“I had no intentions of speaking that night," Atkinson said. "[I] heard some of my colleagues speak, and I just felt like now is a really good time to do it. My heart was pounding through my suit. I just felt like it was time.” Read More

The House of Representatives voted to approve a bill Wednesday that honors four girls killed for the color of their skin with a Congressional Gold Medal. Read More

Monday afternoon, the nation will mark the moment when the first of two bombs exploded at the Boston Marathon with a moment of silence. Read More

The conservative jurist called a key part of the law an "embedded" form of "racial preferment." Read More

As the people of Boston begin to heal following the attack on their city’s marathon, people from all over the world (and even outside of it) are showing support. Read More

Tuesday's expected roll out of a bipartisan bill to overhaul the nation's immigration policy was postponed due to the tragedy in Boston. Read More

The CEO of Heritage Action for America said on Friday that the gun control legislation that the Senate will discuss could not have prevented December's school shooting in Newtown, Conn. Read More

"If Senator McConnell was misusing his office staff...to engage in campaign work, that's a violation of a Federal criminal law and Senate ethics rules and he should be held accountable," says the executive director for Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. Read More

Kid Rock campaigned for Mitt Romney in 2012, but now he's talking about economic fairness in terms that sound a lot more like President Obama. Read More

After coming within a few thousand votes of ousting her in 2012, Jim Graves announced he'll take on Michele Bachmann again. Meanwhile, the factually-challenged Republican faces an ethics investigation. Read More

At a public hearing Wednesday in North Carolina, backers of a GOP-backed voter ID bill used the same arguments—in some cases, word-for-word—to bolster their case. Read More

"I believe the government should focus on keeping firearms out of the hands of criminals and those with mental issues that could cause them to be a threat to society," he said. "The government should not punish or harass law-abiding citizens in the exercise of their Second Amendment rights." Read More

"No Republican questions or disputes civil rights," Sen. Rand Paul said. "I've never waived in my support for civil rights, or the Civil Rights Act." But that's not what the Kentucky senator said three years ago—and his admission was caught on camera. Read More

Boehner stood up during the State of the Union address earlier this year as President Obama said the families of the Newtown shooting tragedy "deserve a vote" on gun control. But now, he refuses to say whether or not he will let the House vote on gun legislation, should it pass the Senate. Read More

The reporter who broke the story for Mother Jones says McConnell is trying to dodge the real issue raised by the tape: what type of personal attacks are out of bounds? Read More

Senate Republicans are giving Vice President Joe Biden more ammo in his fight for tighter gun control with filibuster threats to gun legislation that they are not likely able to follow through on. Read More

The acclaimed contralto gave the performance that helped spark the civil rights movement on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Read More

Florida Republican Marco Rubio is complaining that "people to people" cultural exchange programs authorized by the Obama administration have been "abused by tourists." Read More

As the Kentucky Republican plans to join the GOP's minority outreach with a speech at Howard University, we can't help but remember the time he questioned the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Read More

As the gun control debate heats up, John McCain blasts Rand Paul's filibuster plans, asking, "why not take it up an amendment and debate?" Read More