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Can immigration reform pass? Five senators to watch.

Immigration reform will pass the Senate before the Fourth of July, Senate majority leader Harry Reid (D) of Nevada has vowed. Here are five key senators (or groups of senators) that will be pivotal during the two weeks of debate.

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Immigration reform: Senate Republicans on the cusp of buying in? (+video)

Republican senators are bringing new momentum to the bid to boost support for immigration reform, even as the GOP-controlled House strikes a harsher tone.
Can immigration reform pass? Five senators to watch.

Immigration reform will pass the Senate before the Fourth of July, Senate majority leader Harry Reid (D) of Nevada has vowed. Here are five key senators (or groups of senators) that will be pivotal during the two weeks of debate.
Monitor Breakfast Immigration reform: Two Senate bill authors see pathway to ... passage

Sens. Michael Bennet (D) and Jeff Flake (R), two of the Gang of Eight immigration reformers, said Wednesday there's room to amend the immigration reform bill to include some things conservatives want without sacrificing Democratic votes. Other 'gang' members are more worried.
Senate Republicans help immigration bill advance, but will they vote for it? (+video)

The vote Tuesday was proof, say supporters of immigration reform, that the majority of Senate Republicans believe it would be politically toxic to be labeled obstructionists.
Decoder Wire Might Obama fire Attorney General Eric Holder?

Justice Department's pursuit of media leaks, which led to a subpoena of AP phone records, has GOP officials (and some Democrats) calling for the head of Attorney General Eric Holder. Here are three reasons Obama is not likely to oblige.
A part of immigration reform even critics like: integrating new Americans (+video)

Proposals to help immigrants integrate into US culture take up only 30 pages in an 800-page immigration reform bill, but they are winning broad support – even among some critics of the overall legislation.
Suspect arrested in ricin-laced letters case

According to the FBI, a Mississippi man was arrested for sending possibly poisonous letters to President Barack Obama and Senator Roger Wicker. There were other reports of mysterious packages in Senate office buildings and in senators' offices in their home states. Authorities are continuing to investigate the suspicious materials.
Decoder Wire Ricin roils Washington: How dangerous? (+video)

Preliminary tests indicate that letters sent to President Obama and to Sen. Roger Wicker (R) of Mississippi were laced with the potentially deadly poison ricin. They were postmarked Memphis, Tenn.
Briefing UN arms trade treaty: Will it receive US Senate approval?

Why the new initiative is so controversial among US conservatives.
UN approves Arms Trade Treaty. Will US Senate ratify it?

The Arms Trade Treaty, the first international regulations of the multibillion-dollar trade, passed by a 154-to-3 vote. Some members of Congress have opposed it.
Why, after all these years, the Senate is working on a budget (+VIDEO)

Senate Democrats didn't pass a budget resolution for the previous three years, but they are taking steps to do it this year. Three things, in particular, have changed.
Are Congress and Obama moving toward a budget deal?

As the public's patience with partisan politics wears thin, signs in Washington indicate possible movement toward bipartisan budget decision-making. The House passed a bill which would fund government programs through this fiscal year on Wednesday. The Senate is expected to pass a similar measure soon. Also on Wednesday, President Barack Obama invited Republican Senators to dinner.
Focus Is US-Mexico border secure enough? Immigration reform could hinge on answer.

What did the post-9/11 border patrol surge of manpower and equipment achieve? Understanding its successes and failures could be crucial to the new immigration reform effort.
Israel wields Bible's soft power as far afield as Brazil

Israel is ramping up its outreach to the growing numbers of evangelical Christians, particularly in the Global South, in order to build popular support for state policies.
Decoder Wire Chuck Hagel sworn in as Defense secretary. Will he be sorry? (+video)

The office for Chuck Hagel is palatial, his responsibilities extraordinary, his staff vast. But his job is also probably the second most difficult in the executive branch after the presidency itself.
Four reasons Republicans are embracing the 'sequester'

Republicans, it is clear, are conflicted on the "sequester." How did they come to embrace it? Here are four reasons.
Decoder Wire Will Republicans regret the decision to delay Chuck Hagel's nomination?

Republicans flexed some political muscle with their unprecedented filibuster of a cabinet nominee. But it could open them to charges of 'obstructionism' and lead to more constraints on the power of the minority.
Donald Marron The balanced budget amendment's $300 billion error

The Senate Republicans balanced budget amendment contains a striking error, Marron writes.
Gun control: inklings of a compromise in the Great Gun Debate (+video)

Amid a largely partisan standoff on gun control, there are signs of bipartisan support on issues such as gun trafficking and expanding background checks for gun sales.
Senate confirms John Kerry, a foreign-policy buff who has Obama's trust

The Senate voted 94-to-3 to confirm John Kerry as secretary of State. He has Obama's trust and appears in sync with him on policy, but the president may be primarily focused on domestic affairs.
Chuck Hagel: why Obama is using political capital on Pentagon pick (+video)

President Obama just made it by one 'fiscal cliff,' with more to come. But he has shown he won't shy away from a fight in nominating former Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel to run the Pentagon.
Decoder Wire Republicans talk up a 'government shutdown.' Do they mean it?

With a series of fiscal deadlines approaching, some Republicans in Congress say they're ready to shut down the government to get real spending cuts, a reprise of the famous shutdowns of 1995.
Who faces tougher nomination: John Brennan at CIA or Chuck Hagel at defense?

Early Monday afternoon, President Obama will nominate John Brennan to head the CIA and Chuck Hagel to be secretary of defense. But both Hagel and Brennan may face an uphill nomination process.
Fiscal cliff: Obama, Boehner speak frankly (+video)

As the battle over the United States' 'fiscal cliff' continues, President Obama and Representative Boehner spoke directly at the White House on Thursday.
Does Bush's immigration speech signal Latinos' new clout?

Developments in recent days, including the speech by former President Bush and an Illinois bill to issue driver's licenses to illegal immigrants, suggest a shift in attitudes on immigration issues.