“I don’t have this burning, overriding desire to go out and run for office,” said Anthony Weiner in April.
A Senate committee approves immigration reform, Anthony Weiner launches his political comeback bid, and more
1. OKLAHOMA BEGINS CLEARING TWISTER DEBRIS
Rescue teams are winding down their search for survivors of the tornado that tore through Moore, Okla., and authorities are expected to start the mammoth task of clearing away debris. The mayor of Moore, Glenn Lewis, said he expected the death toll to remain at 24 people, including nine children. Officials had originally put the number of deaths at 51, but the state medical examiner’s office said that in the chaos after the storm some victims appear to have been counted twice. [NBC News, CNN]
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2. SENATE COMMITTEE APPROVES IMMIGRATION REFORM BILL
The Senate Judiciary Committee approved a sweeping immigration reform bill Tuesday. The legislation would provide a path to citizenship for up to 11 million people who entered the U.S. illegally. It would also include tougher border control. President Obama, who has made immigration reform a second-term priority, said the bill was “largely consistent” with his own proposals. The landmark legislation goes to the full Senate next month. [Washington Post]
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3. ANTHONY WEINER ANNOUNCES HE’S RUNNING FOR NYC MAYOR
Disgraced former Rep. Anthony Weiner on Wednesday launched a bid to become mayor of New York City. In a campaign video, he said he would fight to create jobs and reduce regulation on small businesses. He alluded to the sexting scandal that derailed his career two years ago, saying, “Look, I made some big mistakes… but I’ve also learned some tough lessons.” Polls show him ahead of all but one rival in the Democratic primaries, and he has a $5 million war chest. [New York Times]
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4. NORTH KOREA SENDS SPECIAL ENVOY TO CHINA
North Korea sent a “special envoy” of leader Kim Jong Un to China on Wednesday in an apparent bid to mend frayed relations between the communist allies. Ties between Pyongyang and Beijing were hurt by North Korea’s February nuclear test, then worsened again when China agreed to United Nations sanctions. The visit is considered important for North Korea, as the diplomatic crisis has made Pyongyang more reliant than ever on China for exports of food and fuel. [Reuters]
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5. GOVERNMENT SEIZED FOX NEWS PHONE RECORDS, TOO
Court documents indicate that the Justice Department seized records on several Fox News phone lines as part of a leak investigation, according to The New Yorker. The document was filed in the case against Stephen Jin-Woo Kim, a former State Department contractor accused of illegally leaking classified information to James Rosen, a Fox News reporter. Prosecutors obtained records on two White House phone lines and five others associated with Fox, including what appears to be Rosen’s personal cellphone. [New Yorker]
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6. TSARNAEV ACQUAINTANCE KILLED DURING QUESTIONING
An FBI agent shot and killed a man believed to have had ties to Boston Marathon bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev. Little information was available early Wednesday, but the man, Ibrahim Todashev, reportedly was being questioned in his Orlando apartment when an altercation erupted. Investigators believe Todashev had spoken to Tsarnaev, who was killed in a shoot-out three days after the deadly April bombing, and had recently visited him in Boston. [CBS]
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7. ANTI-GAY-MARRIAGE FRENCH HISTORIAN KILLS HIMSELF IN NOTRE DAME CATHEDRAL
A far-right French historian committed suicide on the altar of Paris’ Notre Dame Cathedral on Tuesday in an apparent protest of gay marriage. Shortly after writing a blog post calling for radical action to oppose same-sex marriage in France, Dominique Venner, 78, walked into the famed cathedral, placed a letter on the altar, put the barrel of a handgun into his mouth, and pulled the trigger. Hundreds of visitors were immediately evacuated. Police did not immediately disclose what was in the letter. [Guardian]
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8. JUDGES RULE ARIZONA ABORTION LAW UNCONSTITUTIONAL
A panel of Ninth Circuit appeals judges struck down Arizona’s strict abortion law on Tuesday. The law, enacted in April 2012, made abortions illegal 20 weeks after a woman’s last menstrual period, even if the fetus had no chance of surviving. The judges said the Arizona law was unconstitutional because Supreme Court rulings guarantee women the right to end pregnancies until a fetus is deemed viable outside the womb, which typically occurs around 24 weeks. [New York Times]
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9. U.S. IDENTIFIES BENGHAZI SUSPECTS
The U.S. has identified five suspects in the attack on diplomats in Benghazi, Libya, that killed Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans last year. The men remain at large, however. Investigators have enough evidence to justify seizing them as suspected terrorists, but not enough to try them in civilian courts, as the Obama administration prefers to do, so the FBI will continue gathering proof. [Associated Press]
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10. GARCETTI WINS ELECTION TO BECOME L.A. MAYOR
City Councilman Eric Garcetti has won Los Angeles’ mayoral race. Rival candidate Wendy Greuel called Garcetti early Wednesday to concede, ending a two-year, $33 million battle to determine who would succeed Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa as the massive city’s political leader. Garcetti will be L.A.’s first Jewish mayor, and, at 42, its youngest in a century. He takes office in July. [Los Angeles Times]
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