Hillary Clinton reportedly threw things at husband Bill when they were living in the White House. Now she's attacking some of his key policies. As a candidate for president the former first lady condemned the "era of incarceration" which began in the 1990s during the Clinton administration as a result of the 1994 crime bill. She also expressed skepticism about Clinton-backed free trade pacts.

Remember those emails by tax scandal figure Lois Lerner that the IRS said had been lost? Guess what -- they've been found. An inspector general investigating the improper scrutiny of conservative groups reports the recovery of thousands of emails which disappeared when Lerner's computer crashed. They will be of great interest to congressional committees conducting a bipartisan inquiry.

Creating the proper setting for a president's appearance comes at a high cost -- to taxpayers. When President Obama visited Jamaica and held a town hall meeting in April, the State Department spent almost $50,000 for "staging" and installation of generators and air conditioners.

Casting about for someone to blame for the Baltimore riots, President Obama singled out two of his favorite targets. He said police departments "have to do some soul searching" and that Republicans are at fault for blocking "investments in urban communities."

Remarks attributed to a senior Iranian cleric might result in a trip to the woodshed for Secretary of State John Kerry. Ayatollah Alam al-Hoda was quoted as saying that during the U.S.-Iran nuclear talks Kerry told iran's foreign minister that he "wished the U.S. had a leader like Iran's supreme leader." A senior administration official called the report absurd.

How Your Taxes Are Spent
The University of California, Berkeley, misused more than $1.8 million in taxpayer funding from the National Science Foundation on unallowale salaries for researchers and alcohol purchases, according to an NSF inspector general's report.

Who is an example of a "sore loser"? Former "American Idol" contestant Clay Aiken is certainly making a strong effort. In an interview promoting his new TV series "The Runner-Up" Aiken said of Rep. Renee Ellmers, R-N.C., who defeated him in a race last year, "She's an idiot." He also called her some unprintable names.

An unusual diaplay of bipartisanship occurred at the White House Correspondents dinner. Donald Trump, a harsh critic of President Obama, gave his national security adviser, Susan Rice, what The Hill described as "a huge and dramatic" hug in the middle of the Washington Hilton ballroom. Trump's only explanation for his odd behavior: "She's a good woman. She's got the toughest job."

The Word of the Week, according to Capitol Hill newspaper Roll Call, is "optics" - defined as "how voters and the media perceive something." 

Former President George W. Bush scrapped his policy of not criticizing his successor, accusing him of being naive about Iran and the pending nuclear deal. In remarks to Jewish Republican donors, Bush was harshly critical of President Obama's policies in fighting the Islamic state. Obama probably wishes Bush would just sti

ck to his hobby of painting.

When a syndicated columnist writes something complimentary about a candidate it's usually cause of celebration. But Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., who is eyeing a 2016 race for the White House might have preferred George Will comment more on his views on national security rather than say he would be a "fun" addition to the field.

What kind of taxpayer refiles returns without being forced to do so? The Clinton Foundation, after Reuters found it had inadequately disclosed donations from foreign governments, admitted the mistake and announced plans for a redo of returns from 2010 to 2012. Repeated revelations suggest such donations may have influenced Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton's conduct as secretary of state.

Hillary Clinton's first campaign outing was a memorable one. She made a stop at a cafe and nobody recognized her. In a three-day visit to Council Bluffs, Iowa, she held a top-secret meeting with Democrat insiders while her "Scooby" van was parked in a handicapped space. News reports said she had little interaction with "real people." She ditched her van and flew back east to be met by a town car and a police escort.

Clinton's apparent reluctance to reach out to voters doesn't seem to bother one top Democrat; nor is Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., worried about Clinton's vote in the Senate for the Iraq War. Pelosi, who served briefly as the first woman to become House Speaker, told reporters: "What's important is what it would mean to elect a woman president."

Only in Washington
The Florida man who caused a major security alarm by landing a small helicopter on the U.S. Capitol grounds was held in federal custody briefly, then released and sent home with a warning not to come back.

Medical researchers say someone on the earth now living is likely to reach the age of 1,000 years old. That's the good news. The bad news is: it's Harry Reid.

The Nevada senator has been in a nasty humor since he lost his majority leader post in the last election and later acquired some ugly bruises on his face. Reid blamed them on an exercising accident in his bathroom and denied Rush Limbaugh's charge that he got beaten by the mob. To preserve his reputation, in a CNBC interview he called Republican leader Mitch McConnell a "lump of coal" and said GOP candidates for 20016 are "all losers."

It's a long time till Christmas but President Obama was in a giving mood so he handed out Social Security numbers to 541,000 illegal immigrants. That makes them eligible to draw federal tax credits as well as Social Security disability and retirement benefits.

On the eve of the dreaded tax payment deadline, we learn this: The federal government is taxing away more of our money, spending more of it and running up a bigger deficit, according to the Congressional Budget Office.

Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton has a new name, courtesy of Sen. Marc Rubio, R-Fla. In announcing his candidacy for president, Rubio declared, "Yesterday is over, and we are never going back." He didn't name names, but headline writers did it for him: "Clinton Was Yesterday."

"Skeptical" "Unpersuaded" Those were some of the words used by lawmakers coming out of a briefing by Secretary of State John Kerry on the Iran nuclear issue as a Senate committee prepared to consider a bipartisan bill giving Congress the right to review the agreement before it's implemented. Iran's leaders used harsher terms.

As a declared candidate for president, Hillary Clinton has her work cut out for her, convincing voters she can relate to "real people" when she hasn't driven a car in 20 years. She vows to protect Americans from the 1 percent, when her income from speeches puts her in that elite class. Also, her campaign is being funded by the 1 percent.

How Your Taxes Are Spent
The Air Force has hired a company called the Date Safe Project for $10,000 to instruct servicemen when it is okay to kiss a girl.

It's happened again. In Quebec City thousands of Canadian eco-activists marched through snow to protest global warming.

President Obama is facing opposition to the Iran nuclear "framework" that resulted from months-long negotiations, but it's not confined to his own country. Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, accused the Obama administration of "lying" about the proposed terms and having "devilish" intentions.

How long will it be before Joe Biden is declared a public nuisance? The touchy-feely vice president was a little too affectionate with the young daughter of a new congresswoman. Recently he "snuggled" with the new defense secretary's wife from behind while he was being sworn in. His latest stunt was to steal a pacifier from a young boy and stick it in his mouth.

"He has a store up and running, a campaign store. And you can buy 'Stand with Rand' flip-flops. It's a bold politician who sells flip-flops." - George Will, about Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., newest candidate for president.

The complexity of the tax code is costing the U.S. economy $233.8 billion in "lost productivity", according to the National Taxpayers Union Foundation. Taxpayers filing their own forms amounts to 6.1 billion hours of activity, valued at $202.1 billion. Add to that $31.7 billion for professional preparers and software to comply with a "complex and invasive tax code."

A widespread power outage swept Washington as State Department spokesperson Marie Harf was giving a briefing to reporters. Well, it wasn't the first time she was in the dark about President Obama's foreign policy.

United Nations climate chief Christiana Figueres says to fight global warming we "really should make every effort" to reduce global population. Isn't that what ISIS is doing?

In presidential politics there's a multi-million-dollar fundraising campaign going on and it's not for a candidate. The "Stop Hillary" PAC, with 827,000 supporters, has raised $1.4 million in its effort to prevent Hillary Clinton from going to the White House again.

Airline passengers are unwittingly helping to fund a federal agency. They left behind $674,841 at airport security checkpoints in 2014. The spare change, if not claimed, may be spent by the Transportation Security Administration on its operations.

"This is not selfie time. Let the brother worship in the house of God." - Dr. Howard-John Wesley, pastor of Alfred Street Baptist Church in Alexandria, Va., admonishing the African-American congregation as President Obama and his family made a rare appearance in church on Easter Sunday.

The reputation of the U.S. Secret Service has suffered from a series of security lapses and incidents of drunken agents. But at least some employees were sober enough to try a clumsy attempt to retaliate against Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, one of the agency's most vocal critics. They leaked information about Chaffetz once being rejected for a job as an agent. Chaffetz called them on it and is pressing ahead with a House Oversight Committee investigation.

Out of the scandal sheets of the past comes former Sen. Gary Hart, D-Colo., to take a dig at Hillary Clinton. Hart, a serial skirtchaser like her husband Bill, said the prospect of a billion-dollar Clinton campaign "ought to frighten every American." The two-time loser in presidential campaigns told politico.com Democrats would be better served by a competitive primary.

Attention bookworms: Would it surprise you to learn that one of the newest bestsellers is the Constitution of the United States? Perhaps propelled by the outcry over Indiana's religious freedom law, the 228-year-old document is landed at number seven on the Conservative Best Seller list for the week of April 1-7.

After 19 months of negotiations between the U.S. and Iran, President Obama proudly announced the result: a framework for a potential agreement on the hostile nation's nuclear program. Obama's happy talk about what he hopes to be his primary legacy was met with sharp barbs from Congress. Some members insist on a congressional review before any economic sanctions on Iran are lifted.

Despite their immense wealth, Bill and Hillary Clinton are still traveling here and there at the expense of American taxpayers. The Weekly Standard reports that when the former president and his wife spent a New Year's Eve holiday in the Dominican Republic, their Secret Service protection -- hotel bill alone -- cost at least $104,093.

It's not just Republicans who have urged ending the negotiations with Iran over nuclear development. Howard Dean, former Democratic presidential candidate and national party chairman, said, "I'm worried about how these negotiations have gone." He agreed the U.S. should walk away from the table.

Another Democrat who has been critical of Obama administration foreign policy, Sen. Robert Menendez of New Jersey, was indicted on federal corruption charges. He is sponsor of a bill requiring any Iran deal be brought before Congress for a 60-day review.

An April Fools Day story sounded like a hoax, but several sources said it was true. Secretary of State John Kerry, asked about the Iran talks by an Iranian-American journalist is reported to have replied, "Inshallah." The term translates to "If Allah wills it."

There's plenty of hypocrisy to go around in the furor over Indiana's new religious freedom law. Columnist George Will took Apple CEO Tim Cook to task for cricizing the law on grounds it discriminates against LGBT individuals. He pointed out that Cook does business with Saudi Arabia, which persecutes people for being gay.

School children across the country won't eat the "healthy" school lunch meals pushed by First Lady Michelle Obama. So what becomes of the unwanted food? In Rio Rancho, N.M., the Galloping Grace Youth Ranch is collecting around five tons a week of fruits and vegetables thrown away at schools in the area. It is fed to pigs and other farm animals. So far no protests have been registered.

Rep. Ann Wagner, R-Mo., took a firm position in favor of fast food and beer, tweeting that newspaper stories about McDonald's and Miller Coors "deserve the front page." Her strong stand lasted only 34 seconds, however. An aide quickly deleted the post from her Twitter account.