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 …

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 …

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.

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.

Jeb Bush: I'm ‘thinking about’ 2016 run  —  Jeb Bush on Wednesday was the most vocal he's been about considering a run for the White House in 2016.  —  The Republican told a crowd of about 200 people at a Catholic Charities fundraiser in New York that he is “thinking about running for president,” according to an attendee.

Jihadists Now Control Secretive U.S. Base in Libya  —  A camp on the Libyan coastline meant to train terror-hunters has instead become a haven for terrorists and al Qaeda.  —  A key jihadist leader and longtime member of al Qaeda has taken control of a secretive training facility set …

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.

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

Pornography Victims Get Partial Compensation, Court Says  —  People convicted of possessing child pornography must pay victims a share of the economic losses they endured, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in a decision that tossed out a $3.4 million award and drew dissents from both directions.

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.

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.

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 …

Photo Of Obama In Conservative Attack Ad Is Photoshopped From Hospital Trip After Aurora Shooting  —  Conservative group Americans For Prosperity cut out the hospital and the governor of Colorado to show President Obama and Democratic Sen. Mark Udall looking sad together for a negative campaign ad.

New Records: IRS Targeted Progressive Groups More Extensively Than Tea Party  —  A series of IRS documents, provided to ThinkProgress under the Freedom of Information Act, appears to contradict the claims by Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) and his House Oversight and Government Reform Committee …

Obama's Last Shot  —  The president came into office promising to make fighting climate change a priority.  Now, he finally seems to be getting serious about it … President Obama is not even halfway through his second term yet, but you can almost feel the cement hardening around his feet.

Amid Politics, Obama Drifted Away From Kin  —  BOSTON — After Zeituni Onyango, the woman President Obama once called Auntie, died in a South Boston nursing home this month, her closest relatives gathered her belongings at her nearby apartment.  There, framed photographs of her with the president covered the wall.

Latta council votes to block Mayor from hiring police chief replacement  —  The Latta Town Council voted unanimously in two key measures Tuesday night in support of fired Police Chief Crystal Moore.  —  The council was having an emergency meeting to address the firing of Moore last week by Mayor Earl Bullard.

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.