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.