The Proposition 8 oral argument  —  Much will be written about the Proposition 8 oral argument.  The bottom line, in my opinion, is that the Court probably will not have the five votes necessary to get to any result at all, and almost certainly will not have five votes to decide the merits of whether Proposition 8 is constitutional.

Obama to name Julia Pierson as new Secret Service director  —  President Obama will appoint Julia Pierson, a veteran U.S. Secret Service agent and senior official, as the first female director of the agency, White House officials said Tuesday.  —  Pierson, 53, began her career in the Secret Service …

South Carolina special a toss up  —  PPP's first look at the special election in South Carolina's 1st Congressional District finds a toss up race.  Democrat Elizabeth Colbert Busch leads Republican Mark Sanford 47-45 and ties Curtis Bostic at 43.  —  This is a Republican leaning district …

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 …

Despite Abortion Bans, TRAP Law Is the Real Threat to Abortion Access in North Dakota (UPDATED) … “Personhood,” heartbeat bans, forcing women to give birth to babies diagnosed with genetic anomalies that make them unlikely to survive long after birth, if they make it that long …

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 …

CNN Demolishes Obama's ‘High-Speed Rail Boondoggle’  —  On his CNN show last night, Anderson Cooper profiled the Obama administration's unfulfilled promises and wasteful spending on high-speed rail projects across the country.  Cooper and investigative reporter Drew Griffin highlighted …

College Grads May Be Stuck in Low-Skill Jobs  —  The recession left millions of college-educated Americans working in coffee shops and retail stores.  Now, new research suggests their job prospects may not improve much when the economy rebounds.  —  Underemployment—skilled workers doing jobs …

Cyprus bail-out: savers will be raided to save euro in future crises, says eurozone chief  —  Savings accounts in Spain, Italy and other European countries will be raided if needed to preserve Europe's single currency by propping up failing banks, a senior eurozone official has announced.

In Private, Quinn Displays a Volatile Side  —  Christine C. Quinn was not pleased.  —  A session of the New York City Council had descended into chaos, and lawmakers were openly questioning her leadership.  Ms. Quinn, the Council speaker, decided there was one person to blame: Betsy Gotbaum …

Banking gavel could fall to Wall Street critic  —  Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), one of Wall Street's harshest critics, could end up leading the Senate Banking Committee if Democrats retain control of the Senate in 2014.  —  Chairman Tim Johnson (D-S.D.), who has led the Banking Committee since 2011 …