Veterans poll: 91 percent back gun checks  —  The vast majority of veterans support universal background checks, a new poll shows.  —  According to a survey commissioned by the organization Vote Vets and the liberal Center for American Progress Action Fund, 91 percent of veterans support requiring …

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 …

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?

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.

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 …

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.

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 …

Israel Detains Five Women For Wearing Prayer Shawls At Western Wall  —  JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli police on Thursday detained five women at a Jerusalem holy site for performing religious rituals there that ultra-Orthodox Jews say are reserved for men.  —  The detentions come …

Ken Cuccinelli Loses Petition To Uphold Anti-Sodomy Law  —  WASHINGTON — A court has denied Virginia Attorney General and 2013 gubernatorial candidate Ken Cuccinelli a full hearing to challenge a ruling that struck down the state's anti-sodomy statute as unconstitutional.

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.

Gun Shop Where Lanza's Mother Bought Bushmaster Shut Down For Selling To A Felon, Background Check Violations  —  EAST WINDSOR, Conn. (AP) — Federal authorities say a Connecticut gun shop that legally sold weapons used in the Newtown school shootings lost its federal firearms license …

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.

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 …

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.

Democrats pressing federal regulators for documents related to shoddy foreclosures  —  Two congressional Democrats are pressing federal regulators to reconsider their decision to withhold documents related shoddy foreclosures.  —  Sen. Elizabeth Warren (Mass.) and Rep. Elijah Cummings (Md.) …

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.