In this week’s issue of TIME: After punching Obama hard, can John McCain and Lindsey Graham shake their rival’s hand?
The Path to War
A look inside Barack Obama’s struggle to stop an Iranian nuke.
Robin Kelly: Who Is the Bloomberg-Backed ‘Gun Control Candidate’ of Chicago?
Here’s a two-minute bio on the woman who will likely win Jesse Jackson, Jr.’s congressional seat.
Morning Must Reads: February 28
In the news: Woodward “threatened” by White House, Obama’s sequester bluff, red states, Voting Rights Act, Arne Duncan’s pinocchio.
All You Need to Know About Sequestration But Were Afraid to Ask
You changed the channel, you clicked away from the headlines, and you tried to ignore it. But the sequester can no longer be avoided. On March 1, the latest dysfunctional deadlock in Washington will trigger $85 billion in …
Rubio Supports Giving Ammunition, But Not Arms, to Syria
Sen. Marco Rubio lays out his foreign policy identity: provide ammo and intel to Syria rebels, prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, and bone up on foreign aid and humanitarian efforts.
I’m with the Tree Huggers
If we’re in a war to stop global warming, then we need to fight it on the beaches, the landing zones, and the carbon-spewing tar sands of Alberta.
Illinois Representative Compares Gun Control to Castration
“You folks in Chicago want me to get castrated because your families are having too many kids.”
13%
— Of presidentially appointed positions were not filled by the end of Obama’s first term, compared to around 10% for Bush II and 11% for Clinton, according to ProPublica.
Teddy Turner: “Break Up” with Mark Sanford
In a satirical spot, Teddy Turner asks South Carolina to “break up” with career politicians like ex-governor Mark Sanford.
Portrait of a Lady: A Female Syrian Rebel Speaks to TIME
Em Joseph doesn’t really look like many of the women in this socially conservative stretch of Syria‘s Idlib province…
What’s Wrong with the Violence Against Women Act?
A vocal group of researchers and advocates are questioning whether VAWA’s original intent—to make law enforcement the primary tool to stop domestic violence—was the right approach.
So Just How Wounded is Hagel?
TIME’s Mark Thompson goes on PBS to discuss the new Defense Secretary.