CHRIS MURPHY

Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz was heckled on a flight over gun control and school safety policies, prompting the senator to call the heckler "a partisan."

Senators Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Chris Murphy, D-Conn., clashed on the Senate floor after the Connecticut Democrat blocked bringing Cruz's school safety bill up for a vote.

Senators Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Chris Murphy, D-Conn., clashed on the Senate floor after the Connecticut Democrat blocked bringing Cruz's school safety bill up for a vote.

President Joe Biden’s request for $47 billion in emergency funding is getting a thumbs down from Republicans in Congress.

Victims of abuse and their families saw a quiet breakthrough this summer when a new bipartisan gun safety law made it more difficult for intimate partners convicted of domestic abuse to obtain firearms.

Monday, Aug. 8, 2022 I Season 4 of "sMothered" airs on TLC.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) received a warning early Sunday morning to follow the Senate’s decorum rules after he accused Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.) of being “deceitful” and “dishonest” and vowed “we’re going to call you out.” “This gives phony and cynical a bad name,” Graham exclaimed when Hassan introduced her amendment. Graham’s outburst at Hassan…

Over five decades in Washington, Joe Biden knew that the way to influence was to be in the room where it happens.

The Party has an opportunity to seize the mantle as the defender of long-established individual rights.

One month into his presidency, Joe Biden made clear his distaste for even naming the man he'd ousted from the Oval Office.

Choco Taco Discontinued This undated photo provided by Unilever shows the Choco Taco. But so far, Klondike isn't budging from its plan to discontinue the Choco Taco. Klondike confirmed Tuesday that the summer treat is being pulled from ice cream trucks, convenience stores and grocery shelves. The Choco Taco, invented in 1983 by a former ice cream truck driver, is a waffle cone shaped like a taco shell filled with fudge-swirled ice cream. In February, the restaurant chain announced a collaboration with Klondike, testing Choco Taco sales at 20 locations in Los Angeles and Milwaukee.

It's the news that sent Twitter into a meltdown Tuesday: Klondike is discontinuing sales of its Choco Taco.

The president's signing comes just over a month after the mass shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, killed 19 children and two adults.

On Thursday, a conservative majority struck down a hundred-and-eleven-year-old gun law restricting the ability to carry handguns outside of the home.

The bill passed the House on a mostly party-line 234-193 vote.

The measure is the biggest breakthrough in gun violence legislation in 30 years, despite is modest nature

WASHINGTON — In a late-night vote, the U.S. Senate approved a gun reform bill. Fifteen Republicans sided with Democrats to pass the first major gun safety legislation since 1994. On Friday morning, the House Rules Committee will meet and vote on the bill. If the House approves it, it will go to the president for his signature. “Making America safer, especially for kids in school, without making our country one bit less free,” said Sen. Mitch McConnell.

Congress Guns Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., who has led the Democrats in bipartisan Senate talks to rein in gun violence, pauses for questions from reporters, at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, June 22, 2022. Senate bargainers reached agreement on a bipartisan gun violence bill yesterday, with Majority Leader Chuck Schumer predicting Senate approval later this week. After weeks of closed-door talks, Senate bargainers from both parties produced a compromise taking mild but impactful steps toward making such mayhem less likely. Top House Republicans urged a “no” vote in an email from the No. “This is not a cure-all for the all the ways gun violence affects our nation,” said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., whose party has made gun restrictions a goal for decades.

The House has sent President Joe Biden the most wide-ranging gun violence bill Congress has passed in decades.

The first major gun legislation in nearly three decades would incentivize states to pass red flag laws and expand background checks for 18- to 21-year-olds, among other measures.

Senate bargainers reached agreement on a bipartisan gun violence bill yesterday, with Majority Leader Chuck Schumer predicting Senate approval later this week. “This is not a cure-all for the all the ways gun violence affects our nation,” said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., whose party has made gun restrictions a goal for decades. Hours earlier, senators voted 65-34 to end a filibuster by conservative GOP senators. While the Senate measure was a clear breakthrough, the outlook for continued congressional movement on gun curbs is dim. Less than one-third of the Senate's 50 GOP senators backed the measure and solid Republican opposition is certain in the House.

Thursday's roll call ending the blockade by conservative GOP senators was 65-34, five more than the 60-vote threshold needed. Final passage of the $13 billion measure was expected by week's end with a House vote to follow, though timing was uncertain. “This is not a cure-all for the all the ways gun violence affects our nation,” said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., whose party has made gun restrictions a goal for years. “They want both of those things at once, and that is just what the bill before the Senate will have accomplished.”Yet while the Senate measure was a clear breakthrough, the outlook for continued congressional movement on gun curbs is dim. The measure expands the use of background checks by rewriting the definition of the federally licensed gun dealers required to conduct them.

The Senate has approved a bipartisan gun violence bill.

Congress Guns Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., who has led the Democrats in bipartisan Senate talks to rein in gun violence, talks to reporters, at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, June 22, 2022. Senate bargainers reached agreement on a bipartisan gun violence bill yesterday, with Majority Leader Chuck Schumer predicting Senate approval later this week. Bargainers produced a bipartisan gun violence bill that the Senate is moving toward approving later this week, with House action expected sometime afterward. Their accord is Congress' most important gun violence measure since the now-expired assault weapons ban enacted in 1993. But congressional approval would be a GOP win by hindering Democrats from using gun violence in their campaigns, said Republican pollster Neil Newhouse.

Last month's mass shootings in Buffalo, New York, and Uvalde, Texas, have produced a groundswell for change in Congress.

The bill would toughen background checks for the youngest firearms buyers, require more background checks and beef up penalties on gun traffickers.

The bill would toughen background checks for the youngest firearms buyers, require more background checks and beef up penalties on gun traffickers.

The bill would toughen background checks for the youngest firearms buyers, require more background checks and beef up penalties on gun traffickers.

Lawmakers released the 80-page bill nine days after agreeing to a framework for the plan and 29 years after Congress last enacted major firearms curbs. Resolving one final hurdle that delayed the accord, the bill would prohibit romantic partners convicted of domestic violence and not married to their victims from getting firearms. An offender’s ability to own a gun could be restored after five years if they’ve not committed another serious crime. “Thirty years, murder after murder, suicide after suicide, mass shooting after mass shooting, Congress did nothing," Murphy said. Congress’ prohibited assault-type firearms in 1993 in a ban that expired after a decade, lawmakers’ last sweeping legislation addressing gun violence.

The bill would incentivize states to pass red flag laws and expand background checks for 18- to 21-year-olds, among other measures. It's expected to have enough support to pass the Senate.

The legislation lawmakers have been working toward would toughen background checks for the youngest firearms buyers, require more sellers to conduct background checks and beef up penalties on gun traffickers. It also would disburse money to states and communities aimed at improving school safety and mental health initiatives. “I think we’ve reached agreement,” Murphy said. What’s uncertain is whether the Senate agreement and its passage would mark the beginning of slow but gradual congressional action to curb gun violence, or the high water mark on the issue. Momentum in Congress for gun legislation has a history of waning quickly after mass shootings.

Senate bargainers have reached agreement on a bipartisan gun violence bill.

Lawmakers said they remained divided over how to define abusive dating partners so they could be legally barred from purchasing firearms. “A deal like this is difficult," Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut, a lead Democratic negotiator, said when the meeting ended later. Even so, it would be Congress’ most robust move against gun violence since 1993. Top bargainers — Murphy, Cornyn and Sens. The agreement has been endorsed by Biden, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.

Democratic and Republican senators are at odds over how to keep firearms from dangerous people.

Negotiators left Washington on Thursday without coming to an agreement on key details underpinning a bipartisan deal on potential new federal gun laws. The impasse threatens to upend a handshake deal reached earlier this week.

His backing provided further evidence that the current round of gun-law negotiation might have sufficient GOP support to overcome a filibuster.

The Senate Republican leader said he will support the legislation if it reflects the framework crafted by a bipartisan group of senators.

VIDEO: Here’s what’s in the gun violence framework – and how both sides are responding Here’s what’s in the gun violence framework – and how both sides are respondingORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — On the day Orlando marked the 6th anniversary since the Pulse Nightclub massacre, one of the deadliest mass shootings in the nation’s history, a glimmer of hope emerged out of Washington that something would finally be done to curb gun violence. From the gun control advocate’s perspective:Patti Brigham’s first reaction to the framework was mild disappointment. READ: Central Florida remembers Pulse nightclub victims 6 years after mass shootingBrigham, currently the leader of Prevent Gun Violence Florida, has spent years in the political arena in different capacities. More funding for mental health. Only if America were to fully fund a world-class mental health system that reached everyone who needed it, and shootings continued to rise would he be open to looking at gun policies, he said.

Even skeptics were surprised by the scope of the compromise.

Senators announce bipartisan gun deal If enacted, the gun provisions represent the most significant new federal firearms restrictions enacted since the mid-1990s. I want to thank Senator Chris Murphy and the bipartisan group for their gun safety proposal. It will invest in mental health programs to support communities and schools. Mental health servicesThe plan would increase funding for mental health and suicide prevention programs. Funding for school safety resourcesThe plan would include money for programs to help institute safety measures in and around primary and secondary schools, support school violence prevention efforts and provide training to school personnel and students.

After years of stasis, even modest progress in Congress is welcome.

20 senators, including 10 Republicans, are calling for passage.

20 senators, including 10 Republicans, are calling for passage.

Conservatives on Capitol Hill are voicing some sharper objections to the measures.

Instead of raising the age, Murphy said there'll be "some provision that recognizes these 18 to 21-year-olds tend to be the mass shooters."

Ice cream maker calls on corporate America to stop bankrolling "elected officials who do the gun lobby's bidding."

Congress Guns Former congresswoman and gun violence survivor Gabby Giffords stands among vases of flowers that make up the Gun Violence Memorial installation near the Washington Monument on the National Mall in Washington, Tuesday, June 7, 2022. The flowers are meant to represent the number of Americans who die from gun violence each year. “Stopping gun violence takes courage, the courage to do what's right,” Giffords said, surrounded by more than 45,000 small vases of white and orange flowers representing each of the Americans killed by gun violence each year. She has emerged as an advocate for nationwide gun control laws; the foundation she created placed the flowers around the Washington Monument. Tuesday's press conference was part of a campaign to build pressure on Congress and argue that American public opinion favors serious reform of gun laws at a national level.

Eleven years after her own life was massively altered by gun violence, former congresswoman Gabby Giffords stood in front of the Washington monument and once again lobbied for stricter gun laws after yet another string of mass shootings in America.

He and his wife visited Uvalde families after the shooting and showed mementos of the victims, as he told their stories to the White House press corps.

Negotiations have narrowed proposals to address school safety, standards for safe gun storage, federal support for mental health programs and incentives for states to create red flag laws.

Democratic Senator Chris Murphy said he's hoping for a framework by the end of the week.

Democratic Senator Chris Murphy said he's hoping for a framework by the end of the week.

APTOPIX Congress Guns Garnell Whitfield, Jr., of Buffalo, N.Y., whose mother, Ruth Whitfield, was killed in the Buffalo Tops supermarket mass shooting, wipes away tears as he testifies at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on domestic terrorism, Tuesday, June 7, 2022, on Capitol Hill in Washington. Garnell Whitfield Jr’s emotional testimony comes as lawmakers are working furiously to strike a bipartisan agreement on gun safety measures in the aftermath of back-to-back mass shootings. You were elected to protect us,” Whitfield Jr. told members of the Senate Judiciary Committee. "Enough," Biden said last week in a televised address calling on Congress to act. The Texas senator said he was preparing to brief his colleagues Tuesday, at their weekly Senate lunch, on the status of negotiations.

The son of an 86-year-old woman killed in the racist Buffalo mass shooting is calling on Congress to act against domestic terrorism.

That would be enough to overcome any filibuster and send a bill to the floor. The Texas Republican is in a bipartisan group of senators negotiating a gun reform package.

A small bipartisan group of senators continues to work toward a deal that could include some new gun restrictions, but not the assault weapons ban or other measures President Biden called for in a national address.

Toomey, along with Sen. Joe Manchin, put forth legislation nearly a decade ago that would expand background checks.

Democrats facing difficult elections believe giving proposals one by one will raise the heat.

Ten years after Sandy Hook, the senator is once again trying for new gun laws after a school massacre. Will this time be different?

Texas School Shooting Congress FILE - Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, listens to testimony during a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, July 25, 2018. A four-term senator, Cornyn has been here plenty of times before, a central figure at the forefront of on again, off again talks with Democrats over gun policy changes that almost never make it into law. President Joe Biden implored Congress — and particularly the Republican senators, who have spent years blocking almost every gun control measure — to act. “That may be all they can do,” said Matthew Bennett, a longtime gun policy advocate at the centrist Third Way think tank. Already the Senate has hopelessly blocked two House-passed measures to bolster background checks for firearm purchases online or at gun shows.

Less than 48 hours after a gunman stormed an elementary school and killed 19 children and two teachers in his home state of Texas, Sen. John Cornyn was tapped to lead gun policy negotiations in the Senate.

The bipartisan senators are making progress on new gun control legislation, four sources said.

The House measure would raise the age for purchasing semiautomatic centerfire rifles from 18 to 21 and ban large-capacity magazines.

The U.S. energy secretary and Danish wind developer Orsted say they want American union workers to build offshore wind farms to dot the U.S. coastlines — the building trades workers who could otherwise be left out of a transition to renewable resources.

A bipartisan group of senators is considering how Congress should respond to the horrific shooting of 19 schoolchildren and two teachers in Uvalde, Texas.

A bipartisan group of senators is trying to find a compromise on gun legislation.

Democrats in Congress are trying, again, to pass legislation to expand background checks for gun buyers in the wake of the shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas.

The United States’ top negotiator for Iran nuclear talks has made the case to lawmakers for sticking with Iran nuclear talks.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has quickly set in motion a pair of firearms background check bills in response to the school massacre in Texas.

Connecticut U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy came to Congress representing Sandy Hook.

Abortion legislation that was rejected in a Senate test vote Wednesday would enshrine into federal law the landmark 1973 Roe v.

Democrats have spent years pledging to address the gun violence that plagues communities across the U.S. But a surge of mass shootings over the weekend served as a reminder of how little has been accomplished.

As members of the Ukrainian parliament visited Capitol Hill, pleading for wartime aid, an air raid siren suddenly blared.

Vice President Kamala Harris’ trip to Warsaw to thank Poland for taking in Ukrainians fleeing Russia’s invasion is taking an unexpected turn.

A leading Democratic senator is calling out President Joe Biden to show “more urgency” to address gun violence by executive action, as the prospects of legislation on Capitol Hill to pass gun control reforms remain slim.

Congressional Democrats and Republicans are showing signs of support for providing $6.4 billion or more in aid to Ukraine and its European neighbors.

U.S. Senate leaders from both parties have issued a joint statement signaling solidarity with an independent Ukraine.

The U.S. Senate is considering a resolution in support of Ukraine’s independence while stopping short of legislation to impose sanctions on Russia.

The Biden administration says it has cancelled $130 million in military aid to Egypt over human rights concerns just three days after greenlighting a massive $2.5 billion arms sale to the country.

Two U.S. senators say they were denied access to parts of a federal prison in Connecticut while trying to examine conditions there.

The Biden administration has approved a massive $2.5 billion arms sale to Egypt despite ongoing concerns over human rights.

President Joe Biden has rallied European allies to pledge as one that they will take tough measures against Russia if it rolls troops into Ukraine.

Senate Democrats have defeated a bill by Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz that would have slammed sanctions on a Russian natural-gas pipeline to Germany.

Democrats are hoping that Congress is nearing the finish line in its seven-month trek on President Joe Biden’s $2 trillion social and environment package.

Republican and Democratic senators have edged back from a perilous standoff over lifting the nation’s borrowing cap.

The Senate has dodged a U.S. debt disaster by approving legislation to lift the federal limit on new borrowing by nearly a half-trillion dollars.

The Biden administration is releasing nearly $200 million in military aid to Egypt but will hold back millions more over human rights concerns.

U.S. officials say the evacuation of the American Embassy in Kabul has been completed and the U.S. flag lowered at the facility in Afghanistan's capital.

President Joe Biden says he stands “squarely behind” his decision for the U.S. to leave Afghanistan.

America’s top general says the United States could now face a rise in terrorist threats from a Taliban-run Afghanistan.

The Biden administration is encouraging Senate lawmakers to finally repeal an Iraq war authorization crafted when Saddam Hussein was still alive.

A Missouri hospital that had no people hospitalized with COVID-19 just two months ago is now dealing with an onslaught of patients.

Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s scathing rebuke of the NCAA and its rules this week included suggestions on how college sports can be reformed to avoid being sued into oblivion.

The Senate will take a key vote next week on a sweeping rewrite of voting and election law, setting up a dramatic test of Democratic unity on a top priority that Republicans are vowing to block.

The Biden administration is laying the groundwork for a renewed push to encourage more Arab countries to sign accords with Israel, and working to strengthen existing deals.

The Biden administration is laying the groundwork for a renewed push to encourage more Arab countries to sign accords with Israel, and working to strengthen existing deals.

A federal law governing how college athletes can earn money off their fame seems like a certainty.

The National Rifle Association has been embroiled in a legal and financial battle that liberals have cheered as the potential downfall of the powerful gun rights lobby, opening up a wide path for reform.

Ukraine’s president is claiming that Russia has maintained a massive military presence near his country’s borders.

College athletes would have the right to organize and collectively bargain with schools and conferences under a bill introduced Thursday by Democrats in the House and Senate.