho Defiant in 9-Minute House Appearance

The IRS official at the center of the storm over the agency's targeting of conservative groups told Congress today that she had done nothing wrong in the episode, and then invoked her constitutional right to refuse to answer lawmakers' questions, as expected . In one of the most electric moments since...

Immigration Bill Latest Proof Democrats Suck at This

The immigration bill that emerged from the Judiciary Committee yesterday has Sally Kohn wondering—and not for the first time—if the "modern Democratic Party's strategy is secretly being bankrolled by Eli Lilly as a ploy to sell Prozac to liberals," she writes at Salon . Democrats couldn't even "stiffen their...

Dear Republicans: No One Cares About These Scandals

So-called "scandals" like Benghazi, the IRS, and AP phone record seizures have dominated political discourse in recent weeks. And yet, polls find Obama's approval rating hasn't wavered. Maybe these issues will eventually gain traction with voters, says Charlie Cook in the National Journal —but maybe regular people just don't care....

NY Rep to Okla. Senator: I'll Overlook Your Hypocrisy

You knew this was coming: Peter King, who fought hard for Superstorm Sandy aid for his home state of New York, thinks there's "a lot of hypocrisy" when it comes to lawmakers who opposed Sandy aid but are in favor of tornado aid. The subject of his attention most specifically...

Lawmaker Comes Out as Atheist During House Prayer

The Arizona House and Senate typically convene with a prayer, which members take turns delivering. But Democratic Rep. Juan Mendez did something unusual yesterday: He took the opportunity to announce that he's an atheist (he referenced his "secular humanist tradition") and encourage other members not to bow their heads in...

Bernanke to Congress: Stop Screwing the Economy

The Federal Reserve isn't planning to take its foot off the gas pedal anytime remotely soon, Ben Bernanke told Congress today, while rebuking legislators for not doing their own part to juice the economy. The Fed's interest rate has been near zero since 2008, and Bernanke said he expects it...

US Power Co. Cyberattacked 10K Times a Month

Could foreign hackers take out America's electric grid? A new congressional report says it's a very real threat, with more than a dozen of nearly 100 electric utilities surveyed reporting constant or frequent cyberattacks, Reuters reports. One utility said it was battered by a staggering 10,000 attacks a month;...

Pentagon Wants $200M— for 10-Year Gitmo Upgrade

If you're already upset about the fact that Guantanamo is still open, your head may actually explode at this next bit: The Pentagon wants Congress to grant it more than $450 million to maintain—and upgrade —the prison, according to a budget request from the Obama administration. Specifically, $200 million...

Weiner Officially Jumps Into NYC Mayoral Race

Anthony Weiner—possibly inspired by Mark Sanford's shocking comeback —has made it official: He's running for mayor of America's biggest city. The former congressman launched his run for New York City mayor with a video posted on YouTube at midnight, in which he says, "I made some big mistakes and...

Portland Again Rejects Fluoride in Bitter Vote

The good voters of Portland, Ore., have once again rejected plans to add fluoride to their water to combat tooth decay, keeping it the biggest American city without fluoridation. The city voted 60% to 40% to stay fluoride-free last night, the fourth such rejection since 1956, the Oregonian reports. Fluoridation...

Senate Panel Clears Immigration Reform

Far-reaching legislation to grant a chance at citizenship to millions of immigrants living illegally in the United States cleared the Senate Judiciary Committee on a solid bipartisan vote tonight after supporters somberly sidestepped a controversy over the rights of gay spouses. The 13-5 vote cleared the way for an epic...

IRS Figure at Center of Scandal Will Take the Fifth

She is probably the IRS official most closely linked to the agency's recent mess, but Lois Lerner plans to reveal nothing when she testifies on Capitol Hill tomorrow, reports Politico . The attorney for Lerner, who oversees the IRS nonprofits division, says his client will invoke the Fifth when she goes...

Hey, Tea Party: How Does It Feel to Be Profiled?

Imagine you're an overworked IRS employee, charged with finding, in your massive stack of 501(c)(4) applications, the groups most likely to make electioneering their main focus. Wouldn't it make a little sense to focus on self-proclaimed Tea Party groups? Sure it would. And there's a word for that shortcut, Farhad...

Now Can We Stop Cutting the Weather Service?

The National Weather Service had a warning in effect 16 minutes before yesterday's tragic Oklahoma tornado —but we may not be as prepared next time around, thanks to the sequester's 8.2% cut to the Weather Service, David Sirota writes on Salon . The organization representing weather service employees has warned...

Apple CEO on Tax Shelters: 'I'm Not an Unfair Person'

Tim Cook is on Capitol Hill today to answer criticism that Apple uses overly creative—but legal—accounting practices to avoid paying billions in taxes . The highlights amount to Cook defending the company's practices, while critics such as Carl Levin and John McCain accuse it of shirking its tax duties....

US Paid Fort Hood Suspect $278K Since Shooting

Accused Fort Hood Major shooter Nidal Hasan has collected $278,000 in salary from the military in the years since the Nov. 5, 2009, shooting that took 13 lives. The Defense Department confirms the payments to NBC Dallas/Fort Worth , and explains that it's powerless to stop them: The Military Code...

Oklahoma's Coburn: I Want Offsets to Pay for Tornado Aid

Tom Coburn represents Oklahoma, so you might expect him to call for tornado relief to flow to his state no matter the cost—but you'd be wrong. Instead, the Republican senator is demanding that all aid to his state be offset by cuts elsewhere in the budget, a spokesman tells...

Apple Kept Billions Out of IRS' Reach: Probe

A Senate inquiry into Apple has accused the company of keeping billions out of the reach of the IRS through tax havens and a complex network of overseas subsidiaries. The company runs its non-American operations through affiliates based in Ireland, which has a low tax rate. However, investigators say many...

Gov't Spied On Fox Journalist, Too

Of all the news organizations the government could spy on, it chose to tangle with ... Fox News. And this one goes further than the AP . The Justice Department examined Fox News reporter James Rosen's personal emails, phone records, and visits to the State Department, the Washington Post reports. The move...

Left Squeals Over Virginia GOPer's KKK Comparison

Virginia held its state GOP convention this past weekend and emerged with its ticket for November's statewide elections: Ken Cuccinelli, Mark Obenshain, and EW Jackson. That spurred the left to promptly trot out some of the nominees' more out-of-the-ordinary bills , claims , and comments, and no candidate is getting more press...

Bachmann Slips Behind in House Race

Things just keep getting worse for Michele Bachmann: Not only is she facing a campaign finance investigation , she's also dropping behind in the race to hold onto her House of Representatives seat, according to a new poll. The Public Policy Poll shows Democrat challenger Jim Graves leading 47% to Bachmann's...

Puerto Rico's Statehood Crusade Hits Congress

Could the US soon have a 51st state? If all goes to according to Pedro Pierluisi's plan, maybe. Pierluisi, who serves as Puerto Rico's non-voting representative in the House, filed a bill last week calling for a plebiscite on the matter, the Wall Street Journal reports. The federally approved yes-or-no...