Politicians, scientists, and journalists repeatedly warned that the United States would be plagued by a generation of "crack babies" putting a massive drain on the social service infrastructures of our inner cities.

Retro Report — an independent news organization of which I'm the publisher — went back and looked at the story decades later and traced the concern to a single 1985 study which concluded that pregnant mothers who smoked crack cocaine were seriously harming their unborn children. The explosive findings were kept alive through a steady drumbeat of media coverage. Laws were passed and addicted mothers were even incarcerated.

But the study was flawed, the media coverage was overhyped, and the forecasts never came true. In fact, scientific research now concludes that alcohol is a much bigger problem for unborn babies than crack...  More»

While there is still no evidence connecting the IRS's targeting of conservative groups directly to President Obama, senior White House officials, or to his re-election campaign, NBC's First Read smartly points out that this doesn't mean the White House doesn't have a serious public relations problem on its hands.

And this public relations problem is almost entirely self-inflicted.

In interviews and press briefings, the White House's explanation for when it learned about the problems at the IRS keeps changing.

As Politico reports, "Just a day after telling reporters that chief of staff Denis McDonough and other senior White House staff learned of the situation nearly a month ago, press secretary Jay Carney revealed Tuesday that White House officials had consulted with the Treasury Department on how to make the findings public....  More»

After gun-control legislation was defeated last month, Senate Democrats now believe that they may have several new votes in favor of a bill that would expand background checks for gun buyers.

The Huffington Post notes "the bullish talk from Democrats — from leadership on down — is yet another indication that the party feels good about the fallout from the failed gun vote and is increasingly eager to try again."

One of these votes currently in play may be Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.), who sponsored a background check bill on the state level in Georgia, according to Greg Sargent.

Another may be Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.), who has faced a wave of intense criticism — and falling polling numbers — after she voted against the measure last month....  More»

Republicans need to win just six seats to gain control of the U.S. Senate in next year's election, but the AP reports that the GOP is struggling mightily to recruit candidates.

The 2014 elections represent a big chance for Republicans as Democrats will be defending 21 seats to Republicans' 14. In addition, retirement announcements by several senior Democrats — in Iowa, Michigan, and Montana — have given the GOP a chance to not face an incumbent.

But so far there's been a combination of lack of interest from prospective Republican candidates and a lack of consensus in the party on who might be the best candidate.

The GOP is desperately trying to avoid the embarrassing defeats they suffered last year in Indiana and Missouri by nominating bad Senate candidates....  More»

In case you were wondering how long it would take before a member of Congress used the Boston bombings to make a political point, the answer is less than 24 hours.

Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa), a prominent House conservative and longtime opponent of immigration reform, told the National Review that the bombing in Boston should make lawmakers cautious about rushing an immigration bill.

Said King: "Some of the speculation that has come out is that yes, it was a foreign national and, speculating here, that it was potentially a person on a student visa. If that's the case, then we need to take a look at the big picture."

He added: "We need to be ever vigilant. We need to go far deeper into our border crossings... We need to take a look at the visa-waiver program and wonder what we're doing....  More»

Republicans have been working to convert the once-neutral "entitlement" label into a negative to make it easier for Congress to cut social programs.

While an entitlement used to be a positive — indicating a citizen's right to the benefits of a program they paid into — the term is now used to portray social spending that's out of control.

The shift was underscored during last year's presidential election, when Mitt Romney castigated the 47 percent of Americans who "believe that they are entitled to health care, to food, to housing, to you name it."

Now Republicans in Congress are working overtime to attach a similar negative feeling to Social Security and Medicare.

As Bloomberg notes, Americans were once conditioned to regard both programs as special....  More»

This week's vote on the Manchin-Toomey compromise on background checks — expected either Tuesday or Wednesday — will determine if substantive gun control legislation has a chance of becoming law.

Although the bill was mocked by Saturday Night Live over the weekend, it's still the last best hope gun control advocates have to pass new gun restrictions.

But the hurdles are enormous.

The Manchin-Toomey amendment will need at least 60 votes to pass, and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid will have to fight off numerous "poison pill" amendments since he promised an open process for modifying the bill.

But even if the Manchin-Toomey proposal clears the 60-vote hurdle and the amendments process, the legislation faces an even bigger obstacle down the road: the Republican-controlled House of Representatives....  More»

When President Obama introduced his long-awaited budget last week, most of the focus was on his proposal to reduce payments for future Social Security beneficiaries by using a "chained CPI" calculation. The adoption of the calculation would slow the rate of inflation over time and reduce cost-of-living increases for future beneficiaries.

Now the politics are starting to sink in, and it's scaring Democrats.

The Hill points out that a "growing number" of House Democrats are concerned that the president's proposal "will haunt the party at the polls in 2014."

The New York Times says "opponents on his party's left will make that an issue for Democrats in the midterm elections next year — and perhaps in the 2016 presidential contest."

Responding to the outcry, Democratic strategist Robert Shrum says, "You would think President Obama was proposing to repeal ...  More»