“That’s why I like getting out of the Washington echo chamber whenever I can – because too often, our politics aren’t focused on the same things you are,” Obama said in his weekly address. “Working hard. Supporting your family and your community. Making sure your kids have every chance in life.”

The president traveled to Baltimore Friday, where he sought to shift the spotlight away from the controversies that are taking a hit on his administration. While he didn't address the trio of dust-ups - the renewed attention on the Benghazi attack, the IRS targeting of political groups and the Justice Department's subpoena of Associated Press phone records - the president made it clear that the country's main priority is improving the economy.

Obama spoke at a dredging manufacturing company and made visits to a nearby community center and an elementary school that provides comprehensive early childhood education and services, including the federal program Head Start.

Last week the president kicked off his jobs tour in Austin, where he met with groups of students, local residents, entrepreneurs and tech professionals. He announced an executive action that creates manufacturing institutes in part sponsored by the federal government.

In his weekly address, Obama highlighted his economic policies since taking office but argued there was more work to be done.

“In a little over three years, our businesses have created more than 6.5 million new jobs. And while our unemployment rate is still too high, it’s the lowest it’s been since 2008. But now we need to create even more good, middle-class jobs, and we need to do it faster,” he said.

The president added he plans to visit more cities and vowed “to work with both parties in Washington to make progress” on the economy.

"It's the IRS that will be responsible for enforcing many of these regulations. If we've learned anything this week, it's that the IRS needs less power, not more," Rep. Andy Harris of Maryland, an anesthesiologist of nearly 30 years' experience, said Saturday in the Republican weekly address.

The Republican-controlled House passed for the third time a repeal of Obamacare this week, a measure that has little chance of going anywhere in the Senate. The vote marked the 37th time Republicans have attempted to eliminate the 2010 law.

Adding fuel to their fire this week was the controversy in which the IRS admitted to targeting conservative groups applying for tax exempt status during the past three years. Two top officials stepped down over the ordeal, a scandal that drew scorn from President Obama and Treasury Secretary Jack Lew.

While the outgoing IRS commissioner, Steven Miller, said the over-scrutinizing of the groups amounted to "foolish mistakes," he maintained in a congressional hearing Friday that they were not conducted out of political bias.

Republicans, however, used the controversy to further criticize health care reform, as the IRS is tasked with implementing many of the law's provisions. Lawmakers also highlighted the fact that the current director of the Affordable Care Act office in the IRS used to head up the agency's tax exempt/government entities office, the same department taking heat over the recent dust-up with conservative groups.

"You can't make this stuff up," Harris said in the address.

With several of the health care reforms taking effect next year, Republicans are drumming up more opposition to the law. Harris argued the law's mandate to purchase health insurance would "turn lives upside down" and fears of rising costs are discouraging small business owners from hiring new workers.

"Obamacare is knocking Americans off the ladder of opportunity, and the sooner we repeal it, the sooner we can start fixing health care for working families," said the congressman, who was elected in 2010.

Americans remain divided over Obamacare. Forty-six percent disapprove of the law, while 41% approve of the 2010 health care reform act, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released last month.

Forty-one percent said the law will not affect them, while 37% say it will hurt rather than help, the poll showed.

– CNN's Deirdre Walsh contributed to this report.

In his 2007 memoir, "What a Party," the former Democratic National Committee chairman details times when his job kept him busy, like when he left his wife in the car to attend a fundraiser on the way home from the hospital where she had just given birth.

The book also gives an account where Dorothy apparently instructed McAuliffe to go to a Washington Post party while she was in labor because McAuliffe was going "stir-crazy" and driving his wife "nuts." So he went.

And when Dorothy was in labor with their son in 1993, McAuliffe got into a near-shouting match with her doctor about health care reform, according to an excerpt from the book.

Some Republicans, including the Republican National Committee and Republican Governors Association, have used the passages to criticize McAuliffe through social media.

Real family man, that Terry McAuliffe: goo.gl/615uZ—
The RGA (@The_RGA) May 01, 2013

Meanwhile, spokespersons for Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, the Republican candidate, have highlighted articles about the excerpts via Twitter.

RT @RyanNeilLund: @TerryMcAuliffe Got Into an Argument About Socialized Medicine During His Son's Birth- The Atlantic theatlantic.com/politics/archi…—
Anna Nix (@AnnaKNix) May 02, 2013

But Dorothy McAuliffe responded in a statement Friday, saying she was "surprised" that Republicans had "latched" onto the anecdotes. "Terry and I had a lot of fun writing the book; it was a great opportunity to relive some of the experiences we've had in our over 25 years together."

"While Terry has always been there for me, I can stand on my own two feet and say that Mr. Cuccinelli should know that he will have me to answer to if he wants to intrude on our family life for political attacks," she later added.

Praising McAuliffe as a "wonderful husband and devoted father," she said McAuliffe receives wide support from women on the campaign trail.

A Quinnipiac University poll released Thursday indicated McAuliffe indeed had more support among women, 47%-33%, than his opponent. Cuccinelli, however, carries men, 44%-38%.

Among all registered voters, McAuliffe has a slight advantage over Cuccinelli, 43% – 38% in the Quinnipiac poll, and a small 43%-41% advantage in a recent NBC/Marist poll. When looking at likely voters, however, the race flips with Cuccinelli jumping ahead, 45% to 42%, in the NBC/Marist survey.

A Washington Post poll taken earlier this month, however, showed Cuccinelli ahead of McAuliffe, 46%-41%, among registered voters.

Responding to Dorothy McAuliffe's defense of her husband's book, Cuccinelli's senior campaign strategist Chris LaCivita said: "With all due respect, those aren't our words. Those are Terry's words in his own voice."

The winner of November's showdown will succeed Republican Gov. Bob McDonnell.

– CNN Chief Political Correspondent Candy Crowley contributed to this report.

The Wisconsin Republican and former vice presidential nominee was frustrated that Miller, who was briefed on the controversial IRS practices last May, failed to mention it in subsequent letters to Congress and in hearing testimony just two months later.

Five separate House committees are investigating facets of the attack and its aftermath, and the five chairmen compared notes on Thursday at a meeting organized by House Speaker John Boehner and Majority Leader Eric Cantor.

Just like what Candice Glover–the newly minted "American Idol"–faced as she failed to make it far in the singing contest the first two times she auditioned.

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She also happens to be from Sanford's home state of South Carolina.

In his first week back in Congress, Sanford congratulated Glover on the House floor and pointed to her resilience.

"I think that her story ultimately is inspirational because what she does is she teaches and reminds every one of us of the importance of this simple notion of trying, trying and trying yet again," he said.

Sanford made a major comeback of his own recently, winning a special election in South Carolina's 1st Congressional District after tarnishing his reputation with a controversy which included a 2009 extramarital affair. He was governor at the time finishing out his second term in 2011.

Trying to re-enter politics, he faced a tough battle in this spring's special election but ultimately pulled out a win against his Democratic opponent, Elizabeth Colbert Busch.

Read his full remarks about Glover below:

"I have the pleasure of rising today to congratulate Lowcountry native and St. Helena Island's own Candice Glover on winning the title of American Idol. She is the daughter of John and Carol Glover and Candice is a graduate of Beaufort High School and I think that her story ultimately is inspirational because what she does is she teaches and reminds every one of us of the importance of this simple notion of trying, trying and trying yet again – because it was in fact on her third attempt that she actually made it and it made all the difference. I was there for a hero's welcome just a couple weeks ago in Beaufort, South Carolina and I can only imagine the welcome she will now receive. She was then one of 3, she won this week. Her career is one that started at Oaks True Holiness Church back home at the age of 4 wherein she was singing literally to the lord. It was only the beginning and as South Carolina's new Congressman from the 1st Congressional District I speak for many who could not be more proud of Candice for indeed the way she reminds every one of us of the importance of trying, trying and trying yet again. Congratulations Candice."

"Gomez is against battling assault weapons," the ad says. "And Gomez is against banning high-capacity magazines like the ones used in the Newtown school shooting."

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A lone gunman opened fire at Sandy Hook Elementary School last December, killing 20 children and six educators. The massacre took place one state over from Massachusetts.

The ad praises Markey for taking on the National Rifle Association and fighting for "common sense laws to stop gun violence."

Gomez released a statement on Friday saying, "Exploiting a tragedy for political gain is sick."

As a father and former Navy SEAL, Gomez also noted in his statement that he was horrified by the shootings in Newtown and knows firsthand "what happens when bad people get access to guns."

The National Republican Senatorial Committee quickly responded to the ad, also claiming it politicized the Newtown tragedy, tweeting: "Disgusting, Deplorable and Desperate Attack Ads on Former Navy SEAL Par for the Course for Markey."

Markey campaign spokesman Andrew Zucker addressed the Republican response to the spot, saying in a statement, "If Gabriel Gomez agrees with his national GOP handlers that Massachusetts families don't care about preventing gun violence, he should speak up and say so, instead of crying foul over advertisements that highlight his own opposition to banning deadly assault weapons and limiting high-capacity magazines."

"There are very real differences between Ed Markey and Gabriel Gomez on critically important issues such as preventing gun violence, and no amount of feigned outrage by Gomez or the national Republicans will change that," he continued.

The special election between Markey and Gomez will take place on June 25 to fill the seat of former Massachusetts Senator John Kerry, who was appointed to Secretary of State by President Obama in January.

NOT AN ACT OF PARTISANSHIP: IRS official denies intentional political targeting, lying to Congress… A huge increase in workload, rather than deliberate targeting, led to "foolish mistakes" and the political discrimination in the Internal Revenue Service cited by an inspector general's report, the agency's outgoing commissioner said Friday. – Tom Cohen

STATE POLITICS: First on CNN: Gun battle in states heats up as NRA steps in to recall Colo. Senate president… The national battle over guns is headed to the states in a major way. Already groups supporting more gun restrictions have been active on the local level. And now for the first time in almost two decades, the National Rifle Association is attempting to coordinate the recall of a top state legislator for having successfully passed further gun restrictions in his state, CNN has learned. – Jake Tapper

MARKET WATCH: Fourth straight week of stock gains sends Dow and S&P to record highs.

TRAIL TRIVIA
(Answer below)
What states are only represented by two female U.S. senators?

MARK (@PrestonCNN) & DAN (@DanMericaCNN)
What caught our eye today in politics

Three years out from the 2016 presidential election, the list of possible Democratic candidates is long. There are the obvious: former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Vice President Joe Biden. The dark horses: former Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer and Virginia Sen. Mark Warner.

And then there are the governors, specifically, Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

O’Malley has been fairly open about his interest in the presidency and has been beefing up his national profile in the past year. In the first five months of 2013, the Maryland legislature has tightened gun laws, repealed the death penalty and legalized medical marijuana. And in 2012, the state legalized same-sex marriage after O’Malley championed the measure.

Not to be outdone, Cuomo has also helped his state legalize same-sex marriage in 2011 and tightened gun laws in 2013. The New York Democrat has also proven in his time in Albany that he can fundraise effectively and work with the Democratic establishment.

If a governor is to win the Democratic nomination, Cuomo and O’Malley appear to be the most likely candidates. But they both can’t win, so who, between Cuomo and O’Malley, is the more likely to win the 2016 presidential nomination?

We reached out to our followers on Facebook, Twitter and email and here are the best responses.

In a possible tip to the fact that neither O’Malley nor Cuomo has high name ID, most people said they would rather see someone like Clinton or Biden, instead of the two governors.

Kimberly Hay: Hillary! With O'Malley as VP

Kyle Sinks: We want Hillary!!!!

Joey A. Lloyd: HILLARY 2016

While O’Malley was nearly shut out – with very little support – results for Cuomo were mixed. There were a number of people who were openly against his candidacy…

Joshua Isley: I certainly hope not Cuomo.

Scott David Diamond: Yea, NY is having too many scandals with the Dems. So, no on Cuomo.

… while he also had his supporters.

Adam Van Dale: Cuomo

Tim Nelson: I would hope Cuomo, he is my favorite Governor!

And then there was this.

Ben Johnson: Rand Paul

the LEDE
Did you miss it?

Leading CNNPolitics: Weiner: Decision on mayoral run coming 'soon'
Anthony Weiner will announce soon whether he's running for New York City mayor, the former congressman said Friday. He's already said he's eyeing a run, and has taken steps signaling he'll jump into the race, including publishing a detailed policy document about his plans for the city. – Adam Reiss

Leading CNN Opinion: Obama's troubles not related to race
Older industrial-age government is what President Obama insists upon. His administration still wants to control health care, retirement, the economy and almost everything else top-down, politically and artificially from distant palaces of marble. They want to run America from a bureaucracy so vast, its actions can't be known, even by those responsible for them. Yet the failure of Barack Obama's old ideas about governing may not be the most disappointing element of his legacy. – Alex Castellanos

Leading Drudge: IRS Hid Probe Until After Election
NBC's Lisa Myers reported this morning that the IRS deliberately chose not to reveal that it had wrongly targeted conservative groups until after the 2012 presidential election. – Daniel Halper for The Weekly Standard

Leading HuffPo: 'Astoundingly Disturbing'
The war authorization that Congress passed after 9/11 will be needed for at least 10 to 20 more years, and can be used to put the United States military on the ground anywhere, from Syria to the Congo to Boston, military officials argued Thursday. The revelations came during a hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee and surprised even experts in America's use of force stemming from the terrorist attacks in 2001. – Michael McAuliff

Leading Politico: Miller: IRS provided 'horrible customer service'
Republicans are training their fire on the ousted acting IRS commissioner, saying his departure isn’t enough to cure “systemic abuse” at the agency. In the first congressional hearing probing the agency’s recently revealed practice of targeting conservative groups seeking a tax exemption, House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp (R-Mich.) accused IRS officials of lying. He and other Republicans are angry that acting IRS Commissioner Steven Miller didn’t reveal the practice despite several inquiries from lawmakers over the past several years. – Lauren French and Kelsey Snell

Leading The New York Times: As I.R.S. Officials Testify, Lawmakers Ask: Who Knew?
A Congressional hearing on Friday into the revenue agency’s targeting of conservative groups for scrutiny quickly turned into partisan jousting. – Jonathan Weisman

TRAIL MOMENTS
The political bites of the day

– Hypocrisy at the IRS –
REPUBLICAN REP. MIKE KELLY OF PENNSYLVANIA AT A HOUSE HEARING ON THE IRS SCANDAL: “You talked about you are a horribly run organization, if you are on the other side of the fence, you are not given that excuse. When the IRS comes in, you are not allowed to be shoddy. You are not allowed to be run horribly. You are not allowed to make mistakes. You are not allowed to do one damn thing that doesn’t come in compliance. If you do you are held responsible right then. I just think the American people have seen what is going on right now in their government. This is absolutely an over reach and this is an outrage for all America.”

– Outgoing IRS director discussed with staff about how to disclose mistakes –
REPUBLICAN REP. PETER ROSKAM OF ILLINOIS AT A HEARING ABOUT THE IRS: Can you walk me through the logic that animated in your mind in that time where you thought it would be a good idea to make a public disclosure to the American Bar Association rather than coming and following up on your duty to disclose that to the House?
STEVE MILLER, ACTING IRS COMMISSIONER: So, we were going to do it at the same time I believe. Our attempt was to talk to you all at the same time.
ROSKAM: But that didn’t happen, did it?
MILLER: It did not happen I don’t believe.
ROSKAM: What other recollection do you have, or what other experience did you have when you were talking with Ms. Lerner about this scheme to have the planted question at the ABA?
MILLER: I am not sure what you are asking sir.
ROSKAM: I am asking what is your recollection of that conversation?
MILLER: We talked about what would be said and how we might do it.

– Top Democrat at hearing thinks politicizing the meeting ‘crossed the line’ –
DEMOCRATIC REP. SANDER LEVIN OF MICHIGAN IN AN INTERVIEW WITH CNN: “I think there were times when we very much crossed the line and I think the chairman did when he talked about this as the latest example of a culture of cover up in this administration. When he did that I think it did a disservice, it was a mistake and it wasn't at all confirmed by this hearing. In fact I think the IG stated to the contrary.”

– Paul Ryan not satisfied with IRS answers at hearing –
REPUBLICAN REP. PAUL RYAN IN AN INTERVIEW WITH JAKE TAPPER: “We have many more questions that resulted from today's hearing. The one answer we did get, though, is that the IRS withheld information from Congress. Jake, you had to know that last year, uh, we had these investigations on the Ways and Means Committee. We were receiving all of these reports of this kind of harassment. We questioned the IRS in hearings, in letters, and the IRS withheld all of this information that they were in possession of as to whether this targeting was occurring or not.”

– Obama says unlike some on Capitol Hill, his focus is the middle class –
PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA AT AN EVENT IN BALTIMORE: “I know it can seem frustrating some times when it seems like Washington’s priorities aren’t the same as your priorities. I know it often seems like folks down there are more concerned with their jobs than yours. Others may get distracted by chasing every fleeting issues that passes by, but the middle class will always be my number one focus. Period.”

Gut Check DVR: CNN is in the field surveying what Americans think of Washington’s week of scandals. The president says his team has come clean. Republicans might be over-playing their hand. We’ll release the results of CNN’s poll at 9am ET and get reaction from White House Senior Adviser, Dan Pfeiffer. Then one of President Obama’s toughest critics, Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, will respond to the new poll numbers.

TOP TWEETS
What stopped us in 140 characters or less

U.S. District Judge Susan Webber Wright has granted an injunction that temporarily bans the enforcement of Arkansas' 12 week abortion ban.—
  (@suziparker) May 17, 2013

New ad targeting Sen. Jeff Flake for voting against background checks features Aurora shooting victim's mom: huff.to/12Ak5xO—
Sabrina Siddiqui (@SabrinaSiddiqui) May 17, 2013

Jay Carney called the W.H. about a job a day after Obama's victory: nyti.ms/10ymQQe—
Kevin Robillard (@PoliticoKevin) May 17, 2013

Quote of day: "The revolution will bring the country..50 million rolls of toilet paper" – Venezuela minister nbcnews.to/16mtNZl—
David Grann (@DavidGrann) May 17, 2013

#Powerball jackpot has risen to $600 million with a cash value of $376.9 million, the Multi-State Lottery Association tells #CNN—
Nick Valencia (@CNNValencia) May 17, 2013

A single winner of this Saturday's Powerball drawing would, after taxes, have about $18K a day to spend for 30 years—
darren rovell (@darrenrovell) May 16, 2013

Anthony @Bourdain tells me he's inspired by Libya. @CNNSitRoom 6PM ET hour today. @PartsUnknown airs Sun 9PM ET on.cnn.com/1079Pdn—
Wolf Blitzer (@wolfblitzer) May 17, 2013

TRIVIA ANSWER from @DanMericaCNN

In the 113th Congress, three different states – California, Washington and New Hampshire – are represented by two women senators.

California is represented by Sen. Dianne Feinstein and Sen. Barbara Boxer. New Hampshire is represented by Sen. Kelly Ayotte and Sen. Jeanne Shaheen and Washington is represented by Sen. Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell.

In 1992, Feinstein and Boxer were the first two women to be elected to the Senate in the same election. The 1992 Senate is widely considered the "Year of the Woman," because five women were elected to the Senate – Feinstein, Boxer, Murray, Sen. Lisa Mikulski and Sen. Carol Moseley Braun.

GUT CHECK WINNER’S CIRCLE
(why aren’t you in it)

Congrats to Doug Heye (@DougHeye) and his Frank Sinatra profile photo for correctly answering today’s trivia question. Happy Friday all.

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"Today, more than 150 years after the Emancipation Proclamation, more than 50 years after the end of Separate But Equal, when it comes to getting an education too many of our young people just can't be bothered," Obama said. "Today instead of walking miles every day to school they're sitting on couches for hours playing video games, watching TV instead of dreaming of being a teacher or lawyer or business leader they're fantasizing about being a baller or a rapper."

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Citing her husband, the first lady urged students to "reject the slander that says a black child with a book is trying to act white."

The first lady's address also focused heavily on praising the fortitude of leaders in history, such as Frederick Douglas, Martin Luther King Jr., and The Little Rock Nine, who fought to improve educational opportunities for African Americans, despite many challenges they faced.

"It is that kind of unwavering determination - that relentless focus on getting an education in the face of obstacles –that's what we need to reclaim, as a community and as a nation. That was the idea at the very heart of the founding of this school," Obama said.

According to a White House press release, the first lady spoke at Bowie State University "because of its legacy as Maryland's oldest historically black university." It was founded in 1865.

Obama's speech is one of many on her tour of graduation speeches this spring. Last Saturday she spoke at Eastern Kentucky University in Richmond. She will also be addressing high school graduating seniors at the Martin Luther King Jr. Academic Magnet School in Nashville Tennessee on Saturday.

The speech took place in front of roughly 600 students on Friday at the Comcast Stadium in College Park, Maryland.

Thomas Pickering, a former ambassador, has said he would prefer to testify in a public hearing of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform rather than submit to a private interview, but the panel's chairman, Rep. Darrell Issa, wants the meeting behind closed doors before any open session.

"While I am very much committed to having you testify publicly and appreciate your newfound willingness to do so, I was disappointed that you are attempting to limit the Committee's understanding of the Accountability Review Board by refusing to participate in a voluntary transcribed interview prior to testifying publicly," Issa wrote to Pickering on Friday.

"In light of your continuing refusal to appear voluntarily for a transcribed interview, however, I have found it necessary to issue a subpoena to compel your appearance at a deposition."

Republicans, including Issa, have questioned the Benghazi Accountability Review Board's findings on the attack last September at an American diplomatic post in Benghazi, Libya, which left four Americans dead.

The report, issued late last year, found "systemic failures and leadership and management deficiencies" at the State Department in the lead-up to the attack in Benghazi. As a result, four State Department officials were disciplined immediately after the report's release. One resigned, while three others were placed on administrative leave and relieved of their duties.

But critics say the report did not go far enough, and did not include accounts from key witnesses to the attack who were on the ground as it happened.

The disparagement heated up earlier this month at a House Oversight Committee hearing featuring several witnesses who said they weren't interviewed by the review board.

Neither Pickering nor his co-chair, Admiral Mike Mullen, appeared at that hearing, leading to a bitter back-and-forth over whether they were invited to testify. The following weekend on NBC's "Meet the Press," Issa said he would request a deposition from Pickering and Mullen on how their panel reached its conclusions.

"Ultimately, if they got it right, we can put this issue to rest," Issa said. "We believe it was insufficient. We believe it's likely they did not interview all the people."

Pickering and Mullen responded to that request Wednesday, addressing a letter to Issa requesting a public hearing rather than a closed-door interview.

"The public deserves to hear your questions and our answers," they wrote.

Rep. Elijah Cummings, the highest ranking Democrat on the oversight panel, wrote in a statement Friday that Issa's subpoena was a "stark example of extreme Republican overreach and the shameful politicization of this tragedy."

Already groups supporting more gun restrictions have been active on the local level. And now for the first time in almost two decades, the National Rifle Association is attempting to coordinate the recall of a top state legislator for having successfully passed further gun restrictions in his state, CNN has learned.

As part of a budget compromise in February, lawmakers suspended the country's legal borrowing limit at $16.394 trillion, and let Treasury keep borrowing to pay all the country's bills. But on Sunday the debt ceiling will automatically reset to a higher level reflecting the amount borrowed during the suspension period.

"I know it can seem frustrating sometimes when it seems like Washington's priorities aren't the same as your priorities…Others may get distracted by chasing every fleeting issue that passes by, but the middle class will always be my number one focus. Period," he said during a campaign-style stop at a dredge manufacturing company in Baltimore, the second leg of what the White House has dubbed his "Middle Class Jobs and Opportunity Tour."

While he didn't address the trio of controversies that have hit his administration-the renewed attention on the Benghazi attack, the IRS targeting of political groups and the Justice Department's subpoena of Associated Press phone records-the president made it clear that the country's main priority is improving the economy.

"The only thing holding us back is a lack of political will. Sometimes our leadership isn't focused where it needs to be focused," he later said, urging the audience to call members of Congress and push them to "focus on getting stuff done."

His comments came the same day he signed a presidential memorandum aimed to speed up the federal permitting processes for infrastructure projects–a move designed to boost jobs.

"We got to up our game," he said. To ensure the economy gets better, he said, the country needs to focus on bringing back manufacturing overseas, increasing wages and better educating and training workers. "That has to be what we're thinking about every single day."

House Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer said the White House has "responded appropriately" to the recent dust-ups and agreed that Washington has been distracted, saying the GOP agenda in the House is "essentially nonexistent."

"This is the least productive time I think I've spent in Congress, we are wasting time," the congressman from Maryland told CNN. "All one needs to do is look at the agenda over the last month and see the emptiness of that agenda. It's not focused on jobs, not focused on fiscal responsibility."

Obama toured Ellicott Dredges–which helped dig the Panama Canal–during his Baltimore visit. Since 1885, the company has designed and manufactured more than 2,000 dredges and exports equipment to more than 100 countries. With 120 employees, Ellicott specializes in beach restoration and coastal protection, as well as dredging in canals, marinas, reservoirs, rivers, harbors, and lakes.

"I was told that one of your customers once named a dredge after President Clinton so I've got my fingers crossed. Never had a dredge named after me so I am looking forward to that," he said.

A bit of drama came before the president's speech, however. The company's owner, Peter Bowe, testified before a Congressional subcommittee Thursday in favor of the Keystone XL pipeline, a project he and many Republicans argue would create jobs.

Obama has not yet approved a large portion of the pipeline, which would bring oil from Canada's tar sounds down to the Gulf of Mexico. Environmental activists fiercely oppose the project, saying the ecological impact would far outweigh the benefits of job creation and energy independence.
Before his speech, Obama visited a Baltimore elementary school that provides comprehensive early childhood education and services, including the federal program Head Start.

Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley, Rep. Elijah Cummings, Democratic Sen. Barbara Mikulski, and Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake also attended the speaking event.

Last week the president kicked off his jobs tour in Austin, where he met with groups of students, local residents, entrepreneurs and tech professionals. He announced an executive action that creates manufacturing institutes in part sponsored by the federal government.

– CNN's Kevin Liptak contributed to this report

The official spoke to CNN on condition of anonymity, citing department policy.

He's already said he's eyeing a run, and has taken steps signaling he'll jump into the race, including publishing a detailed policy document about his plans for the city.

"Days, weeks, can't be much more than that," Weiner said after being asked when his announcement would come. Candidates have until the second week of July to file paperwork to appear on the ballot for the mayoral primary, which happens September 10.

"It's going to be soon," Weiner said.

If he does jump into the race, the Democrat will undoubtedly face questions from voters and fellow candidates about the 2011 scandal that eventually led to his resignation from Congress. His political career was derailed after he was found sending lewd photos and messages to multiple women. At first he lied, claiming his Twitter was hacked, but later he admitted to the indiscretions and left the House of Representatives.

On Friday, he said those issues would be worked out with the public if he decides to get in the race.

"If I decide to run, and there's a campaign, we'll discuss that," Weiner said, adding that he wouldn't get into the race if he thought his past would prevent him from winning.

"I'll obviously be running because I think I can win," he said.

Despite Weiner's careful words, all signs point to the former congressman jumping into the race. Aside from the campaign-style document, called "Keys to the City," his political committee has spent more than $100,000 on polling.

And on Thursday, NBC 4 in New York captured images of Weiner and his wife, Huma Abedin, filming what appeared to be a campaign ad on the stoop of his childhood home in Brooklyn.

"I don't have any comment for you on that," Weiner said Friday.

Two polls conducted last month indicate that if Weiner does decide to run, he'd shake up the battle for the Democratic mayoral nomination. According to the Quinnipiac University and NBC-New York/Marist surveys of New York City voters, if Weiner launched a bid, he'd jump to the second spot in the battle for the nomination, trailing front-runner Christine Quinn, the city council president, by double digits.

But the Quinnipiac poll indicated that only a third of New York City voters had a favorable opinion of Weiner. His favorable rating in the NBC-New York/Marist poll stood a bit higher, at 45%, but only 37% wanted him to run for mayor.

If he does run, it would be his third campaign for mayor of Gotham. Weiner ran for the post in 2005, and launched, but later dropped, a bid in 2009.

On an separate issue – reports his wife Abedin had contracts to consult with private clients while still serving as an adviser at the State Department – Weiner disputed any wrongdoing.

"There are many people who operate as consultants throughout the federal government. I'm very proud of the work my wife has done for Secretary Clinton," he said.

The State Department and a former Clinton adviser both said Abedin complied with all disclosure requirements when she took consulting jobs.

CNN's Kevin Liptak and Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report.

The testimony by Steven Miller, who was forced to announce his resignation this week as acting IRS commissioner, came at the first congressional hearing on the matter that has put President Barack Obama's administration on the defensive.

CLICK HERE FOR COMMITTEE'S PRESENTATION

But the Gallup survey indicates party affiliation is playing a role in how closely people are keeping an eye on the controversies. And according to the poll, most say further investigation is needed.

Fifty-four percent of Americans say they've very or somewhat closely watched the news that the Internal Revenue Service applied greater scrutiny to conservative political groups that applied for tax exempt status. Twenty-two percent said they were not following the news that closely and just under one in four are not watching that closely.

About the same percentage of Americans are tuned into the congressional hearings into last September's attack in Benghazi, which left the U.S. ambassador to Libya and three other Americans dead. According to the poll, 53% were very or somewhat closely watching, with 22% not following the news that closely and just under a quarter not watching at all.

"Despite extensive news coverage of these stories in recent days, the level of attention being paid to each is below the average 60% of Americans who have closely followed more than 200 news stories Gallup has measured over the past several decades," says a release by Gallup. "Additionally, Americans appear to be paying almost exactly the same levels of attention to both stories, despite the relative newness of the IRS story during the time in which this survey was in the field."

There's a big partisan divide over who's watching.

Two-thirds of Republicans said they were very or somewhat closely watching IRS and Benghazi controversies. That number drops to the low to mid fifties for independents and the low to mid forties for Democrats questioned in the survey.

Nearly three quarters agree that the IRS controversy needs to be investigated, with 69% feeling the same thing about the Benghazi situation. But as with who's watching, there's a wide partisan divide over the need for further investigation.

The Gallup poll was conducted Tuesday and Wednesday with 1,022 adults nationwide questioned by telephone. The survey's overall sampling error is plus or minus four percentage points.

CNN Political Editor Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report

But the owner of the company, Peter Bowe, has another idea for getting Americans to work: approve the Keystone XL oil pipeline, a project Republicans say would create jobs and foster energy independence but some Democrats argue would pose serious environmental risks.

In his testimony Thursday before a subcommittee of the House Small Business Committee, Bowe argued his company, which creates products for dredging the bottom of bodies of water, stands to benefit if the pipeline is finally approved.

"The oil sands in Alberta are one of the largest markets worldwide for dredging equipment," Bowe said in prepared testimony before the agriculture, energy and trade subcommittee, which was first reported by the website Buzzfeed.

"For us, it's all about jobs, not construction jobs for the pipeline itself, but ongoing jobs every year for decades to come, all related to the production of oil from the Alberta oil sands deposits," Bowe continued. "This oil needs the Keystone pipeline."

The Obama administration initially rejected a permit for a portion of the Keystone pipeline in January 2012 after Nebraska's governor, a Republican, complained it would cross the vital Ogallala Aquifer in his state.

While the entire 1,700 mile pipeline was not approved, Obama in March 2012 moved to fast-track the southern portion of the pipeline that runs from Oklahoma to the Gulf. TransCanada, the company building the pipeline, began construction on that portion in August.

Opponents of the northern leg say there's too high a risk for potential water and soil contamination from the 500,000 to 700,000 barrels of crude oil that would traverse the pipeline each day. Critics also say the type of oil from the tar sands would release more greenhouse gases than the average transportation fuels sold or distributed in the United States.

A recent report by the State Department said the 800-mile Keystone pipeline expansion should have no significant effect on the environment along its proposed route, causing supporters to ratchet up pressure on Obama to approve it.

While Obama has not yet taken a position on the pipeline, his administration is expected to issue a decision on expanding the project in coming months.

"We urge you to approve the Keystone pipeline as expeditiously as possible," Bowe said in his testimony, noting that oil from Canada would be superior both politically and environmentally than a product from other countries like Venezuela.

Obama will visit Ellicott Dredges after touring an elementary school in Baltimore, and after his stop at the company will head to a community center.

CNN: 7 still missing from deadly Texas tornadoes

A North Texas community forged ahead in a massive cleanup, and the search for the missing continued Friday from 16 tornadoes that ripped through the area. That search for seven people still missing is still active, a local sheriff said. "We're going to keep on looking," Hood County Sheriff Roger Deeds said Thursday. "We're not going to give up until every piece of debris is turned over."  The seven-hour onslaught of twisters, 16 confirmed so far according to the National Weather Service, battered the area Wednesday, turning neighborhoods into rubble and leaving six people dead.

CNN: Cause of catastrophic Texas explosions remains mystery

Investigators have not ruled out an intentional fire being behind explosions at a fertilizer plant in the small town of West that left 15 people dead, the Texas fire marshal said Thursday. State Fire Marshal Chris Connealy said investigators were unable to rule out three possible causes, including a spark from a golf cart, an electrical short or an intentionally set fire. "The cause cannot be proven to an acceptable level," Connealy told reporters.

CNN: Suspect: Boston bombing was payback for hits on Muslims

Boston Marathon bombing victims were collateral damage in a strike meant as payback for U.S. wars in Muslim lands, the surviving suspect wrote in a message scribbled on the boat where he was found hiding, a law enforcement source told CNN Thursday. In the message, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev also proclaimed that an attack on one Muslim is an attack on all, and said he would not miss older brother Tamerlan Tsarnaev - who died after a firefight with police three days after the bombing - because he would soon be joining him, according to the source. The writing on the inside of the boat dovetails with what Dzhokhar, 19, told investigators questioning him in a Boston hospital room shortly after his capture, the source said. CNN has previously cited U.S. officials in reporting that Dzhokhar said U.S. involvement in Afghanistan and Iraq were motivating factors behind the April 15 attack, which killed three people and wounded 275.

WSJ: Victim-Aid Overhaul Pushed

A push to create a single donation fund to benefit victims of future mass attacks in the U.S. is gaining momentum: A Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit is offering to establish a "National Compassion Fund" that would begin to solicit money within a day of violent events such as the school shootings in Newtown, Conn., and the Boston bombings. It is a step forward for an idea that families connected to some of the nation's worst massacres began advocating in March. A group of 70 relatives of shooting victims at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Columbine High School, Virginia Tech and others launched the effort after sharing tales of what they say is an agonizing process of dealing with ad hoc funds that crop up after such tragedies.

WHITE HOUSE:

Baltimore Sun: Amid scandal, Obama will focus on jobs in Baltimore

President Barack Obama will visit Baltimore on Friday looking to draw attention back to his jobs agenda as he juggles a growing number of political scandals that have threatened to complicate his second term. Making his first trip to the city since he appeared at a series of fundraisers last June, Obama is scheduled to visit an elementary school before touring a 128-year-old dredging equipment company — stops intended to underscore the administration's efforts on early-childhood education and manufacturing. "The president is trying to do as he should do: Focus on jobs," said Rep. Steny Hoyer, the Southern Maryland Democrat and House minority whip. "We can deal with the daily flow of missteps and things that are done wrong while at the same time focusing on the big issues."

BuzzFeed: Keystone Politics Follow Obama On Baltimore Jobs Tour

President Obama is heading to Baltimore Friday for what the White House is billing as “his second Middle Class Jobs and Opportunity Tour.” The brief trip out of DC may also prove to be a detour into the politics of Keystone, which have caused deep divisions in the Democratic base. Obama is scheduled to make a stop at Ellicott Dredges Friday, just a day after Ellicott president Peter Bowe testified before a Congressional subcommittee and called on Washington to approve the controversial Keystone XL oil pipeline. Bowe testified on behalf of the National Association of Manufacturers Thursday before a subcommittee of the House Committee On Small Business at a hearing about Keystone. He called on the federal government to build the pipeline, telling the subcommittee that the pipeline is a job creator. He said the project would create longterm employment for workers in the dredging sector.

Politico: What would Dick Cheney do?

It took him a day or two to get started, but President Barack Obama this week signaled that he is going to follow the conventional Washington playbook for trying to tamp down scandal. He has furrowed his brow, sacked an agency head, pledged transparency and cooperation with official inquiries and piously declared that no one is more troubled than him about any wrongdoing. There’s no indication that Obama and his aides have paused to ponder the WWCD test: What Would Cheney Do? The former vice president, through years of public statements and internal deliberations during the Bush administration, fashioned a distinctly different school of thought about how to operate in the midst of a Washington storm. That philosophy, in a word: defiance.

ALSO SEE: CNN: Obama counter-punches in effort to regain political balance

Fox: Second court invalidates Obama appointments to labor board

A national labor board which has long been accused of making union-friendly decisions was dealt another blow Thursday, after a second federal appeals court found President Obama exceeded his power when he bypassed the Senate to appoint its members. The ruling by the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia once again threatened to upend the National Labor Relations Board's decisions. And it has the potential to stall the board entirely, as well as challenge other federal agencies that have similar appointees. For now, the Obama administration has tried to disregard the court decisions - it has already appealed a similar ruling, from a Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C., to the Supreme Court.

WSJ: Obama Nominee Received $54 Million Offshore Payment

President Barack Obama's pick for commerce secretary, Penny Pritzker, received $54 million last year from an offshore account held by her family, according to new documents that shed additional light on the nominee's vast wealth. The payment, disclosed in White House documents sent to Congress this week, was tied to Ms. Pritzker's work dividing her family's assets to settle a well-publicized dispute, according to her office in Chicago. Ms. Pritzker, a Chicago business executive, paid income taxes on the payment, the office said. The payment doesn't indicate Ms. Pritzker did anything unethical. But it could provide fuel for congressional Republicans, including Sen. Charles Grassley of Iowa, who have criticized the nominee over her family's use of offshore accounts. Mr. Obama's re-election campaign criticized GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney last year over his offshore holdings.

CAPITOL HILL:

CNN: House group agrees on immigration reform

After months of intense negotiations, a bipartisan U.S. House group has reached an "agreement in principle" on immigration reform, according to Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart of Florida, one of the GOP members of the group. A Democratic aide familiar with the discussions confirmed that all the members signed on and told CNN both Democrats and Republicans "will now run the whole package past their respective leadership and colleagues" and aim to formally introduce legislation at the beginning of June. Diaz-Balart declined to get into the details of the deal, but said, "there's going to be a lot of differences in a lot of areas," from a bipartisan measure working its way through the Senate.

Fox: ICE admits hundreds of illegal immigrants with criminal records released

Hundreds of illegal immigrants with criminal records were released earlier this year as the Obama administration prepared for budget cuts, according to newly released data that challenged claims the program involved "low-risk" individuals.  Immigration and Customs Enforcement released the figures to two top senators, after a three-month delay and under the threat of congressional subpoenas.  Of the 2,226 detainees that were released in February, the department revealed, "622 have been identified as having some type of criminal conviction." A statement from Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Carl Levin, D-Mich., who received the stats, said 32 of them had multiple felony convictions. The department then "re-apprehended" 24 of those, the senators said, after realizing the "seriousness" of their crimes.  McCain called for those responsible to be punished.

NYT: G.O.P., Energized, Weighs How Far to Take Inquiries

The investigations ensnaring the White House have unified the Republican Party, energized a political base shattered by election losses and given common purpose to lawmakers divided over a legislative agenda. The most pressing question for Congressional Republicans is no longer how to finesse changes to immigration law or gun control, but how far they can push their cases against President Obama without inciting a backlash of the sort that has left them staggering in the past.

ALSO SEE: Politico: Why the GOP thinks it could blow it

Politico: GOP looks at big cuts for Labor, Education, HHS

House Republicans late Thursday began circulating new spending targets for appropriations bills for the coming year with Labor, Education and Health and Human Services facing a nearly 20 percent reduction on top of the cuts already made in the March 1 sequestration order. Appropriations Committee Chairman Hal Rogers (R-Ky.) appears to be backloading the larger reductions in order to salvage a few of the 12 annual bills this summer. He is putting a priority on what he sees as security items, including law enforcement and homeland security as well as the military. But the numbers are a prescription for more stalemate unless the House and Senate leadership begin to get more serious about budget negotiations with one another and President Barack Obama.

POLITICAL:

CNN: Key lawmaker says IRS problems go beyond embattled chief

Internal Revenue Service chief Steven Miller may have been among the first people to be blamed for a scandal now consuming the agency and buffeting the Obama administration, but at least one powerful House Republican is confident he won't be the last. "This isn't just going to end up being just one person's responsibility," House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp told CNN on Thursday in an exclusive interview. "This is a group of people. Decisions are going to be made with lots of sign off." "We're going to need to find out to what extent others knew, and why really this whole policy was implemented," the Michigan congressman said. Camp will lead a committee hearing on Friday examining recent IRS targeting of conservative groups applying for federal tax-exempt status.

ALSO SEE: CNN: By the Numbers: Internal Revenue Service

ALSO SEE: CNN: Former IRS Commissioner Douglas Shulman will testify next week

CNN: Health care official used to lead IRS tax exempt office

Republicans using the Internal Revenue Service scandal to slam health care reform have a new twist in their argument. Sarah Hall Ingram, who heads the implementation of the Affordable Care Act at the IRS, formerly led the agency's tax exempt/government entities division, the same division that's now taking heat for targeting conservative groups in the past few years. An IRS spokesperson confirmed Ingram is the current director of the Affordable Care Act office, a department she’s worked in since December 2010. Meanwhile, a 2009 posting on the IRS website referred to her as the commissioner for the tax exempt/government entities division.

ALSO SEE: CNN: IRS scandal adds fuel to Obamacare fire

CNN: Probing questions, long delays for tea party groups

Tea party groups describe an arduous IRS application process for tax-exempt status with probing questions and long delays. In addition to standard questions that organizations face when applying for tax-exempt status, a handful of tea party organizations told CNN they were asked probing questions about the websites they maintained, literature they use for research and future activities the groups had planned. The IRS scandal over how it processed tax-exempt applications from tea party and conservative groups has already cost the acting director his job and caused lawmakers from both sides of the aisle to call for an extensive investigation about how the prejudicial screening was allowed to happen.

ALSO SEE: CNNMoney: "Overworked" IRS unit treated like a "stepsister"

Richmond Times Dispatch: Letters show top IRS official knew of targeting

A top Internal Revenue Service official knew last year that the Richmond Tea Party was the target of extra scrutiny and reminded the Richmond organization to comply with requests for information, according to IRS letters. In March 2012, the Richmond group received two letters signed by Lois G. Lerner, the agency’s director of exempt organizations, following up on the status of their applications for tax-exempt status. Lerner’s letters to the Richmond Tea Party contradict claims in a recent inspector general’s report that the improper targeting was just a low-level effort and that she attempted to avert it.

Politico: Huma Abedin allowed to represent clients while at State

Huma Abedin — Hillary Clinton’s longtime aide and the wife of all-but-declared New York mayoral candidate Anthony Weiner — spent her final months at the State Department working as a part-time consultant with the agency who at the same time was allowed to represent outside clients, POLITICO has confirmed. Abedin, a fixture at the Clintons’ side for at least 15 years — from Iowa to Indonesia — shifted to her new role after maternity leave in the early summer of 2012, according to a source familiar with the arrangement. The new status made her a “special government employee,” which was tantamount to being a consultant, according to the source, whose information was confirmed by two other staffers familiar with the matter. Multiple sources told POLITICO Abedin did work for other clients, which a friend of Abedin said totaled four, including the State Department, Hillary Clinton, the William Jefferson Clinton Foundation and Teneo, the firm co-founded by former Bill Clinton counselor Doug Band.

NYT: Weiner’s Wife Didn’t Disclose Consulting Work She Did While Serving in State Dept.

CNN: Rick Santorum preparing for 2016 run, but hasn't pulled the trigger

Former Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum said he is weighing another run for president. "I'm planning on doing everything consistent with putting yourself in a position to make a decision that is a viable decision," said Santorum, who gave Mitt Romney some trouble in the 2012 Republican primary fight. "I haven't pulled any triggers yet, but certainly we're out there," he said. Santorum said he has been traveling all over the country with his organization "Patriot Voices."

The Hill: Rep. Noem in 'conversations' about potential Senate bid in South Dakota

Rep. Kristi Noem (R-S.D.) is discussing the possibility of mounting a Senate campaign in 2014, telling The Hill she's had "some conversations" with groups about running for the seat being vacated by Sen. Tim Johnson (D). Noem said she doesn't expect to make a decision for "several months" on whether she'd challenge former South Dakota Gov. Mike Rounds in the Republican primary.

USA Today: John Edwards to speak at retreat for lawyers

Former presidential candidate John Edwards is about to hit the speaking circuit, about a year after he was acquitted by a North Carolina jury on a campaign-finance charge. Edwards will speak June 6 at a retreat for clients of PMP Marketing, a company that helps boost the visibility of law firms. The 2004 Democratic vice presidential nominee has largely stayed out of public view since his trial last year.

NATIONAL SECURITY:

WSJ: Russia Raises Stakes in Syria

Russia has sent a dozen or more warships to patrol waters near its naval base in Syria, a buildup that U.S. and European officials see as a newly aggressive stance meant partly to warn the West and Israel not to intervene in Syria's bloody civil war. Russia's expanded presence in the eastern Mediterranean, which began attracting U.S. officials' notice three months ago, represents one of its largest sustained naval deployments since the Cold War. While Western officials say they don't fear an impending conflict with Russia's aged fleet, the presence adds a new source of potential danger for miscalculation in an increasingly combustible region. "It is a show of force. It's muscle flexing," a senior U.S. defense official said of the Russian deployments. "It is about demonstrating their commitment to their interests."

ALSO SEE: NYT: Russia Sends More Advanced Missiles to Aid Assad in Syria

CNN: Obama administration regroups to counter Benghazi criticism

Buffeted by Republican criticism for its handling of last September's deadly terrorist attack on the U.S. diplomatic compound in Benghazi, the Obama administration is mounting a coordinated response. Thursday, at a Rose Garden news conference with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, President Barack Obama went out of his way to challenge Republicans to fully fund security for America's diplomats. Republicans have ripped the administration for not providing adequate security for the Benghazi mission at which four Americans, including Ambassador to Libya Christopher Stevens, were killed. The White House, in response, has accused Republican lawmakers of cutting diplomatic security funding.

ALSO SEE: CNN: Rand Paul: Hillary’s 'fingerprints' all over talking points

Weekly Standard: What About the Video?

From the beginning, there have been two big questions about the administration’s deceptive spin on Benghazi: How were the talking points whittled down to virtually nothing from the CIA’s original draft? And how did a previously obscure YouTube video gain such prominence in the administration’s explanation of what happened in Benghazi? The emails fill in at least some of the details about the talking points. They also leave in ruins administration claims that White House and State Department officials were mere bystanders in the process. But how, exactly, the video became so prominent in the administration’s public rhetoric remains something of a mystery.

CNN: Obama: Pentagon leaders 'ashamed' over sexual assaults plaguing military

U.S. military leaders are "angry" and "ashamed" over sexual assaults plaguing the armed forces, President Barack Obama said Thursday after ordering top Pentagon officials to "leave no stone unturned" in the effort to stop the abuse. The president's comments came the same day legislation was introduced in Congress to ease the victims' quest for justice, a move that followed news this month of two high-profile cases involving sexual assault in the military - allegedly by the very service members tasked with preventing such crimes. Obama summoned Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and Army Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He told the two that it was imperative they find a solution to the abuse that is undermining trust in the military.

Bloomberg: Pentagon Said to Seek $80 Billion for War Amid Withdrawal

The Pentagon will ask Congress to approve about $79.5 billion for combat operations, the least since 2005, as U.S. troops withdraw from Afghanistan, according to administration officials. The proposal for war operations, which aren’t included in the main Pentagon budget, may be submitted as soon as today, said the officials, who asked not to be identified discussing the funding request before it’s presented. War spending soared in the years after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, peaking at $187 billion in fiscal 2008, when the U.S. had 166,300 troops in Iraq during the “surge” under President George W. Bush

CNN: New issue of al Qaeda magazine may have been hacked

A purported new issue of an English-language al Qaeda magazine linked to the Boston terrorist attacks was posted on an al Qaeda web forum earlier this week, but its content beyond its cover page was scrambled, suggesting the possibility the forum was hacked by Western intelligence agencies. The magazine, produced by al Qaeda's Yemeni affiliate – al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, which regularly includes how-to instructions for followers to carry out terrorist attacks in the West – has received significant scrutiny in recent weeks. Investigators believe that Boston bomber Tamerlan Tsarnaev accessed Inspire magazine, and the material had instructions on bomb-making, a law enforcement official told CNN earlier this month.

CNN: NY cigarette-smuggling ring may have terror link

A cigarette smuggling scheme that cost New York state millions of dollars in sales tax revenue may have raised funds for militant groups, authorities said. Sixteen Palestinian men, some with ties to convicted terrorists, were indicted Thursday in the alleged scheme that spans New York, Maryland, Delaware, Virginia and New Jersey states. Investigators say they uncovered $55 million in illegal cigarette sales. Although it is unclear where the illicit proceeds ended up, similar schemes have funded organizations such as Hamas and Hezbollah, according to Ray Kelly, commissioner of the New York Police Department.

Christian Science Monitor: Iran's chief nuclear negotiator: we're being asked to make all the sacrifices

Saeed Jalili, Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator and a presidential candidate, says that offers from six world powers demand far more short-term sacrifices of his government than the Islamic Republic considers reasonable or reciprocal. The current offer from the so-called P5+1 group (the US, Russia, China, Britain, France, and Germany) requires Iran to suspend all 20 percent uranium enrichment, disable an impregnable underground enrichment facility at Fordow, and agree to more intrusive inspections, before modest relief from sanctions that have crippled its economy. “Their proposals are unbalanced,” Mr. Jalili told The Christian Science Monitor in an Istanbul interview today, a day after his inconclusive meeting with Catherine Ashton, the EU foreign policy chief who leads negotiations for the P5+1.

AVIATION, REGULATION and JUSTICE:

WaPo: FBI seeks source of prostitution, corruption allegations against Sen. Robert Menendez

A pair of FBI agents met on a recent weekday morning with brothers Alfonso “Alfy” and Jose “Pepe” Fanjul in the Palm Beach headquarters of their sugar and real estate empire. The investigators’ questions struck a discordant note in the Fanjuls’ sunlit offices overlooking a yacht-filled waterway, according to three people familiar with the meeting: Were the brothers or any of their associates familiar with a plot to bring down a United States senator? Months after the FBI began probing allegations against Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), investigators are looking at whether someone set out to smear him while he was running for reelection last year and then ascending to his new post as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, according to four people briefed on the inquiry.

CNN: Uzbek terror suspect to appear in court

A 30-year-old Uzbek national who has been arrested on federal terrorism charges is expected to make an initial appearance in a Boise, Idaho, court on Friday. A grand jury in Boise returned a three-court indictment charging Fazliddin Kurbanov, 30, with one count of conspiracy to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization, one count of conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists and one count of possessing an unregistered destructive device. A grand jury in Salt Lake City, Utah, returned a separate indictment charging him with one count of distribution of information relating to explosives, destructive devices and weapons of mass destruction.

CNN: Feds investigate ricin-tainted letters in Spokane, Washington

Federal authorities are investigating threatening letters allegedly containing deadly ricin in Spokane, Washington, the FBI said Thursday. The FBI and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service are trying to find the source of the two letters, intercepted Tuesday during a screening procedure at a postal facility in Spokane, FBI spokeswoman Ayn Sandalo Dietrich said. "While we cannot offer further comment on this incident, we stress that law enforcement agencies will continue to assess and address the full spectrum of potential threats," she said. The American Postal Workers Union was notified of the two suspicious letters by the Postal Service, the union said.

CNN: Pretzel bag leads feds to child porn suspect in California

In a fast-moving child abuse investigation that started two weeks ago in Denmark, U.S. officials this week arrested a suspect in northern California and are now trying to determine whether there are additional child victims. Federal authorities Thursday said they had arrested David John Stevens, 58, of Salinas, and believe him to be the man in four videos allegedly depicting sexual assaults on a young girl. The girl, officials said, has been identified and protected. But based on interviews with witnesses, authorities "believe there may be additional unidentified child victims," the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency said.

ABC: Gold Shipment Vanishes in Mysterious Miami Airport Heist

A $625,000 gold shipment vanished early Tuesday in a brazen heist at Miami International Airport after it arrived aboard a jet from Ecuador, police said. As the FBI confirmed it was leading the hunt for the crooks, the pool of suspects narrowed to the few who had authorized access to the bulk cargo area, federal and police officials with knowledge of the case told ABC News on Thursday. The gold was spread among six boxes unloaded from American Airlines Flight 902, which arrived at 4:42 a.m. Tuesday morning from Guayaquil, Ecuador, according to a Miami-Dade Police Department incident report.

REGIONAL HEADLINES:

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: ATF agents conducting sting let man leave store with gun

ATF agents let a man armed with a gun and threatening to shoot someone walk out of their storefront sting operation in Milwaukee last summer, failing to arrest him or take the weapon, the Journal Sentinel has learned. The suspect, Bobby Ball – a felon with a violent history – promised to return to the store and sell the agents that gun and others but he never came back, according to sources familiar with the case. Instead he spent four months on the loose, until he was picked up in Minnesota on a drunken-driving arrest. He is now awaiting sentencing after pleading guilty to selling drugs to the undercover agents. It's unclear if the gun was later used in any crime or if it has been recovered. Ball has not been charged in any shootings in Wisconsin following the encounter with the ATF. The "gun-walking" incident is the latest failure to be revealed in the flawed "Operation Fearless" sting, run out of a fake storefront in Milwaukee's Riverwest neighborhood.

San Francisco Chronicle: Just 83 veteran home loans made in 2012

A state program designed to help California veterans buy homes granted just 83 loans last year, despite having more than $1.1 billion in available funding. The California Department of Veterans Affairs employed 87 staff members to run the loan program, spending $10.6 million on overhead to originate $10.5 million in loans, according to the state Department of Finance. Critics, including Democratic Assembly Speaker John Pérez, say the program is an anachronism and that the money should be steered toward other needs, including affordable housing for homeless veterans.

Sacramento Bee: California's health exchange to serve as voter registration hub

Millions of Californians who contact the state's new health exchange to buy insurance will be given the opportunity to register to vote, too, a move that some Republicans fear could benefit Democrats. Secretary of State Debra Bowen made California the first state to designate its health exchange as a voter registration agency Wednesday, but others are expected to follow suit, said Shannan Velayas, Bowen's spokeswoman.

INTERNATIONAL:

Financial Times: Qatar bankrolls Syrian revolt with cash and arms

The gas-rich state of Qatar has spent as much as $3bn over the past two years supporting the rebellion in Syria, far exceeding any other government, but is now being nudged aside by Saudi Arabia as the prime source of arms to rebels. The cost of Qatar’s intervention, its latest push to back an Arab revolt, amounts to a fraction of its international investment portfolio. But its financial support for the revolution that has turned into a vicious civil war dramatically overshadows western backing for the opposition. In dozens of interviews with the Financial Times conducted in recent weeks, rebel leaders both abroad and within Syria as well as regional and western officials detailed Qatar’s role in the Syrian conflict, a source of mounting controversy.

The Guardian: Saudi princes lose battle to keep court documents secret

Two prominent Saudi princes are involved in a London-registered company that supposedly facilitated "money laundering" for Hezbollah in Lebanon and helped smuggle precious stones out of Congo, according to contested allegations in court documents obtained by the Guardian. The claims emerge from court papers that lawyers for the Saudis have spent a year trying to suppress, including resorting to threats that relations with Britain would be damaged if they were revealed. Lawyers for the two princes – Prince Mishal bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, a former defence minister, brother of King Abdullah and chairman of the country's influential allegiance council, and his son Prince Abdulaziz bin Mishal bin Al Saud – dismiss the claims as fabrications, "extortion" and "blackmail".

CNN: Nigeria military: Insurgents killed in raid on militant camps

At least 20 insurgents were killed Friday as Nigeria's military carried out an aerial bombardment of suspected militant Islamist camps in the country's northeast, a Defense Ministry spokesman said. The raid by Nigerian Air Force jets and attack helicopters is part of what the military says is a "massive deployment" of Nigerian forces this week to tackle insurgent groups, including Boko Haram. "Our military has overrun a number of the militants' camps in north and central Borno state," said defense spokesman Brig. Gen. Chris Olukolade.

BUSINESS:

The Guardian: MP on Google tax avoidance scheme: 'I think that you do evil'

Google and Amazon came under fierce attack from MPs and tax campaigners after fresh whistleblower allegations put further strain on claims by the internet giants that their multibillion-pound UK-facing businesses should not be taxed by Revenue & Customs. Margaret Hodge, chair of the public accounts committee, told Google's northern Europe boss, Matt Brittin, that his company's behaviour on tax was "devious, calculated and, in my view, unethical". He had been recalled by MPs after being accused of misleading parliament over the firm's tax affairs six months ago.

WSJ: Regulators Target Exchanges As They Ready Record Fine

Financial regulators are taking a harder line on exchanges amid concerns over their ability to police the markets they operate, as the SEC prepares to hit one with a record penalty. The deeper scrutiny has prompted some exchange officials to push back against a new regulatory stance that they say leaves them more vulnerable to potential penalties and sanctions. The tussle goes to the heart of the unusual dual role played by the biggest U.S. exchanges. They profit from the trading business they attract and the vast volumes of data generated by that trading. They also act as regulators of the same trading.

WaPo: Apple CEO Tim Cook to propose tax overhaul

Apple chief executive Tim Cook plans to propose a “dramatic simplification” of corporate tax laws when he testifies for the first time before Congress next week, just as lawmakers are considering an overhaul of the tax code. In an interview with The Washington Post, Cook said he will present specific proposals aimed at encouraging companies to bring back foreign earnings to the United States and invest that money injob creation, as well as research and development. He will speak at a Senate hearing Tuesday that is taking aim at companies that shift profits overseas to lower their tax bills.

San Jose Mercury News: Canada comes to Silicon Valley to poach high-tech workers struggling with immigration problems

Canada has landed in Silicon Valley with a brazen message: Give us your smart, your restless, your huddled Googleplex workers yearning to breathe life into the high-tech economy up north. As the U.S. Congress wrestles with a long-sought overhaul of America's immigration system, the Canadian government is trying to poach talented immigrants frustrated by U.S. visa policy. The campaign begins Friday with a four-day visit to the Bay Area by Jason Kenney, Canada's minister of citizenship, immigration and multiculturalism. "I think everyone knows the American system is pretty dysfunctional," Kenney said Thursday in an interview from Vancouver, B.C. "I'm going to the Bay Area to spread the message that Canada is open for business; we're open for newcomers. If they qualify, we'll give them the Canadian equivalent of a green card as soon as they arrive."

Sarah Hall Ingram, who heads the implementation of the Affordable Care Act at the IRS, formerly led the agency's tax exempt/government entities division, the same division that's now taking heat for targeting conservative groups in the past few years.

An IRS spokesperson confirmed Ingram is the current director of the Affordable Care Act office, a department she’s worked in since December 2010. Meanwhile, a 2009 posting on the IRS website referred to her as the commissioner for the tax exempt/government entities division.

The IRS admitted last week it began over-scrutinizing conservative groups in 2010.

Joseph Grant, her successor, began acting as division commissioner in December 2010, the IRS spokesperson said, and earlier this month he was officially named commissioner.

Earlier Thursday, he became the second IRS official this week to announce his resignation. Grant plans to retire June 3, according to an internal memo for IRS employees that was obtained by CNN.

Before directing the tax exempt division in 2009, Ingram served as chief of appeals at the IRS for three years and as counsel/associate chief counsel for the tax exempt division. She started at the agency in 1982.

The Republican-led House of Representatives passed a measure to repeal Obamacare entirely on Thursday for the third time.

But the latest scandal involving the IRS, one of the key agencies charged with enforcing the health care law, is adding fuel to the political fire over the controversial law.

And Congressional Republicans are already citing the new development about Ingram as another reason why health care needs to be rolled back.

Thursday's vote was the 37th time the House has attempted to eliminate all or parts of the law.

“Stunning, just stunning," was all Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell had to say about the revelation Ingram previously led the tax exempt division.

Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, introduced a bill to "prohibit" the Treasury Department from enforcing the Affordable Care Act. The legislation, which has little chance of passing in the Democratic-led Senate, is titled "Keep the IRS Off Your Health Care Act of 2013."

The recent IRS scandal "raises pertinent questions about the agency's ability to implement and oversee" the health care law, according to the legislation.

– CNN’s Jessica Yellin, Deirdre Walsh, Dana Bash, Candy Crowley and Ashley Killough contributed to this report.