Daily Political Wire

George Wenschhof



Watch Saturday Night Live Spoof Manchin-Toomey Background Check Compromise

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Manchin-Toomey Background Check Bill Vote Promises To Be Close - A bipartisan bill on background checks is inching closer to the necessary 60 votes for passage, but it still has a long way to go.

The upcoming vote on a new proposal crafted by Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) is expected to go down to the wire. The Hill on Friday contacted many Senate offices to find out their positions on the amendment, which is strongly opposed by the National Rifle Association (NRA).  TheHill.com has more here.
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Obama to Be Interviewed on NBC "Today" - NBC's Savanna Guthrie will sit down with President Obama for an interview that will air in two parts on "Today" Tuesday and Wednesday morning, NBC announced Sunday.

In an exclusive and wide-ranging interview, NBC News' Savannah Guthrie will sit down with President Barack Obama Monday at the White House. The interview will air in two parts on NBC's TODAY Tuesday, April 16 and Wednesday, April 17. Guthrie will talk to the president about the tensions in North Korea, gun control, immigration and the prospects of who will run for president in 2016. Portions of the interview will also air across all platforms of NBC News.

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Supreme Court Weighs Whether Human Genes Can Be Patented - Can a company own a patent on the genes in the human body -- including yours? The U.S. Supreme Court takes up that question Monday, diving into an issue that could help determine the future of life-saving genetic medicine.

The case involves a test that has helped guide more than a million women in their medical decisions. It can determine whether the composition of their genes makes them more likely to get breast or ovarian cancer.  NBC News has more here.            

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Kerry Sets Conditions for N. Korea Talks - As North Koreans celebrated the birthday on Monday of their country's late founder, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry urged the regime in Pyongyang to ditch its nuclear program and put a lid on its fiery threats if it wants to hold talks.

"The United States has made clear many times what the conditions are for our entering talks and they haven't changed," Kerry said during an interview with CNN's Jill Dougherty in Tokyo.

"The conditions have to be met where the North has to move towards denuclearization, indicate a seriousness in doing so by reducing these threats, stop the testing, and indicate it's actually prepared to negotiate," he said.

Kerry was speaking at the end of a three-day trip that focused on securing fresh commitments from South Korea, China and Japan to try to persuade Pyongyang to return to the negotiating table and renounce nuclear weapons. CNN.com has more here.

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Joe Miller Launches Senate Exploratory Committee - Joe Miller, the tea-party-backed Alaska Republican who lost a 2010 Senate race, announced on Sunday that he is launching an exploratory committee as he considers another Senate campaign.
 
The announcement comes just two days after first-term Democratic Sen. Mark Begich announced raising almost $1 million in the first fundraising quarter of the cycle. It also comes after a tumultuous week at the state Republican Party, which ousted yet another chairman.

Miller defeated Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski in the 2010 GOP primary. But Murkowski waged an unprecedented write-in campaign and, after a series of stumbles by Miller, defeated Miller in the general.  RollCall.com has more here.

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