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Handguns collected during the LAPD Gun Buyback Program event are pictured December 26, 2012 in Los Angeles. (Photo by Joe Klamar/AFP/Getty Images)

New poll: increasing support for stricter gun laws

The gun control debate continues, but a new Gallup poll shows support for stricter gun laws, which is the highest it has measured since January 2004. A majority of Americans also support a ban on the sale and possession of ammunition clips that contain more than 10 bullets. Read More

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Very Last Word: The NRA’s culture of fear

MSNBC's Karen Finney stuck around for the Very Last Word Wednesday to discuss the difficulty of confirming a director for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. She also spoke about the culture of fear that has been fomented by the N.R.A. around the idea of taking away people's guns. Read More

Majority Leader Harry Reid speaking about the fiscal cliff on the Senate floor on Thursday. (Photo by MSNBC/Senate pool)

First Word: Senate back today, House will return Sunday

As the Senate convened Thursday, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid scolded the House for not returning to Washington in hopes of negotiating a bipartisan deal that would avoid historic tax hikes and spending cuts set for the new year. Read More

Interview chair minus invited guest, Craig Sonner, lawyer for George Zimmerman.

MSNBC’s most watched in 2012: Lawrence O’Donnell eviscerates Zimmerman lawyer

After lawyer Craig Sonner sped away from the MSNBC studio in Orlando where he was scheduled to speak with O'Donnell, the host lobbed hard-hitting questions at the empty chair where Sonner was supposed to sit. Read More

Actor Charles Durning in 2007. (Photo by Ron Galella/WireImage)

Lawrence O’Donnell remembers cinematic life of actor Charles Durning

In the Rewrite segment, MSNBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell weighed in on the actor’s life and shared memories about working with him. Read More

A table of illegal firearms confiscated in a large weapons bust in East Harlem are on display at a press conference on October 12, 2012 in New York City.  (Mario Tama / Getty Images)

ATF handicapped by laws and a lack of leader

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, (ATF), the federal agency responsible for enforcing gun laws, has for years been choked by legislative restrictions that keep it from functioning efficiently. Read More

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner (Photo by Chris Usher/AP Photo)

Debt ceiling looms again, Treasury Department begins delay tactics

The U.S. Treasury Department announced on Wednesday it will implement delaying tactics to avoid reaching the debt ceiling. Read More

Speaker of the House John Boehner, R-Ohio, joined by House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., left, speaks to reporters about the fiscal cliff negotiations at the Capitol in Washington, Friday, Dec. 21, 2012. (Photo by J. Scott Applewhite/AP Photo)

First Word: Stalemate continues

House Republican leaders released a statement Wednesday that indicated they are waiting on the Senate to pass legislation, so that the House can then consider and amend the two bills that "would avert the fiscal cliff if enacted." Read More

President Barack Obama delivers a statement on fiscal cliff at the White House December 21, 2012 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Obama: ‘Common ground’ is to avert middle-class tax hike

President Obama asked Congress to pass a bipartisan agreement that would extend tax cuts for people earning under $250,000 and unemployment benefits before January 1st. Read More

Former Sen. Scott Brown (Photo by AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

A scramble to fill John Kerry’s Senate seat

Now that President Obama has nominated John Kerry for Secretary of State, Kerry's Senate seat -- granting his confirmation -- will be vacated, and the scramble for a replacement will begin. Read More

Wayne LaPierre, executive vice president of the National Rifle Association (NRA), speaks during a news conference in Washington December 21, 2012. (Photo by Joshua Roberts/REUTERS)

NRA blames Hollywood for culture of violence, and Hollywood responds

After a week of silence, the National Rifle Association blamed Hollywood, the media and the video game industry for the heightened culture of violence in America. Read More

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Very Last Word: Boehner Shambles

On the Very Last Word, MSNBC's Joy Reid and Ari Melber try to parse the House GOP debacle Thursday night. Read More

National Rifle Association Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre calls on Congress to pass a law putting armed police officers in every school in America during a news conference Dec. 21, 2012 in Washington, DC.  (Photo by Evan Vucci/AP Photo)

First Word: NRA says to get more armed cops in schools

The NRA finally broke their week-long silence after the shooting massacre at Sandy Hook elementary school, and its executive vice president, Wayne LaPierre, called on immediate action from Congress to require more armed police officers in all schools. Read More

Eighth-grader who raised money for the K.I.N.D. Fund.

Eighth-grader raises more than $3,000 for K.I.N.D. Fund

The K.I.N.D. Fund reached a new milestone, raising more then $5 million to help kids in Malawi get a better education. And one eighth grader took the initiative to hold her own fundraising drive. Read More

House Speaker John Boehner speaking to the media Thursday on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Yuri Gripas/Reuters)

Can Speaker Boehner survive the Plan B debacle?

In a clear rejection of Boehner's leadership, House Republicans refused to give the Speaker their support for Plan B. Is his job in jeopardy? Read More

Vice President Joe Biden speaks during a meeting at the White House on Thursday. (Photo by Carolyn Kaster/AP Photo)

After Newtown, a new willingness to support gun control

A day after President Obama announced the creation of a taskforce to look into ways to reduce gun violence, Vice President Biden met with law enforcement officials and Cabinet members. Read More

Failed Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney would have won the 2012 election if a new GOP-backed electoral college plan were implemented nationwide (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

Romney’s ‘transition’ cost government $8.9 million

Thanks to the Presidential Transition Act of 2010, the government will pay $8.9 million to cover planning for a transition to a Romney presidency. Read More

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Very Last Word: How much will Dems concede?

In a web exclusive, MSNBC host Krystal Ball expressed her frustration that, after winning the presidential election, Obama might have to concede on tax rates. Plus, Ari Melber on the Bush years that keep on giving. Read More

House Speaker John Boehner is fighting like mad for a bill that can't possibly become law.   (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

First Word: House votes on Boehner’s ‘Plan B’

Speaker John Boehner continues to scramble for votes for his backup tax proposal "Plan B" as it faces a vote today. Read More

Actress Jessica Chastain in a scene from "Zero Dark Thirty" (Photo by Jonathan Olley/Columbia Pictures/AP Photo)

‘Zero Dark Thirty’ torture scenes ‘misleading,’ senators say

A bipartisan group of senators filed a complaint letter with the head of Sony Pictures over the role of torture in the new film on the manhunt for Osama bin Laden. Read More