Senate

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A gun control bill proposed by Democratic Gov. Martin O’Malley has cleared the Senate but is stuck in a House committee over the issue of assault weapons. Zero tolerance policies in some schools have gone overboard, according to critics. (Associated Press)

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**FILE** Sen. Jason Rapert, Conway Republican, waits to be interviewed near the senate chamber at the Arkansas state Capitol in Little Rock on March 5, 2013. The Senate voted to override Gov. Mike Beebe's veto of Rapert's legislation that would ban most abortions from the 12th week of pregnancy onward. (Associated Press)

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**FILE** House Speaker John Boehner, Ohio Republican, wraps up a news conference Feb. 26, 2013, on Capitol Hill in Washington, where he and GOP leaders challenged President Obama and the Senate to avoid the automatic spending cuts set to take effect four days later. (Associated Press)

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Rep. Edward J. Markey (left) is still favored to win the the Democratic runoff election for a Senate seat against Rep. Stephen F. Lynch, which will decide who moves on to the June 25 special election. (Associated Press)

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"My understanding is that the waivers [for No Child Left Behind] become obsolete" if new federal education reforms go into effect, Education Secretary Arne Duncan told a Senate panel Thursday. (Associated Press)

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Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta will testify to a Senate panel that hopes to get satisfactory answers Thursday to questions about the deadly attack in Benghazi, Libya. (Associated Press)

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** FILE ** Former Sen. Chuck Hagel stumbled through his Senate confirmation hearing last week, but Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta said “the political knives were out for” him. (Andrew Harnik/The Washington Times)

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William "Mo" Cowan smiles Jan. 30, 2013, during a news conference at the Statehouse in Boston where he was selected to fill John F. Kerry's seat on an interim basis in the Senate. Kerry was confirmed by the Senate the previous day to be the nation's next secretary of state. (Associated Press