It was worth it.  Probably.  —  Open enrollment for the Affordable Care Act ended officially on Monday night.  And the last-minute rush to sign up for new insurance plans was every bit as big as the experts had always predicted.  Traffic to the online marketplaces and calls to the telephone help centers were the highest ever.

Inside Paul Ryan's Latest Plan To Gut Medicare  —  House Budget Committee Chairman Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI)  —  On Tuesday, House Budget Committee Chairman Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) released his new budget blueprint for fiscal year 2015.  It contains many of the same cuts to social safety net …

CIA misled on interrogation program, Senate report says  —  A report by the Senate Intelligence Committee concludes that the CIA misled the government and the public about aspects of its brutal interrogation program for years — concealing details about the severity of its methods …

Starbucks apologizes to La. teacher for barista's Satanic designs drawn in her coffee foam  —  Starbucks has apologized to a Louisiana teacher who complained that a barista drew Satanic symbols in her coffee foam.  —  Megan Pinion posted photos of two beverages she bought at a Baton Rouge coffee shop …

Appeals Court Finds Florida's 2012 Voter Purge Broke The Law  —  A federal appeals court on Tuesday ruled that Florida's 2012 efforts to remove non-citizens from its voter rolls violated the National Voter Registration Act.  —  The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 2-1 that the state's efforts …

The bizarre double life of conservative congressional hopeful Jake Rush  —  Running for the U.S. Congress can be the role of a lifetime for a budding politician, which would seem on the surface to fit right in with “conservative” Republican candidate Jacob A. Rush.

Why a Jeb Bush presidential run would be hard on the GOP.  —  Jeb Bush is having a moment.  For two months or so, as Chris Christie's presidential fortunes have appeared abridged, people who have supported the New Jersey governor (or at least are predisposed to support him) …

Home-Run Hitters of the Supreme Court  —  In the nation's history, 112 people have served on the Supreme Court of the United States.  Suppose that we were to select the all-time greats.  Who would make the cut?  —  To answer that question, we need a metric.

CREW scores major FOIA win in Tom DeLay case  —  A watchdog group pressing a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit for records about a federal investigation into former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Texas) scored a major legal victory Tuesday by winning a court ruling that could increase public access …

A Gaffe Can Matter When It Motivates the Base  —  We recently published a forecast that described the GOP as more likely than not to win the U.S. Senate in November.  But our analysis was less bullish on Republicans' prospects of flipping the seat in Iowa currently held by Democratic Sen. Tom Harkin, who is retiring.

British sniper in Afghanistan kills six Taliban with one bullet  —  Lance Corporal in the Coldstream Guards hit trigger switch of suicide bomber whose device then exploded, Telegraph learns  —  A British sniper in Afghanistan killed six insurgents with a single bullet after hitting …

Covered California Sends Deaf Callers To Hotline Offering ‘Hot Ladies’  —  SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — On the deadline to sign up for health coverage through Covered California, some hearing-impaired residents were sent to a chat line offering ‘hot ladies’ instead of an insurance navigator.

Someone Else's Debt Could Ruin Your Credit Rating  —  Debt collectors are pursuing one in seven Americans—and often screwing up  —  Last month, Amrit Singh, an adjunct professor at Hostos Community College in the South Bronx, received a letter from the New York City Marshal, advising him that he owed $10,000, due within 20 days.

What Really Killed William Henry Harrison?  —  William Henry Harrison, the ninth president of the United States, holds a distinction that with luck will never be equaled: He was our shortest-serving president, dying on April 4, 1841, after just a month in office.  —  What killed him?

Joe Manchin Becomes First Democratic Senator to Endorse 20-Week Federal Abortion Limit  —  On Tuesday afternoon, West Virginia's Joe Manchin became the first Democrat in the United States Senate to support a federal bill that would ban most abortions during the final four months of pregnancy.

CIA officer confirmed no protests before misleading Benghazi account given  —  Information on ground rejects protest account  —  Before the Obama administration gave an inaccurate narrative on national television that the Benghazi attacks grew from an anti-American protest …