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 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).

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 …

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 ›

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.

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.

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 …

The Power of Talking to Your Baby  —  By the time a poor child is 1 year old, she has most likely already fallen behind middle-class children in her ability to talk, understand and learn.  The gap between poor children and wealthier ones widens each year, and by high school it has become a chasm.

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 …

Mad Men  —  Who's more dangerous to Americans than Kim Jong Un?  —  America is rightly on edge.  When a man with the power to make life-or-death decisions affecting thousands of U.S. citizens recklessly shows contempt for decency and international norms of behavior, it is no wonder the American people would be both angry and fearful.

Senate votes 87-11 to confirm Sally Jewell as secretary of the Interior  —  The Senate approved Sally Jewell to be the next Interior Secretary on Wednesday, placing her atop an agency at the center of intense political battles over energy throughout President Obama's tenure.

AG sues florist who refused flowers to gay wedding  —  State Attorney General Bob Ferguson on Tuesday filed a consumer protection lawsuit against Arlene's Flowers & Gifts, a Richland florist that refused to supply flowers to the same-sex marriage of a longtime customer.