Daily Political Wire

George Wenschhof

Obama To Speak On Gun Violence at 11:40 AM ET - President Obama is scheduled to deliver remarks on "common-sense measures to protect children from gun violence" at 11:40 a.m. ET Thursday, the White House said.
 
Biden, along with law enforcement officials and gun violence victims, will attend the speech, the White House said. TPM.com has more here.
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Obama Wants Supreme Court To Rule on Same Sex Marriage - President Obama wants to see the Supreme Court rule on the merits of the same-sex marriage arguments they heard this week, he said Wednesday, even though his solicitor general suggested that the court should not be considering one of the cases under review.
 
"My hope is that the court reaches these issues," Obama said in an interview with Spanish-language network Telemundo that focused on his renewed push for comprehensive immigration reform.  Politico.com has more here.
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Bipartisan Senate Immigration Bill Moves Closer to Release - The bipartisan group of eight senators drafting immigration overhaul legislation is still haggling over the details of its bill but hopes to make its self-imposed deadline of early April, members said Wednesday.
 
Arizona GOP Sen. John McCain, speaking at a press conference near the U.S. border in Nogales, Ariz., noted that the bill is being written in a bipartisan manner with the intention of winning as many votes as possible.

“Nobody is going to be totally happy with this legislation,” McCain said. “No one will be because we are having to make compromises, and that’s what makes for good legislation. It’s compromise that brings everybody together.”

Sen. Charles E. Schumer, D-N.Y., who attended the press conference after touring the border at McCain’s invitation, said the gang of eight is “very close” to finalizing the bill.  RollCall.com has more here.
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Obama To Travel To Mexico and Costa Rica - President Obama will travel to Mexico and Costa Rica from May 2-4 on a trip to "reinforce" the United States' ties with the region and engage in discussions on economic development, the White House announced Wednesday.

Press Secretary Jay Carney released the following statement explaining the trip:

In Mexico, the President looks forward to meeting with President Peña Nieto, with whom he spoke by telephone today. The President welcomes the opportunity to discuss ways to deepen our economic and commercial partnership and further our engagement on the broad array of bilateral, regional, and global issues that connect our two countries. In Costa Rica, the President looks forward to the opportunity to meet with President Chinchilla as well as heads of state of the other Central American countries and the Dominican Republic, whom President Chinchilla has graciously offered to host. The trip will be an important chance to discuss our collective efforts to promote economic growth and development in Central America and our ongoing collaboration on citizen security.  TheHill.com has more here.
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Ashley Judd Not Running For Senate - Ashley Judd declared on Wednesday that she's decided against a run for Senate in Kentucky against Sen. Mitch McConnell (D-KY). She broke the news in a series of tweets.

"After serious and thorough contemplation, I realize that my responsibilities & energy at this time need to be focused on my family."

Chris Cillizza of The Washington Post explains why he believes the Democrats are better off without her running here.

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U.S. Military Exercise off S. Korea Includes Stealth Bombers - Two American B-2 Spirit stealth bombers practiced an attack on the Korean Peninsula Thursday as part of a military exercise that has sparked angry threats from North Korea.
 
The U.S. military said the planes involved in the firing drill left Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri on a "long-duration, round-trip training mission."

Inert munitions were dropped on a range facility on the Jikdo islands off the western coast of South Korea before the jets returned to the continental U.S. in a single continuous flight.

On Wednesday, North Korea said it was cutting the last channel of communications with the South because war could break out at "any moment."

The U.S. military announced on March 15 that it was bolstering missile defenses in response to threats from the North, including a threat to conduct a preemptive nuclear strike against the United States. NBC News has more here.

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