Money left behind by passengers at airport checkpoints ends up being used by TSA. NBC News reports:

TSA makes “every effort to reunite passengers with items left at security checkpoints,” said agency spokesperson Nico Melendez. But all those nickels, dimes, quarters – and a smattering of poker chips and crumpled bills – usually end up getting counted, forwarded to the TSA financial office and then spent on general security operations. Congress approved that TSA expenditure in 2005, but some lawmakers and passengers rights groups are unhappy TSA gets to keep the change.

Foreign governments are paying for Congressional staffers to take lavish trips according to this story in The Washington Post:

More and more foreign governments are sponsoring such excursions for lawmakers and their staffs, though an overhaul of ethics rules adopted by Congress five years ago banned them from going on most other types of free trips. This overseas travel is often arranged by lobbyists for foreign governments, though lobbyists were barred from organizing other types of congressional trips out of concern that the trips could be used to buy favor.

As the fight for Drakes Bay Oyster Company continues, local businesses worry the price of oysters will significantly increase if the farm is forced to close. Read more from the Marin Independent Journal:

The Drakes Bay Oysters Co. is making its final legal bid to stay open and there is fear if it fails oyster prices will rise and the bivalve business in the region won’t be the same…If it does not grant the injunction, Drakes Bay will have to close operations by March 15, a move many believe will lead to higher oyster prices in the region.

The latest update in the Drakes Bay Oyster case covered today by The Press Democrat:

A federal judge on Monday denied Drakes Bay Oyster Company’s second legal bid to remain in business beyond a Feb. 28 deadline to quit harvesting oysters from Drakes Estero in the Point Reyes National Seashore. U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers issued a 70-word order rejecting oyster farm operator Kevin Lunny’s appeal of her previous ruling on Feb. 4.

DNC chairwoman tries to deceive the press in an effort to criticize Marco Rubio. The Washington Examiner has this story:

Democratic National Committee chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz attempted a bit of deception Monday in an effort to criticize GOP rising star Marco Rubio ahead of his State of the Union rebuttal Tuesday night. But on this occasion, the press wasn’t falling for it. In a conference call Monday, Wasserman Schultz enlisted the help of Annette Capella, described by party officials as a “Medicare recipient from Florida,” to warn of the “extreme budget priorities,” they believe Rubio is likely to outline in his televised response to President Obama’s address.

A senator sharply criticizes overspending and program duplication by the Justice Department. The Daily Caller reports:

Pointing to charts showing the web of redundant and expensive Justice Department grants, Coburn argued that the last thing the Senate should do is add to the mess. “Department of Justice grants — 253 different programs, not just run by the Department of Justice, but nine other agencies besides them — [are] spending $3.9 billion a year,” he said, while displaying a cost chart. “And we might say that’s okay. Now let’s look at the organization.”

There is more coverage of the Drakes Bay Oyster Conflict today. The Washington Free Beacon has the latest:

The Drakes Bay Oyster Company is appealing a judge’s decision to deny injunctive relief against the secretary of the interior’s decision not to renew the business’ permit to use federal land, Cause of Action announced Wednesday. “We are committed to fighting against government abuse and overreach to keep the Lunny family in business … and are taking all the necessary legal steps to appeal this ruling,” said Amber Abbasi, Cause of Action’s chief counsel for regulatory affairs, in a statement. Cause of Action is representing the company and its owner in this case along with Briscoe Ivester & Bazel, LLP, and SSL Law.

Retiring DOT Secretary, Ray LaHood says, “America is one big pothole.”  More from The Hill:

Critics of President Barack Obama’s recess appointments are calling on Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan to recuse herself from a potential Supreme Court hearing on the matter. The Chamber of Commerce raised the prospect of recusal, citing then-solicitor general Kagan’s defense of President Obama’s recess appointments in a previous case regarding the composition of the National Labor Relations Board.

Senators are blaming congress for agency waste and duplication. Government Executive has this story:

Key reasons for wasteful duplication of federal programs include a lack of knowledge among lawmakers and their tendency to think parochially and short-term, Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., said Wednesday. “We have a great federal workforce, but the problem is that members of Congress, while well intentioned, lack oversight and knowledge of what programs are out there,” Coburn told business executives at a forum on transforming government for the 21st century sponsored by the Business Roundtable and Governing magazine.

The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform is concerned about how the DOJ is enforcing adherence to FOIA laws. 

The judge in our Drakes Bay Oyster company lawsuit issued a ruling on the motion for preliminary injunction yesterday. The Associated Press reports:

A federal judge on Monday denied a Northern California oyster farm’s request to have its removal from Point Reyes National Seashore overturned, and ruled against allowing it to continue doing business in the park while its lawsuit is being heard in court. The judge denied owner Kevin Lunny’s request to void Interior Secretary Ken Salazar’s refusal to renew the historic oyster farm’s lease for another 10 years. The rulings dealt a blow to the popular Drakes Bay Oyster Co.’s last-ditch effort to remain in business beyond its March 15 eviction date. 

[UPDATE] Be sure to read our response to the judge’s ruling.

President Obama is starting to vet replacements for cabinet members. More from Reuters:

A California-based hospital company says it will not comply with at least two National Labor Relations Board rulings from the past year after a federal court invalidated three of President Barack Obama’s recess appointments to the NLRB last week. 

A DOJ memo detailing legal justification for drone strikes, even on American citizens, was leaked. The New York Times has this story:

Obama administration lawyers have asserted that it would be lawful to kill a United States citizen if “an informed, high-level official” of the government decided that the target was a ranking figure in Al Qaeda who posed “an imminent threat of violent attack against the United States” and if his capture was not feasible, according to a 16-page document made public on Monday.