The IRS acknowledged Friday that its agents at an Ohio office asked inappropriate questions of Tea Party and other conservative groups as they flagged them for additional scrutiny.

The following, based on questionnaires made public by Tea Party groups, are examples of the requests made by the IRS as part of the application for tax-exempt status.

-- Copies of current web pages, including blog posts and social networking site pages

-- Copies of all newsletters, bulletins and flyers

-- Names of donors and amounts they gave

-- Names of those who received donations and amounts received

-- Dates of community events including rallies

-- Contents of speeches delivered at sponsored events

-- Names of event organizers

-- Copies of documents that rate political candidates

-- Amount of money spent on publishing materials

-- Membership agreement and rules that govern members

-- Salary information

WASHINGTON - Joint Chiefs Chairman General Martin Dempsey says U.S. forces stand ready to take military action in Syria -- but warns a no-fly zone in the country may not work.

"Whether the military effect would produce the kind of outcome that all of us would desire - an end to the violence, some kind of political reconciliation among the parties and a stable Syria - it's not clear to me that it would produce that outcome," Dempsey said Tuesday at a Christian Science Monitor luncheon. "Options are ready," Dempsey continued. "And if it becomes clear to me or if I'm ordered to do so we will act, but at this point, that hasn't occurred."

While no specific details were provided on those options, Dempsey was clear that despite new intelligence indicating chemical weapons have been used in Syria, America's military posture remains the same.

"Nothing I've heard in the last week or so has changed anything about the actions we're taking as a military," he said. "We've been planning, we've been developing options, [and] we are looking to determine whether these options remain valid as conditions change. That doesn't mean that what's happened over the last week wouldn't change the policy calculus - but militarily our task has been to continue to plan, to continue to engage with partners in the region, and to continue to refine options so that if we're asked to implement any - we'll be ready."

President Barack Obama has said if the Assad regime uses chemical weapons it would be a 'game changer' and such action would cross a 'red line.' (read more)

The following is a list of lawmakers who crossed party lines on the "Manchin-Toomey amendment," the proposal to expand background checks to Internet sales and gun shows. The amendment failed in the Senate Wednesday on a 54-46 vote.

Republicans who defected and voted "yes":

Pennsylvania Sen. Pat Toomey

Illinois Sen. Mark Kirk 

Maine Sen. Susan Collins

Arizona Sen. John McCain

Democrats who defected and voted "no":

North Dakota Sen. Heidi Heitkamp 

Arkansas Sen. Mark Pryor

Alaska Sen. Mark Begich 

Montana Sen. Max Baucus

Nevada Sen. Harry Reid (Reid only voted no for procedural reasons, so that Democrats can call up the provision later on)

Mark Kelly, the husband of former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, knocked Arizona Sen. Jeff Flake for his opposition to the Senate gun control bill -- saying he's one of many lawmakers "looking for a reason to get to no."

"It appears to me that maybe he hasn't read the bill because his concerns are addressed in the legislation," Kelly said at a Christian Science Monitor breakfast.

Giffords was severely wounded in the 2011 Tucson mass shooting. She and her husband have since launched a campaign urging lawmakers to approve expanded background checks and other provisions.

Flake, though, said on his Facebook page that the current proposal "goes too far."

Kelly has a meeting with Flake later Tuesday. "When I explain to him in person, I think we can get him to come around," Kelly said.

Asked what would happen if Flake ends up not supporting this bill, Kelly said his organization would seek to replace him in the Senate. "Friendship is one thing, saving people's lives is another," he said.

Senior aides to Sen. Marco Rubio tell Fox News they just had their best fundraising quarter in two years.

According to the aides, Rubio raised for his PAC and his re-election committee more than $2.3 million in the first quarter of 2013.

They also report that the campaign: 

-- Identified more than 15,000 new donors

-- Raised money from all 50 states

-- Received more than half of that money from low-dollar donors

The campaign raised more in the first quarter than they did in all of last year. Though Rubio is not up for re-election in Florida until 2016, the surge comes as the Republican senator plays a key role in negotiating immigration legislation, which is expected to be introduced Tuesday.

The average for a politician to raise in an "off-cycle" year is a few hundred thousand dollars, max.

The union representing thousands of Immigration and Customs Enforcement employees is calling on Republican Sen. Marco Rubio to leave the tight-knit group negotiating an immigration overhaul.

Rubio is considered the most politically vital member of the so-called "Gang of Eight," since his support could give conservatives cover to ultimately vote for legislation Congress for years has struggled to pass. Rubio is one of four Republicans in the group, which is preparing to introduce legislation in a matter of days.

But National ICE Council President Chris Crane issued a lengthy statement Friday saying the union is not confident the bill would address the flow of illegal immigration. He specifically raised concern that, based on the assessment of one Democratic member, the plan could legalize millions of illegal immigrants before enforcing border security.

"I would then respectfully call on Senator Rubio to follow through on his commitment to the American people -- and his pledge to accomplish enforcement before legalization -- and to leave the Gang of 8," Crane said in a statement.

The proposal, though, is said to ratchet up border surveillance and make other security changes. Rubio spokesman Alex Conant, in response to the ICE union statement, said the forthcoming proposal is "the start of the process." (read more)

WASHINGTON - We will soon know the fate of what some are calling the military's new ‘Nintendo medal.'

Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel told members of the House Armed Services Committee Thursday that he will make an official announcement early next week, but the Pentagon chief may have already tipped his hand.

"It is a concern to me, it's a concern to any veteran, anybody in the military," Hagel said during his first appearance on Capitol Hill since being confirmed as defense secretary.

The Distinguished Warfare Medal was rolled out in February and was supposed to be awarded to troops who operate drones or use other technical skills to fight America's wars without ever stepping foot on the battlefield.

Former Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta said it was meant to recognize contributions made in a world of changing warfare, but veterans groups objected, with many outraged over the fact that the new award had been ranked above medals like the Bronze Star or the Purple Heart -- earned only by troops who serve on the front lines and in harm's way. (read more)

The following is a list of Republican lawmakers who voted to advance the gun legislation in the Senate Thursday:

New Hampshire Sen. Kelly Ayotte

Georgia Sen. Saxby Chambliss

Oklahoma Sen. Tom Coburn

Maine Sen. Susan Collins

Arizona Sen. Jeff Flake

Georgia Sen. Johnny Isakson 

Arizona Sen. John McCain

Mississippi Sen. Roger Wicker 

North Carolina Sen. Richard Burr 

North Dakota Sen. John Hoeven

Illinois Sen. Mark Kirk

South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham 

Tennessee Sen. Lamar Alexander

Tennessee Sen. Bob Corker

Pennsylvania Sen. Pat Toomey 

Nevada Sen. Dean Heller

The following is a list of Democratic lawmakers who voted against advancing gun legislation:

Alaska Sen. Mark Begich 

Arkansas Sen. Mark Pryor

The following is a breakdown of what's actually in the firearms bill which cleared a key Senate test vote Thursday morning.

The package, as currently formulated, is made up of three provisions that passed the Senate Judiciary Committee last month:

1) Expanding background checks

2) Cracking down on gun trafficking and straw purchasing

3) Reauthorizing and expanding a Justice Department grant program for school safety

Most of the focus has been on the background check portion, by far the most sweeping and contentious of the three. Right now the bill as currently written contains a background-check plan authored by Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. But in light of the Manchin-Toomey compromise rolled out yesterday, if the Senate advances the legislation Thursday, Sen. Harry Reid has said one of the first amendments to the bill will be to swap the Manchin-Toomey framework in for the Schumer placeholder. That framework would apply background checks for gun show and Internet sales but exempt some other personal transactions. (read more)

Sandy Hook families come to the Capitol today to press senators for tougher gun measures.

We expect them to stick to the Senate side and meet with senators who oppose enhanced gun laws or moderate Democrats who may have trouble voting for a gun bill.

There is a conference call this afternoon with those families.

From a parliamentary standpoint, the Senate is NOT on the gun bill. That's because they are stuck on the "motion to proceed" to the actual bill, due to a threatened GOP filibuster. In other words, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., would need to cobble together 60 votes just to formally LAUNCH the debate and get cloture, and then another 60 votes to end debate.

So, we'll hear a lot about guns on the floor today. But they are technically not on the bill.

Reid has not yet filed cloture on the motion to proceed. He could do that today. And even so, that typically takes TWO DAYS from when he has filed cloture just to get to that vote. So that means Thursday is most likely for the first big procedural vote on guns.

That said, Democrats will probably pick up a couple of their moderate-to-conservative Democrats who face tough re-elections next year -- but lose a few, too. That means they need some Republicans to vote for cloture. (read more)