The latest political headlines powered by NBC News and msnbc.com  —  NBC News projects Lugar defeated in Indiana primary  —  NBC News has declared Richard Mourdock as the projected winner in the Indiana Senate primary.  Mourdock defeated six-term Republican foreign policy elder statesman Sen. Richard Lugar.

No Birth Certificate Required  —  The White House Visitors Office requires that an unborn child—still residing in utero—must be counted as a full human being when its parents register for a White House tour, according to documents obtained by the Washington Free Beacon.

Half of Americans Support Legal Gay Marriage  —  Democrats and independents in favor; Republicans opposed  —  PRINCETON, NJ — Fifty percent of Americans believe same-sex marriages should be recognized by law as valid, with the same rights as traditional marriages — down slightly from 53% last year …

Cruel irony in Elizabeth Warren's Cherokee saga  —  Throughout her career and political campaign, Elizabeth Warren has found victims everywhere she looked, including when she looked in the mirror and saw an alleged descendant of one of the most historically victimized groups, Native Americans.

Low student loan interest rates in limbo after Democrats' bill stalls in Senate  —  In a 52-45 vote, the Senate on Tuesday rejected a motion to proceed to legislation that would keep interest rates on federal student loans from doubling.  —  Sixty votes were needed to move to a debate on the legislation …

Suicide Mission Volunteer Was Double Agent, Officials Say  —  WASHINGTON — The would-be suicide bomber dispatched by the Yemen branch of Al Qaeda last month to blow up a United States-bound airliner was actually a double agent who infiltrated the terrorist group and volunteered for the suicide mission …

Michele Bachmann claims Swiss citizenship  —  Rep. Michelle Bachmann is now officially a Swiss miss.  —  Bachmann (R-Minn.) recently became a citizen of Switzerland, making her eligible to run for office in the tiny European nation, according to a Swiss TV report Tuesday.

Biden defends Iran stance: ‘We were the problem’  —  Atlanta (CNN) - Vice President Joe Biden spoke out forcefully against the Iranian government Tuesday at the Rabbinical Assembly Convention meeting, saying actions taken by the Obama White House were preventing Iran from developing a nuclear weapon.

Mob on the Quad  —  Late last night, in a shameful example of editorial cowardice, the Chronicle of Higher Education fired Naomi Schaefer Riley.  Naomi is a good friend of mine, a sometimes contributor to THE WEEKLY STANDARD, and a fine writer.  And the story of what happened to her is highly instructive.

Wake up Democrats; you could lose  —  Editor's note: James Carville is a Democratic strategist who serves as a political contributor for CNN, appearing frequently on “The Situation Room” as well as other programs on all CNN networks.  —  (CNN) — A long time ago a great three-time governor of Louisiana …

Chart of the day: Let's go buy a house!  —  Many thanks to Ben Walsh for putting this chart together for me.  The source is this data at the Census bureau, inspired by page two of the first-quarter 2012 Census bureau report on rental vacancies and homeownership.

Unemployment Rate Without Government Cuts: 7.1%  —  One reason the unemployment rate may have remained persistently high: The sharp cuts in state and local government spending in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, and the layoffs those cuts wrought.  —  The Labor Department's establishment survey …

Maurice Sendak, Children's Author Who Upended Tradition, Dies at 83  —  Maurice Sendak, widely considered the most important children's book artist of the 20th century, who wrenched the picture book out of the safe, sanitized world of the nursery and plunged it into the dark …