Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) is reigniting a battle over student loan interest rates that infused the campaign trail last year and put Republicans in a predicament with young voters. On July 1, …

Poison Pills And Deal Breakers: Senate Panel Considers 300 Amendments To Immigration Reform Bill

On Thursday, the Senate Judiciary Committee will begin examining about 300 proposed amendments to the bipartisan immigration bill, kicking off a new phase in the reform effort. While most are unlikely to pass, the amendments give a valuable preview as to which issues the final battle over immigration will be fought hardest over. You can expect to see lawmakers come back to some of these same debates many times over before any kind of legislation hits the president’s desk.

Senate Democrats Block Attempt To Expand Gun Rights

The Senate voted 56-43 on Wednesday to block an amendment expanding gun rights as Democrats used the filibuster to prevent a simple majority vote.

The measure, offered by Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) as an amendment to water resource legislation, would have allowed people to carry firearms in water development projects like lakes and camp sites which are currently gun-free zones.

Coburn Pulls Gun Amendment That Flirted With Obama Conspiracy Theory

Shortly before a floor vote Wednesday afternoon, Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) withdrew his amendment requiring documentation of ammunition and firearm purchases by federal agencies, his office and Democratic leadership confirmed to TPM.

Coburn Gun Amendment May Fuel Obama Conspiracy Theory Debunked By NRA

Updated: May 8, 2013, 1:02 PM

The Senate is scheduled to vote Wednesday afternoon on an amendment offered by Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) that may add fuel to a conspiracy theory about President Obama’s gun control efforts that even the National Rifle Association has said is based on fiction.

Coburn’s office denied that he’s buying into the theory and said his legislation is merely about government accountability and waste.

Brooklyn Federal Court Building On Lockdown After Anthrax Threat

The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, located in Brooklyn, was on lockdown shortly after 4:00 p.m. Tuesday afternoon after an anthrax threat, a court official and a security personnel for the court confirmed to TPM.

A source in the courthouse passed along an email from the court clerk informing court personnel of the threat.

“An envelope was received with an anthrax threat and a white power and was released in the main clerk’s office on the first floor. Only one staff member came into direct contact with the powder,” the email read.

“At this time and until we get an all clear from the USMS, no one can leave that area once they have entered. It is very important that no one enter that space (mail room, file room, docketing, intake, personnel, etc) and that the judges’ elevator on the Adams Street side of the building not be used to exit on the first floor.”

The USMS is the U.S. Marshal’s Service, which, among other things, provides security for the federal courts. (Update: A USMS official confirmed the anthrax threat and said it was under investigation. The official said there have been “no injuries or illnesses.”)

The source said she saw a New York City Fire Department ambulance, three police cars and a firetruck outside the window of her courthouse office.

Earlier Tuesday, the same courthouse was the scene of oral arguments in a high-profile case in which the Obama administration is facing off against reproductive rights advocates over access to Plan B, known as the morning-after pill.

UPDATE: Shortly after 5:00 P.M., court personnel received an email informing them that they could exit the building via a cordoned off area, the source said.

Elizabeth Colbert Busch Looks To Silence Whisper Campaign Around Her Divorce

On the eve of Tuesday’s special election in South Carolina’s 1st Congressional District, Democratic candidate Elizabeth Colbert Busch offered up an intense recounting of her 1988 divorce in order to cut off a whisper campaign from supporters of her opponent, Republican Mark Sanford.

How Barbara Buono Hopes To Take Down The Nation’s Most Popular Governor

She’s more than 30 points behind in the polls and her funding is frighteningly low, but state Sen. Barbara Buono said this week that by November, she hopes the race between herself and Republican Gov. Chris Christie will be a nail-biter.

Buono (D) may not be a household name, even within New Jersey, but she has set out to convince the public that the governor’s race there has just begun.

Minnesota Appears On The Verge Of Legalizing Gay Marriage

Gay rights advocates in Minnesota believe they’ve locked up enough votes in the state legislature to legalize same sex marriage ahead of a scheduled House vote Thursday.

Health Care Spending Growth May Have Slowed Permanently — With Huge Implications For The Economy And Deficits

Health care spending growth has famously slowed over the past five years, significantly enough that the Congressional Budget Office recently revised its projections of Medicare and Medicaid spending over the coming decade downward by hundreds of billions of dollars.

Now, research papers suggests the recent slowdown doesn’t just reflect temporary economic weakness, but also structural shifts in how health care is delivered and financed — possibly attributable to the Affordable Care Act — and thus might be a harbinger of a longer-term trend.