SparksGuitar• Sexy Liberal Hal Sparks joins us in the Los Angeles Bureau at 11am ET / 8am PT for Humpdays With Hal

Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) said today that she will not run for re-election in 2014. She made the announcement in a video posted on her web site. “After a great deal of thought and deliberation, I have decided next year, I will not seek a fifth Congressional term,” Bachmann said.

Additional scrutiny of conservative organizations’ activities by the IRS did not solely originate in the agency’s Cincinnati office, with requests for information coming from other offices and often bearing the signatures of higher-ups at the agency, according to attorneys representing some of the targeted groups.

• President Barack Obama and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie revived their political odd-couple partnership Tuesday for a tour of a rebuilt Jersey Shore that was devastated by Hurricane Sandy seven months ago.

• A Florida judge ruled Tuesday that George Zimmerman’s defense team cannot mention Trayvon Martin’s suspension from school, prior marijuana use, text messages or past fighting during opening statements at next month’s trial.

Severe weather will continue to batter many parts of the United States on Wednesday, forecasters warned, after violent storms brought heavy rain to Chicago and large tornadoes to Kansas, Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania, and a fatal lightning strike in Florida.