Politics got off to a bumpy start in 2013, with the House passing the Senate's bill to avert the fiscal cliff late Tuesday night. But, the showdown isn't over yet. Here's a preview of tonight's rundown. Read More
What Harry Reid and Mitch McConnell did while you weren’t looking
![Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid on the Senate floor on New Year's Day. (C-Span)](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20130103065147im_/http://msnbctv.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/reid_nyday.jpg?w=400&h=300&crop=1)
The United States Senate might not be dysfunctional as you think. MSNBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell explained in his Rewrite segment. Read More
Congress continues to get shamed after dropped Sandy aid vote
Northeastern Republican lawmakers have expressed their outrage with Speaker John Boehner's decision to unexpectedly cancel a vote late Tuesday night on a relief package for super-storm Sandy victims, which would have provided $60 billion. Read More
Most Recent
![The fiscal cliff arrives at midnight
(Rex Features via AP Images)](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20130103065147im_/http://msnbctv.files.wordpress.com/2012/12/obama-serious-cu.jpg?w=196&h=148&crop=1)
No fiscal cliff deal for House
After weeks of negotiations, the House will not hold a vote on a deficit deal Monday night, forcing Americans to ring in the new year over the fiscal cliff. Read More
![x_30_lw_vlw_121228](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20130103065147im_/http://msnbctv.files.wordpress.com/2012/12/x_30_lw_vlw_121228.jpg?w=196&h=148&crop=1)
Very Last Word: Ed Markey could pull Dems left
After the show, MSNBC's Ari Melber discussed Rep. Edward Markey's decision to run for Sen. John Kerry's Senate seat. Read More
![Rep. Edward Markey announced Thursday that he would seek a U.S. Senate seat in Massachusetts. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer, File)](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20130103065147im_/http://msnbctv.files.wordpress.com/2012/12/massachusetts-senate-jpeg-0de43.jpg?w=196&h=148&crop=1)
Rep. Ed Markey running to fill John Kerry’s Senate seat
Rep. Edward Markey (D-Mass.) announced Thursday he will run for U.S. Senate in the special election which will be held to fill Sen. John Kerry's seat if he is confirmed as Secretary of State. Read More
![Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, House Speaker John Boehner and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid at the Capitol Rotunda in Washington on Dec. 20, 2012. (Photo by Susan Walsh/AP Photo)](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20130103065147im_/http://msnbctv.files.wordpress.com/2012/12/backinsession.jpg?w=196&h=148&crop=1)
As time runs out, Obama will talk once more with congressional leaders
The president will meet with top lawmakers on Friday to try to reach a budget deal. The Senate is back in session and the House returns to work on Sunday night, giving Congress just 29 ½ hours to pass legislation. Read More
![Handguns collected during the LAPD Gun Buyback Program event are pictured December 26, 2012 in Los Angeles. (Photo by Joe Klamar/AFP/Getty Images)](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20130103065147im_/http://msnbctv.files.wordpress.com/2012/12/guns_400x300.jpg?w=196&h=148&crop=1)
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
![Majority Leader Harry Reid speaking about the fiscal cliff on the Senate floor on Thursday. (Photo by MSNBC/Senate pool)](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20130103065147im_/http://msnbctv.files.wordpress.com/2012/12/12272012_harry_reid_400x300.jpg?w=196&h=148&crop=1)
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.](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20130103065147im_/http://msnbctv.files.wordpress.com/2012/12/interviewing-empty-chair.jpg?w=196&h=148&crop=1)
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)](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20130103065147im_/http://msnbctv.files.wordpress.com/2012/12/durning_400x300.jpg?w=196&h=148&crop=1)
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)](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20130103065147im_/http://msnbctv.files.wordpress.com/2012/12/154020171.jpg?w=196&h=148&crop=1)
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)](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20130103065147im_/http://msnbctv.files.wordpress.com/2012/12/debtceiling_400x300.jpg?w=196&h=148&crop=1)
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)](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20130103065147im_/http://msnbctv.files.wordpress.com/2012/12/fiscal_cliff_boehner_jpeg-094c4.jpg?w=196&h=148&crop=1)
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)](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20130103065147im_/http://msnbctv.files.wordpress.com/2012/12/obama_pic.jpg?w=196&h=148&crop=1)
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
![Sen. Scott Brown (Photo by AP Photo/Alex Brandon)](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20130103065147im_/http://msnbctv.files.wordpress.com/2012/12/congress-brown-jpeg-06a261.jpg?w=196&h=148&crop=1)
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)](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20130103065147im_/http://msnbctv.files.wordpress.com/2012/12/dec212012_waynelapierre_400x300.jpg?w=196&h=148&crop=1)
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
![x_30_lw_vlw_121221](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20130103065147im_/http://msnbctv.files.wordpress.com/2012/12/x_30_lw_vlw_121221.jpg?w=196&h=148&crop=1)
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)](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20130103065147im_/http://msnbctv.files.wordpress.com/2012/12/wayne-lapierre1.jpg?w=196&h=148&crop=1)
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.](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20130103065147im_/http://msnbctv.files.wordpress.com/2012/12/n_lw_5kind_121220.jpg?w=196&h=148&crop=1)
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)](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20130103065147im_/http://msnbctv.files.wordpress.com/2012/12/planb_boehner.jpg?w=196&h=148&crop=1)
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)](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20130103065147im_/http://msnbctv.files.wordpress.com/2012/12/biden_taskforce.jpg?w=196&h=148&crop=1)
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