Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., center, calls for gun control legislation …

President Barack Obama, followed by, from second from left, Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., Rep. John Larson, D-Conn., and Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., walks down the steps of Air Force One at Bradley Air Force Base, Conn., Monday, April 8, 2013. Obama traveled to the Hartford, Conn., to speak at the University of Hartford, near the state capitol where last week the governor signed into law some of the nation's strictest gun control laws with the Sandy Hook families standing behind him.

Post-primaries, Clinton and Sanders try to come together

That's where Clinton joined rival Barack Obama in 2008 for a splashy endorsement - the two rivals had literally split the vote in the town in the primary. But now, more than a week after Clinton clinched the 2016 Democratic presidential nomination, Sanders has still not called Clinton the presumptive nominee, has not conceded the race and people close to both campaigns say a formal endorsement is not imminent.

GOP plan promises to reclaim congressional powers

The latest piece of the campaign agenda commissioned by House Speaker Paul Ryan is promising to reclaim powers ceded to the presidency, give stronger directions to federal bureaucrats, and reassert lawmakers' control over the federal purse strings. The plan is a product of a task force studded with Republican conservatives.

Lawmakers turned over gifts after trip

Lawmakers who took a trip secretly funded by the government of Azerbaijan turned over jade earrings, tea sets, silk scarves, woven rugs and other gifts to the government after a watchdog report called the trip improper. The list of gifts returned to the General Services Administration , which was obtained by The Hill through a Freedom of Information Act request, fills in more details about the trip to a 2013 conference in the Azerbaijan capital of Baku.

Media/GOP Treating Trump Same as Romney Post-Benghazi

NeverTrump Republicans are indulging a fantasy that if only the Republican Party had a "normal" candidate, if only Trump behaved in a "polished" way, the nominee and the party at large would avoid a lot of PR/Media headaches. But this is contrary to what actually happened a mere four years ago.

Rahm fights alongside George Lucas to give Chicago museum a new hope

A nasty court fight between film icon George Lucas and Chicago environmentalists over a proposed art museum in the city could have the Star Wars creator saying, "Help me, Obi-Rahm, you're my only hope." Lucas is fighting to build a futuristic art museum on the Chicago lakefront, and has enlisted the help of Mayor Rahm Emanuel to keep the project alive.

Eighth Wisconsin superdelegate commits to Clinton

Another Democratic superdelegate in Wisconsin has committed to Hillary Clinton. State Democratic Party Chairwoman Martha Laning announced her support for Clinton on Wednesday, the day after the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee capped her primary campaign on Tuesday with a win over Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders in the Washington, D.C., primary.

Primary results reflect split personality of Maine’s electorate

The nature of primary elections is that they're a waypoint along the path to the real contests for elected office in the general election, though on Tuesday, some of the results brought closure for seasoned lawmakers and a new trajectory for others. The two big winners for Democrats - Justin Chenette for a Saco-area Maine Senate seat and Ben Chipman for one of the Portland Senate seats - represent an up-and-coming young gun on one hand and a victory for someone who wasn't even a Democrat until nine months ago on the other.

Senate approves defense bill, defies White House veto threat

Defying a White House veto threat, the Senate voted decisively Tuesday to approve a defense policy bill that authorizes $602 billion in military spending, bars shuttering the prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and denies the Pentagon's bid to start a new round of military base closings. The GOP-led Senate's version of the National Defense Authorization Act passed 85 to 13, with all but seven members of the Democratic caucus backing the legislation.

Our Opinion: Searching for answers in the face of slaughter

Many Northeast Mississippi residents joined millions of other Americans during the last few days in seeking to regain emotional and personal equilibrium after the early Sunday mass murder of 49 people in an Orlando night club. A sizable group, organized through social media, gathered in front of Tupelo's City Hall on Monday night to express grief and memorialize those killed in the club, whose clientele was predominantly gay and young.

Russian hackers breach DNC computers, steal data on Trump

Russian hackers managed to breach the computer network of the Democratic National Committee and stole opposition research on Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump. The hackers had access to email and chat traffic as far back as last summer, the Washington Post reported on Tuesday.

Clinton closes out primaries with win

Hillary Clinton brought a close to the presidential primary season with a win in the nation's capital and a meeting with dispatched rival Bernie Sanders, hoping to set a tone of Democratic unity heading into next month's party convention in Philadelphia. Clinton's victory Tuesday in the District of Columbia, the final primary of 2016, had no bearing on her role as the presumptive nominee, but it nevertheless marked a transition in the lengthy primary fight between the two rivals.

New Balance runs closer to supplying military with sneakers

New Balance's long battle with the federal government to supply the military with its athletic shoes cleared a major hurdle early Tuesday afternoon. The Senate passed the fiscal year 2017 National Defense Authorization Act on an 85-13 vote.

Scientists: Drop Arctic from plans for offshore drilling

Nearly 400 scientists have signed a letter urging President Obama to eliminate the possibility of Arctic offshore drilling in the near future by taking the Arctic Ocean out of the next federal offshore lease sale plan. The scientists include Jane Lubchenco, Obama's former administrator of the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration, now a researcher and teacher at Oregon State University.