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Author: David McCumber, Washington Bureau Chief

Despite Cruz stance, GOProud invited to CPAC

In an effort to back away from its historically polarizing stance on social issues, the American Conservative Union announced Wednesday that its annual Conservative Political Action Conference invited GOProud, the same gay-friendly conservative group that was banned from last year’s conference, to attend this year’s events in March.

5 newsmakers to remember, 5 to forget in 2013 — and 10 to watch in 2014

Since there just aren’t enough list stories out there this year, here’s my effort to make up for this glaring deficit in American journalism. It’s three list stories in one: 5 newsmakers to remember in 2013, 5 to forget and 10 to watch in 2014.

Investigative reporter Lambrecht to join Hearst Washington Bureau

Bill Lambrecht, an award-winning reporter who has worked for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch for more than three decades and for the past seven years has been the Post-Dispatch’s bureau chief, is joining Hearst Newspapers’ Washington Bureau as an investigative reporter.

Republican approval rating falls to lowest point in Gallup poll history

Republicans seem to be playing “how low can you go.” Just 28 percent of Americans have a favorable impression of the GOP, according to the latest monthly Gallup tracking poll. The number ” is the lowest favorable rating measured for either party since Gallup began asking this question in 1992,” the polling company stated.

Yes, they said that: 10 best #shutdown quotes

Quotes on the shutdown  pinging around the Twitterverse this morning: 1. Pride in accomplishment: “The House has done its work.” — Speaker of the House John Boehner. 2. When jumping off the cliff just isn’t enough: “Lemmings with suicide vests.” — U.S. Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif., describing his GOP House colleagues. 3. We have met  

On countdown to shutdown, spotlight remains on Cruz

As a federal government shutdown looms over the Republican effort to defund Obamacare, the spotlight remains sharply focused on GOP Senator Ted Cruz of Texas. Some of the weekend’s highlight quotes from, to and about Cruz: From Cruz on Meet the Press Sunday morning: – “In my view, Harry Reid should call the Senate back  

Supreme Court knocks out part of Voting Rights Act; Voter ID now the law in Texas, AG says

A divided U.S. Supreme Court  found a key provision of the Voting Rights Act unconstitutional Tuesday,  crippling one of the primary elements of federal civil rights law. In an opinion written by Chief Justice John Roberts, the court found that the formula used by the Act to determine whether a jurisdiction must get federal approval  

Newtown witnesses testify powerfully at assault-weapons ban hearing

Continuing coverage of the Judiciary Committee’s hearing on Sen. Feinstein’s proposed assault-weapons ban: The crowd at the hearing, boisterous at other times, was utterly hushed as Newtown’s Neil Heslin, father of 6-year-old Newtown victim Jesse Heslin, testified, the father’s grief pouring across the room like a tsunami wave. Most of the Republican members of the