FROM THE BLOGS:

The Fed messed with the wrong senator
David Dayen of Salon says that if foreclosure victims get justice, trace it back to a bad decision to stonewall Elizabeth Warren last week.

The NRA's fraud: Fabrication of Second Amendment rights
In the Huffington Post, Burton Newman argues the NRA has changed the conversation about guns.

Ricin: Another thing to worry about
The Washington Post's Jennifer Rubin thinks the government did a good job at handling the recent security scares in the nation's capitol.

Can't a terrorist be both white and Muslim?
The American Spectator's Aaron Goldstein criticizes a recent article written by Salon's David Sirota.

OTHER NEWS SOURCES

Senate rejects background checks on gun purchases in 54-46 vote
The Senate delivered a devastating blow to President Obama’s agenda to regulate guns Wednesday by defeating a bipartisan proposal to expand background checks, The Hill's Alexander Bolton reports.

National Republicans dump Sanford following trespassing allegations
National Republicans are abandoning former South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford (R) in the wake of his latest personal controversy, The Hill's Cameron Joseph reports.

FROM THE BLOGS:

CNN's bad day
It was an historically bad day for CNN as it flubbed breaking news on the Boston bombing twice, writes the Washington Post's Erik Wemple.

Sanford crosses the line, maybe for the last time
Washington Monthly’s Ed Kilgore on what Sanford's latest transgression will mean for his bid for Senate.

Can Rubio's hip-hop bonafides pay dividends?
Scott Conroy at Real Clear Politics writes on the GOP star's unique area of expertise.

New NRA ad on background checks skews numbers
Slate’s William Saletan fact-checks a recent ad by the National Rife Association that claims 80 percent of police officers believe background checks have no effect on violent crime.

OTHER NEWS SOURCES:

Senate rejects background checks bill
The Hill's Alexander Bolton reports on a big blow to President Obama's agenda.

FBI warns media to not report inaccuracies about Boston bombing
The Hill’s Jonathan Easley on the FBI chastising major media outlets for conflicting and inaccurate reports about the Boston marathon
 

Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) introduced the bill on Wednesday morning at 2 a.m.

FROM THE BLOGS:

Why well-informed people are also closed-minded
Cass R. Sunstein of Bloomberg explains why the politically savvy may also be the most politically immovable.

Why conservatives should oppose the death penalty
Former Montana State Senator Roy Brown writes in the Daily Caller that supporting the death penalty violates the core values of being a conservative.

Why call it 'terrorism?'
David Weigel of Slate explains the carefully chosen language used by President Obama during his press briefing after the Boston Marathon bombings.

Steny Hoyer: Boston is 'proof' that sequestration is bad, or something
Mary Katharine Ham of Hot Air says the congressman's statements were made to sound "worse than it is."

OTHER NEWS SOURCES:

Reid: Ryan, Boehner stalling on budget
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) on Tuesday blasted House Republicans and Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), saying they are stalling on the creation of a budget conference committee, The Hill's Erik Wasson reports.

Senate Gang of Eight reveals details for immigration reform platform 
The Senate’s Gang of Eight on Tuesday released the details of a broad agreement to overhaul the nation’s immigration laws, The Hill's Alex Bolton reports.

FROM THE BLOGS:

Useless scoops
Ed Kilgore criticizes the New York Post for its early reporting on the bombing at the Boston Marathon on Monday.

Garrett Quinn: What I saw at the Boston Marathon bombings
At Reason, Garrett Quinn recounts what he saw during the bombing.

House Democrats' Faustian bargain on Boston and the sequester
Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) said the bombings are yet another example that the federal spending cuts referred to as the sequester should be repealed. The Atlantic's David A. Graham questions how right Hoyer is.

Air Force to ground 1 in 3 aircraft over budget concerns
At The Foundry, Genieve Syverson highlights a report saying the Air Force plans to ground a third of its fleet.
OTHER NEWS SOURCES:

Obama: We don't know who was behind 'heinous cowardly attack'
President Obama dubbed the Boston bombing a terrorist attack on Tuesday, according to The Hill's Daniel Strauss and Justin Sink.

Democrats warn that sequester cuts undermine fight against terror
A number of top House Democrats warned that the sequester cuts could hinder the nation from fully responding to terror attacks, reports The Hill's Mike Lillis.

FROM THE BLOGS:

Hosni Mubarak can't detained for corruption, not killing
Ed Krayewski of Reason provides an update on the trial of the former Egyptian President.

Obama can't blame Bush for deficits any longer 
Marc Thiessen argues in the Washington Post that President Obama has enacted enough policies while in office that with regards to budget deficits, the buck stops with him.

Roy Blunt raises specter of federal gun registry, despite explicit ban
The Huffington Post's Amanda Terkel thinks the Missouri Senator's pointed criticism of the Manchin-Toomey bill has no basis in fact.

Why Obama's chained-CPI "protections" aren't good enough 
The Nation's George Zornick explains why added protections in President Obama's budget don't make up for the cuts to Social Security in the form of chained-CPI.

OTHER NEWS SOURCES:

Two explosions reported at Boston Marathon finish line
The Hill's Daniel Strauss reports on the latest developments in the unexpected tragedy at the annual Boston Marathon.

Obama signs STOCK Act modification
The rolled-back provision would require high-ranking government employees to put their financial information online, The Hill's Peter Schroeder reports.

FROM THE BLOGS:

The President's budget? Preposterous.
The National Review's Yuval Levin criticizes President Obama's budget submission, says it's ability to stimulate a "grand bargain" will be "very unlikely."

Begin the negotiations between the White House and Senate
Right Turn's Jennifer Rubin urges the Pentagon, the Senate and the White House to get "on the same page" to ensure negotiations of the budget in the House.

Why comparing budgets is so maddeningly tough
Wonkblog's Dylan Matthews explains that one reason it is nearly impossible to fairly compare budgets is because their baselines are different.

Jay-Z, Rand Paul, and the Black Democrat mystery
Daily Intel's Jonathan Chait says the Republican outrage over Jay-Z's trip to Cuba underscores how the party is bungling its diversity outreach.

OTHER NEWS SOURCES:

Senate votes 68-31 to move forward with gun control measure
On Thursday, the Senate cleared the expected filibuster and was able to move forward on gun control, The Hill's Jonathan Easley and Ramsey Cox report.

White House backs conference committee as path to debt deal
The administration supports Budget chairmen Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) and Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) to reconcile the different budget resolutions, The Hill's Erik Wasson reports.

FROM THE BLOGS:

The Obama budget in one infographic
Kelsey Harris and Rob Bluey of The Foundry created a handy infographic for those interested in (and worried about) the president's budget.

Will the Christian right flee the GOP?
Alex Seitz-Wald of Salon describes recent threats by leading social conservative groups to break away from the Republican Party.

Liberal 'Mad Men' in an unbranded era
The Daily Caller's Brad Todd argues that it's Democrats, not Republicans, who are stuck pushing a dying ideology.

The power of shame
Alex Koppelman of The New Yorker examines the motives behind a recent bipartisan deal on gun control.

OTHER NEWS SOURCES:

Report: Dem confirms liberal group recorded McConnell meeting
The Hill's Alexandra Jaffe reports on recent developments in the search for who is behind the leaked tapes.

Hagel: No Obama order to gut Pentagon
The Defense secretary pushed back against allegations he is on a mission to gut the group's budget, The Hill's Jeremy Herb reports.

FROM THE BLOGS:

The GOP's lose-lose proposition on race
The Washington Free Beacon's Sonny Bunch thinks that Republicans will always be criticized for making concerted efforts to reach out to ethnic minorities.

Remembering Iraq's liberation without revisionism
Commentary's Michael Rubin argues that a few of the Iraq War's critics are finding fault with its positive aspects.

Americans for Tax Reform call chained CPI a middle-class tax increase
Fire Dog Lake's Jon Walker writes that some Republican opposition to chained-CPI could help protect Social Security.

The president's morning after
The American Prospect's Jaclyn Friedman discusses President Obama's predicament in deciding whether or not to abide by a court ruling that says emergency contraception must be made available over the counter and without age restrictions.

OTHER NEWS SOURCES:

McConnell campaign says FBI has 'good leads' in bugging probe
The Senate Majority Leader's campaign office is continuing its investigation into how recordings regarding Ashley Judd were leaked from his office, The Hill's Alexandra Jaffe reports.

Man angry about regulations threatens to bomb White House
Pennsylvania native Krzystzof Wasik was arrested after telling a White House guard he had a bomb in his truck, The Hill's Julian Hattem reports.