Obama: White House dinner with GOP senators ‘constructive’  —  President Obama “enjoyed a constructive and wide-ranging discussion” over dinner with Republican senators on Wednesday night, White House officials said.  —  During the dinner, which lasted two-and-half-hours …

At Howard University, Rand Paul Falsely Claims He Never Opposed the 1964 Civil Rights Act  —  Following an awkward, earnest speech to an audience at Howard University, Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) insisted several times that he did not oppose the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Top Republican Blasts Obama Budget As ‘Shocking Attack On Seniors’  —  Remember those warnings about how instead of welcoming President Obama's adoption of Chained CPI, Republicans would continue to deny him a budget deal and attack him for proposing to cut Social Security?

The Public Safety and Second Amendment Rights Protection Act  —  Bottom Line: The Public Safety and Second Amendment Rights Protection Act would require states and the federal government to send all necessary records on criminals and the violently mentally ill to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS).

Where's Mitch McConnell?  —  For the fifth time in just two months, Democrats hope to win a showdown procedural vote in the Senate Thursday morning — a burst of momentum which is beginning to raise fragile hopes of a bipartisan revival.  —  Gun control legislation is the immediate issue …

Ben Carson steps down as Hopkins commencement speaker … Neurosurgeon Dr. Ben Carson stepped down Wednesday as commencement speaker at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine after complaints from students about controversial comments concerning same-sex marriage.

Michelle Obama: ‘Hadiya Pendleton was me, and I was her’  —  First lady Michelle Obama held back tears Wednesday as she took a rare step into political debate, urging action to combat violence among young people in her hometown of Chicago and going so far as to suggest that she could have lost her life in urban violence.

Facebook's Zuckerberg launches lobby group with push for immigration reform  —  A new lobby organization co-founded by Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and other tech executives launched on Thursday, focusing its efforts on rallying support for immigration reform.

Immigration, gun deals make Tea Party lawmakers restless  —  House conservatives are growing restless.  —  With bipartisan deals emerging on guns and immigration, Tea Party lawmakers in the lower chamber are warning their leaders to slow down.  —  Longtime immigration reform critic Rep. Steve King …

Daughter of former Obama pastor Rev. Jeremiah Wright indicted … The daughter of the Rev. Jeremiah Wright — the controversial former pastor to President Barack Obama — was indicted today in an expanding federal probe of a state grant tied to a former suburban police chief.

Senators' Group Reaches Deal on Immigration  —  WASHINGTON — A bipartisan group of senators has largely agreed on a broad immigration bill that would require tough border measures to be in place before illegal immigrants could take the first steps to become American citizens …

Republican Congressman Cites Biblical Great Flood To Say Climate Change Isn't Man-Made  —  “If you believe in the Bible, one would have to say the Great Flood is an example of climate change.  That certainly wasn't because man had overdeveloped hydrocarbon energy.”  —  View Video ›

Exclusive: Blair warns Miliband: offer answers, not outrage  —  The former prime minister says Labour must be more than “fellow travellers in sympathy” and warns it not to “tack left on tax and spending”.  —  In his statement on Margaret Thatcher's death earlier this week …

Grassley Proposes Eliminating 3 Seats On Powerful Court To Keep Obama From Filling Them  —  As ThinkProgress has previously explained, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit is the second most powerful court in the country.  It's also a bastion …

Haley Barbour Leaves American Crossroads Amid Concerns Over Conservative Victory Project  —  The powerful fundraising team that American Crossroads deployed in 2012 to pull in more than $300 million has lost ace fundraiser Haley Barbour, according to three GOP operatives close to the super PAC.