WATCH: Rand Paul Says Jimmy Carter Was Better on the Budget Than Ronald Reagan  —  The Kentucky senator has been hailing Reagan lately.  But a few years ago, Paul routinely knocked the Republican icon as a fiscal failure.  —  As Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) ponders a presidential bid …

An Orwellian dissent from a muddled ruling.  —  You might have heard that the Supreme Court ruled 6-2 today that states have the right to ban racial preferences, euphemistically known as “affirmative action,” in public-university admission, but that's not quite right.

Poll Shows Tight Senate Races in Four Southern States  —  Four Senate races in the South that will most likely determine control of Congress appear very close, with Republicans benefiting from more partisan intensity but a Democratic incumbent, once seen as highly vulnerable, holding a surprising edge …

Remarks as Prepared for Delivery by Deputy Attorney General James M. Cole at the Press Conference Announcing the Clemency Initiative  —  Good morning and thank you all for being here.  I am pleased to announce a Department of Justice initiative to encourage qualified federal inmates to petition …

Benghazi attack could have been prevented if US hadn't ‘switched sides in the War on Terror’ and allowed $500 MILLION of weapons to reach al-Qaeda militants, reveals damning report  — Citizens Committee on Benghazi claims the US government allowed arms to flow to al-Qaeda-linked militants who opposed Muammar Gaddafi

Bob Dole goes home  —  HIAWATHA, Kan. — When Bob Dole ran for president in 1996 at the age of 73, Democrats derided him as a relic and a man out of place in the electronic age.  Late-night comics mocked him, he tumbled off a stage and President Bill Clinton charged in his convention speech …

Attitudes About Mandated Coverage of Birth Control Medication and Other Health Benefits in a US National Sample  —  FREE ONLINE FIRST  —  Michelle H. Moniz, MD1; Matthew M. Davis, MD, MAPP2; Tammy Chang, MD, MPH, MS3  —  JAMA.  —  Tables  —  References

How Lindsey Graham outmaneuvered the tea party  —  Part of an occasional series on the hottest races of the 2014 midterm election.  —  SUMMERVILLE, S.C. — Sen. Lindsey Graham recognized the threat years before it had a chance to form — and knew immediately what he had to do.

Meet The Militia Rushing To Cliven Bundy's Defense  —  James Yeager is calling from Cliven Bundy's front yard, where he's one of several (he won't say how many) providing 24-hour security to the Bundy family.  He and his friend packed up “a full medical kit and a camera” …

Hannity Unloads on ‘Hack’ Jon Stewart: 'He's Kind of Obsessed' with Me  —  Sean Hannity went after Jon Stewart Tuesday night for mocking him over his support of Cliven Bundy and hypocrisy therewith.  Hannity mused that Stewart is “kind of obsessed” with him, and called the late night comic the …

Ted Cruz's Worst Nightmare Is Coming True  —  Obamacare is working.  —  Last August, as conservatives barnstormed the country seeking to build support for a cockamamie plan to shut down the U.S. federal government unless Congress voted to repeal the Affordable Care Act, Ted Cruz …

Missouri legislature will begin impeachment proceedings against governor  —  A Missouri state House committee will hold hearings Wednesday into three proposed articles of impeachment against Gov. Jay Nixon (D), whom some Republicans say has committed offenses worthy of being removed from office.

D'Souza Case Is Political, Lawyer Says  —  When the conservative author and filmmaker Dinesh D'Souza was charged in January with illegally using straw donors to contribute to a 2012 New York Republican Senate campaign, his lawyer denied that he had acted with any corrupt or criminal intent.

CBO Finds Health Reform's Medicaid Expansion Is an Even Better Deal for States  —  Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates released last week show that health reform's Medicaid expansion, which many opponents wrongly claim will cripple state budgets, is an even better deal for states than previously thought.

Thomas Piketty Is Right  —  Everything you need to know about ‘Capital in the Twenty-First Century’  —  Capital in the Twenty-First Century by Thomas Piketty, translated by Arthur Goldhammer (Belknap Press)  —  Income inequality in the United States and elsewhere has been worsening since the 1970s.

myNYPD Twitter campaign backfires, promotes photos of police brutality instead of positive encounters with public  —  On Tuesday the NYPD's Twitter page, @NYPDnews, asked users to tweet pictures of positive interactions between the public and city cops, and to use the hashtag #myNYPD.

Call of Duty loser calls in SWAT team hoax on kid who beat him  —  Long Island police dispatched helicopters, emergency vehicles and an army of cops to a home where someone called in a bloody rampage on Tuesday.  —  They arrived with guns drawn and ready for war — only to find out the call …