Alaska Sen. Mark Begich Says “Same Sex Couples Should Be Able To Marry”  —  “Government should keep out of individuals' personal lives—if someone wants to marry someone they love, they should be able to,” the senator says in a statement.  —  Image by Alex Wong / Getty Images

Rand Paul and Ted Cruz threaten filibuster on guns  —  Sens. Rand Paul, Ted Cruz and Mike Lee are threatening to filibuster gun-control legislation, according to a letter they plan to hand-deliver to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's office on Tuesday.  —  “We will oppose the motion …

Exclusive: Congressional Ethics Probe Adds to Michele Bachmann's Political Woes  —  Add the Office of Congressional Ethics to the long list of probes and lawsuits that may be the only enduring legacy of Bachmann's presidential face-plant.  John Avlon exclusively reports. … Michele Bachmann.

Racist Hate Group To Conduct Nighttime Patrols On College Campus  —  A racist hate group at Towson University has announced plans to conduct its own nighttime police patrols on campus.  —  Founded last year, the White Student Union has stirred significant controversy already.

Defining “Victory”  —  I've written as much as anyone you'll find about how historically anomalous it that the Republican Party keeps responding to presidential election defeats by moving farther from the political mainstream.  But that doesn't mean I necessarily agree with The Moderate Voice's Joe Gandelman …

Walker Writing Book with Former Bush Adviser  —  Governor Scott Walker of Wisconsin, a potential contender for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination, is collaborating on a book with Marc Thiessen, a former chief speechwriter for President George W. Bush.

After taking hit in the polls, Obama pivots back to immigration reform  —  The White House hopes to bolster President Obama's political standing by shifting attention from the bruising budget battles of the last month to immigration reform and gun control.  —  Democrats welcome the pivot …

Supreme Court's Favorable Rating Still at Historic Low  —  Few Conservatives View the Roberts Court as Conservative  —  OVERVIEW  —  As the Supreme Court prepares to hear arguments on two same-sex marriage cases, and with several other high-profile cases on its docket …

Senate banking chair Johnson to announce retirement  —  (Reuters) - Senator Tim Johnson, the Democratic chairman of the powerful banking committee, does not plan to run for re-election when his current term ends in 2014, two sources familiar with the matter and a Capitol Hill staffer said on Monday.

Gun store rescinds Mark Kelly's rifle purchase, questions his ‘intent’  —  A Tucson gun store owner has decided to rescind the sale of a military-style rifle to Mark Kelly, the husband of former U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, after Kelly said he had intended the purchase to make a political point …

Obama creates five new monuments … Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad for escaping slaves.  Charles Young and the Buffalo Soldiers.  The Rio Grande del Norte in New Mexico.  The San Juan Islands off Washington State.  The state of Delaware.  —  These are the places …