Reid guts Senate gun control bill  —  Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said Tuesday he will not include a renewal of the federal assault weapons ban in a Senate gun control bill because it could not win even 40 votes on the Senate floor.  —  “Right now her amendment using …

Assassination ‘Joke’ Sheriff Doubles Down, Compares Critics To Nazis  —  Plymouth County, MA Sheriff Joe McDonald (R)  —  A day after ThinkProgress and others reported that Joseph D. McDonald, Jr. (R), Sheriff of Plymouth County, Massachusetts, told a “joke” at a Republican St. Patrick's …

The Last Letter  —  A Letter to George W. Bush and Dick Cheney From a Dying Veteran  —  I write this letter on the 10th anniversary of the Iraq War on behalf of my fellow Iraq War veterans.  I write this letter on behalf of the 4,488 soldiers and Marines who died in Iraq.

Why should food stamps pay for junk food?  —  Kudos to The Post's Eli Saslow for a vivid story in Sunday's paper about the burgeoning federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and its impact on struggling Woonsocket, R.I. Because of the 2008-09 recession and new eligibility rules …

Larry Sabato and Kyle Kondik: The Early Line on the 2014 Midterms  —  The Obama goal is to regain the House, but holding the Senate is no sure thing.  —  President Obama's greatest setback to date has been the 2010 midterm elections.  Gains that Republicans scored in the House and Senate still circumscribe his agenda.

Our Commitment to Compliance  —  Vice President & Deputy General Counsel, Microsoft  —  Today, the Wall Street Journal reported that the U.S. government is reviewing allegations that Microsoft business partners in three countries may have engaged in illegal activity, and if they did …

The GOP Faces 2 Stark Choices: Change or Go Over the Cliff  —  As they head into the future, Republicans need to decide whether they will follow the path of hope or the road to ruin.  —  The past 96 hours should provide thinking Republicans both hope and despair about their party's future.

GOP catfight: Michael Steele calls Reince Priebus ‘numb nuts’ … The catfight between former Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele and his replacement, Reince Priebus, has reached screech level, with Steele belittling the party's new focus on minorities as old news.

Top Democrat endorses Syria no-fly zone  —  Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin (D-MI) endorsed Tuesday the idea of establishing a no-fly zone inside Syria and attacking the air defenses and air power of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.  —  Levin chaired a hearing …

Supreme Court to release same-day audio of marriage arguments  —  The Supreme Court will release audio recordings on the same day it hears oral arguments over same-sex marriage — a rare step reserved for especially high-profile cases.  —  The court will hear oral arguments next Tuesday …

Associated Press stands by Rand Paul ‘pathway to citizenship’ report  —  The Associated Press is standing by its report that Sen. Rand Paul intended to back a path to citizenship in his speech Tuesday to the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, despite the fact that he did not do so …

Breaking: Colbert Busch wins Democratic primary in S.C. special election, CNN projects  —  (CNN) - CNN projects Elizabeth Colbert Busch, sister of comedian Stephen Colbert, will win Tuesday's Democratic primary for the the South Carolina special election to represent the state's 1st Congressional District.

Angry man takes microphone from KC mayor at speech  —  Mayor Sly James of Kansas City was delivering an upbeat State of the City speech Tuesday when an irate man commandeered the microphone at the Gem Theater.  —  The man was quickly tackled on the stage by bodyguard Marlon Buie and taken to a back area …

Scott trails Crist by 12 points  —  Rick Scott's approval numbers have seen no improvement over the last two months, even after his decision to allow Medicaid expansion in Florida.  33% of voters continue to approve of the job he's doing to 57% who disapprove.

Westboro Equality House: Aaron Jackson Paints Rainbow Home Across From Anti-Gay Church  —  The Westboro Baptist Church is about to get a big surprise in the form of a new neighbor who plans to give the notoriously anti-gay group a taste of its own medicine.  —  Aaron Jackson …

Staffers Told Washington Examiner Will Cease Daily Publication  —  Today's layoffs at the Washington Examiner extend beyond the Local section.  Staffers are being told that the paper will cease daily publication in June to become a weekly political magazine and website, according to two sources who attended a meeting about the change.

Clinton, Dems court an alternative to Ashley Judd  —  Democratic heavy-hitters — including Bill Clinton — are quietly trying to woo a new candidate to jump into the race to unseat Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, even as actress Ashley Judd is taking steps toward launching a star-studded campaign of her own.

Houston-Area Tea Party Leader Had Ties to Fascist Party … As recently as 2003, the president of the Greater Fort Bend County Tea Party had a very different title: director of propaganda for the American Fascist Party.  —  James Ives, a prominent Tea Party activist who has hosted statewide rallies …

The Progressive Shift  —  There is a statue outside the Department of Labor of a powerful, rambunctious horse being reined in by an extremely muscular man.  This used to be a metaphor for liberalism.  The horse was capitalism.  The man was government, which was needed sometimes to restrain capitalism's excesses.

Cops: U.S. law should require logs of your text messages  —  Silicon Valley firms and privacy groups want Congress to update a 1986-era electronic privacy law.  But if a law enforcement idea set to be presented today gets attached, support for the popular proposal would erode.

House GOP grills top Obama immigration official over release of illegal detainees  —  House Republicans grilled the Obama administration's top immigration official on Tuesday for releasing more than 2,000 illegal immigrants from detention facilities.  —  Republicans accused the administration …