WASHINGTON, April 12 (Reuters) – The U.S. congressman at the
center of an international furor over North Korea’s nuclear
capabilities is one of the leading voices in the House of
Representatives against cutting the budget for missile systems.

Republican Representative Doug Lamborn, whose Colorado
district is a center for U.S. missile defense, made headlines
around the world on Thursday after he quoted the Defense
Intelligence Agency as saying North Korea likely had a nuclear
bomb that could be launched from a missile.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. senators, including some of President Barack Obama’s fellow Democrats, pushed the White House on Thursday to shift its policy and provide lethal military assistance to rebels waging a civil war against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

It is time for Washington to do more to oust Assad and end a two-year conflict in which more than 70,000 people have been killed and millions displaced, they said at a hearing of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. spy agencies believe the recent bellicose rhetoric from North Korea is mainly an effort by leader Kim Jong-un to demonstrate he is firmly in command, National Intelligence Director James Clapper said on Thursday.

U.S. intelligence also believes China, North Korea’s neighbor and traditional protector, is becoming increasingly frustrated with Kim’s behavior, Clapper said.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Senator Joe Manchin became so emotional on Wednesday about the Newtown massacre and his push for background checks for gun buyers that parents whose children were killed at the Connecticut school in December were moved to comfort him.

“I’m a parent. … I’m a grandparent,” the West Virginia Democrat told reporters during a meeting in his office with eight Newtown family members on Wednesday, when asked what he thought it meant to have them visiting the U.S. Capitol.

WASHINGTON, April 10 (Reuters) – President Barack Obama
included $4 billion to improve security at hundreds of overseas
diplomatic posts in his budget proposal on Wednesday, in the
wake of the deadly Sept. 11, 2012, attacks on the U.S. mission
in Benghazi, Libya.

The money would secure overseas personnel and facilities,
including enough money to increase embassy security construction
to $2.2 billion, as recommended after an independent review of
the Benghazi attacks.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Two key senators announced a breakthrough deal on Wednesday to expand background checks for gun buyers, boosting prospects that the Senate will approve at least some of President Barack Obama’s proposed gun restrictions.

The agreement by Democrat Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Republican Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania sets the stage for a Senate debate on a gun-control package starting on Thursday, when the Democrat-led chamber is expected to defeat conservative Republican efforts to block the bill from even reaching a vote.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The new global arms trade treaty was overwhelmingly approved by the United Nations, with U.S. backing, but it was clear on Wednesday it faces a tough fight for ratification by U.S. senators who contend it could affect Americans’ gun rights.

The 193-nation U.N. General Assembly approved the pact by a vote of 154-3 on Tuesday, with 23 abstentions, many by major weapons exporters.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Senator Mark Kirk announced on Tuesday that he supports gay marriage, suggesting a brush with death had helped shift his attitude as he became the second Republican to join dozens of Democratic senators who back homosexuals’ right to wed.

“When I climbed the Capitol steps in January, I promised myself that I would return to the Senate with an open mind and greater respect for others,” said Kirk, an Illinois senator who returned to the Senate in January almost a year after suffering a major stroke.

WASHINGTON, March 27 (Reuters) – North Carolina’s Kay Hagan
on Wednesday became the sixth Democratic senator to endorse gay
marriage this week as the U.S. Supreme Court heard two cases on
the issue.

“After much thought and prayer, I have come to my own
personal conclusion that we shouldn’t tell people who they can
love or who they can marry,” Hagan said in a statement on her
Facebook page on Wednesday.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. ambassador to Syria said on Wednesday there is no evidence so far to back reports that chemical weapons were used in Syria on Tuesday, but the United States has a large team investigating the issue.

“So far, we have no evidence to substantiate the reports that chemical weapons were used yesterday. But I want to underline that we are looking very carefully at these reports,” Robert Ford, who was recalled from Damascus in February 2012, told a hearing of the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee.