U.S. Politics
Around-the-clock political news and analysis from Reuters. Follow @ReutersPolitics for more.
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In strawberry fields, immigration reform holds sweet promise http://reut.rs/11bofvqby ReutersPolitics via twitter 4/17/2013 2:43:02 AM -
Arizona lawmakers want cities to sell guns from buyback programs http://reut.rs/14uyVdlby ReutersPolitics via twitter 4/17/2013 3:14:02 AM
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Weiner, weighing New York mayoral bid, faces skeptical voters http://reut.rs/11bzHqSby ReutersPolitics via twitter 4/17/2013 4:00:50 AM
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RT @LisaDCNN: HART BACK OPEN.by Anthony De Rosa via twitter 4/17/2013 4:41:23 PM -
RT @ZekeJMiller: Carney won’t say if Obama was informed of any progress in the Boston investigationby Anthony De Rosa via twitter 4/17/2013 4:41:39 PM
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Obama is confident Boston bomber will be found, "it has not even been 48 hours" since bombings, says Carney.by Steve Holland via twitter 4/17/2013 4:43:41 PM -
Carney asked about Sen. Rand Paul's comments saying Obama is using Newtown families as "props." Carney responds, "The Newtown families aren't here for the President. They're here because their children were murdered." Says the families are asking for "common sense" solutions on gun violence. -
Wow. Carney just pounded the lectern & got v intense responding to @PeterAlexander's Q about @SenRandPaul calling Newtown families "props."by Ari Shapiro via twitter 4/17/2013 4:49:36 PM -
Carney says that characterizations of votes for Manchin/Toomey gun deal as votes for a gun registry are "absurd." Carney: "This is not a gun registry. It is expanding a background checks system that has been in place for more than a decade." Says it has been effective when implemented "without loopholes."
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REUTERS: U.S. Capital police say have reopened Hart Senate Building, tests on suspicious item were negative -
U.S. Capital police say have reopened Hart Senate Building, tests on suspicious item were negative #breakingby ReutersPolitics via twitter 4/17/2013 5:00:40 PM
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New Hampshire lawmaker apologizes for calling women "vaginas" http://reut.rs/14whSYsby ReutersPolitics via twitter 4/17/2013 5:04:05 PM
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"Thanks very much guys." Thus ends Carney's presser.by Gabriel Debenedetti via twitter 4/17/2013 5:04:44 PM -
United States Capitol Police close off the Senate Hart Building on Capitol Hill in Washington April 17, 2013. REUTERS/Gary Cameron
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A United State Capitol Police officer secures a vehicle barrier outside of the Hart Senate Office Building in Washington April 17, 2013. REUTERS/Gary Cameron
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Preliminary tests show letter to Obama contains poison ricin http://reut.rs/11dHdkYby ReutersPolitics via twitter 4/17/2013 5:34:50 PM
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Just learned: The Hart Senate office building was closed for 3 mths in 2001 due to anthrax, the largest building ever decontaminated.by Patricia Zengerle via twitter 4/17/2013 7:23:04 PM -
Senators start hard work of selling immigration bill http://reut.rs/11dYRVTby ReutersPolitics via twitter 4/17/2013 7:24:03 PM
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Many folks apparently believe these are "filibuster" cut-off votes today. They are NOT. Senate set 60 as amendment approval thresholdby Chuck Todd via twitter 4/17/2013 8:37:30 PM -
U.S. gun background checks plan blocked by Senate
WASHINGTON, April 17 (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate failed to reach the 60 votes needed to pass a bipartisan plan to expand background checks for firearms purchases, scuttling a centerpiece of President Barack Obama's plan to curb gun violence.
Several Democrats from rural, pro-gun states joined with most Republicans in voting against the proposal. The Senate voted 54-46 in favor of the plan, but this failed to achieve a 60-vote threshold to advance it as an amendment to gun control legislation.
(Reporting by David Lawder; Editing by Eric Beech) -
Senate may vote next week on online sales tax: aides http://reut.rs/14wO91uby ReutersPolitics via twitter 4/17/2013 8:42:17 PM
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The Senate continues to vote on amendments to their final gun bill. The failed Toomey-Manchin background checks amendment was the first of nine votes, and an alternative from Sen. Grassley just failed. USA Today has a full rundown, including the seven up next:
• The Stop Illegal Trafficking in Firearms Act (Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., and two co-sponsors): The maximum penalty for "straw buying" a firearm from a federally licensed dealer — that is, buying a gun for someone else to evade a background check — would increase to 15 years. The amendment also bans the transfer of guns to someone the seller knows is prohibited from owning firearms, and makes it a crime to smuggle firearms out of the United States.
• Concealed-carry reciprocity (Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, and two co-sponsors): The amendment would treat state-issued concealed carry permits like driver's licenses for purposes of carrying a concealed firearm -- allowing someone with a valid permit in one state to use it in any other state.
• The Assault Weapons Ban (Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., and 23 co-sponsors): The amendment bans the sale, transfer and importation of assault rifles, including 157 specifically mentioned in the law -- a broader definition than existed from 1994 to 2004. Current lawful owners of assault weapons would be grandfathered.
• An amendment (by Sen. Richard Burr, R-N.C. and nine cosponsors) to require a court order finding a person a danger to himself or herself -- or to others -- before that person is banned from buying a gun. The intent, supporters say, is to protect the rights of veterans.
• The Large-Capacity Magazine Feeding Devices Amendment (Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J., and 21 co-sponsors): The measure would ban magazines and other devices holding more than 10 rounds, but exempts .22 caliber rifles. Police officers -- both on- and off-duty -- would also be exempted. It also authorizes federally funded gun buyback programs to purchase high-capacity magazines.
• An amendment on privacy, sponsored by Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo. The amendment would withhold 5% of a state's community-oriented policing grant money if it publicly releases gun ownership information, except as part of law enforcement or court proceedings.
• The Mental Health Awareness and Improvement Act, sponsored by Sens. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, and Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn. The measure supports and encourages school violence prevention efforts, suicide prevention and mental health awareness. -
WH says Obama to deliver "statement on commonsense measures to reduce gun violence"by Zeke Miller via twitter 4/17/2013 8:55:00 PM -
Several Newtown family members in gallery watching vote. Few crying.by KateNocera via twitter 4/17/2013 8:55:45 PM -
The 5 Dem Senators voting against background check measure: Baucus/MT, Begich/AK, Heitkamp/ND, Pryor/AR & Reid/NV (for procedural reasons)by Mark Knoller via twitter 4/17/2013 8:58:49 PM -
RT @StevenTDennis: POTUS, Rose Garden, 5:30, #guns.by Roll Call via twitter 4/17/2013 8:59:04 PM -
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The trafficking bill, which was OK'd by the NRA, fails 58-42. Wow.by BrettLoGiurato via twitter 4/17/2013 9:11:26 PM -
Giffords, shot in the head 2 years ago, says if Senate refuses to change gun laws "then we need to change the members of the Senate."by Mark Knoller via twitter 4/17/2013 9:18:08 PM
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Giffords made the comments in fundraising message to supporters for her anti-gun violence group: Americans for Responsible Solutionsby Mark Knoller via twitter 4/17/2013 9:21:39 PM
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Before talking to the press, Sens Reid and Manchin are shaking hands with people who survived mass shootings or lost loved ones in them.by Patricia Zengerle via twitter 4/17/2013 9:23:01 PM
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NBC News: ‘I am KC’: Same message on ricin-positive letters sent to Obama, senator
According to the FBI bulletin, both letters, postmarked April 8, 2013 out of Memphis, Tenn., included an identical phrase, "to see a wrong and not expose it, is to become a silent partner to its continuance."
In addition, both letters are signed: "I am KC and I approve this message." -
Coalition behind immigration bill may be fragile http://reut.rs/14wU9Htby ReutersPolitics via twitter 4/17/2013 9:29:22 PM
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Schumer, after gun measure fails, "let me salute the families who have lit a candle rather than cursing the darkness."by Patricia Zengerle via twitter 4/17/2013 9:32:30 PM
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Obama: "shameful" politics to blame for defeat of gun measure http://reut.rs/14x3W0iby ReutersPolitics via twitter 4/17/2013 10:46:49 PM
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Florida legislature passes bill restricting drone use http://reut.rs/11eKhNMby ReutersPolitics via twitter 4/18/2013 12:04:48 AM
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FBI says letter sent to Obama tested positive for poison ricin http://reut.rs/11ePUvBby ReutersPolitics via twitter 4/18/2013 12:35:48 AM
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People queue for security check outside the Cathedral of the Holy Cross where President Obama is scheduled to attend an interfaith service for the victims of the Boston Marathon bombings in Boston, Massachusetts April 18, 2013. REUTERS/Jessica Rinaldi
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Obama plans to meet with first responders as well as some of the families whose lives were upended by the bombings.by Yamiche Alcindor via twitter 4/18/2013 2:58:01 PM -
Pool camera spots Gov. Romney in fourth row of #boston prayer service.by Phil Elliott via twitter 4/18/2013 2:58:56 PM -
The White House says Pres. Obama talked with Gov. Perry from Air Force One en route to Boston about the explosion in West, Texas.by Steve Brusk via twitter 4/18/2013 3:00:33 PM -
Gov Deval Patrick: We will recover and repair, we will grieve our losses and heal. we will rise and endure.by Mark Knoller via twitter 4/18/2013 4:04:32 PM
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Obama: “This town is not just a capital, not just a place. Boston…is the perfect state of grace."by Zeke Miller via twitter 4/18/2013 4:06:37 PM
As tensions over aid rise, Venezuelan troops fire on villagers, kill two
KUMARAKAPAY, Venezuela/CUCUTA, Colombia Venezuelan soldiers opened fire on indigenous people near the border with Brazil on Friday, killing two, as President Nicolas Maduro sought to block U.S.-backed efforts to bring aid into his economically devastated nation. | Video