One in an occasional series of observational pieces keyed off the White House daily briefing.

The rest of Washington might have already declared a bipartisan gun control measure dead, but don't tell that to White House press secretary Jay Carney.

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CHARLOTTE On the federal level, the gun-control debate is now focused on proposed changes to gun legislation, from tightening background checks (given little chance of passage) to efforts to ban military-style assault weapons and limit the capacity of ammunition magazines (given even less).

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A bipartisan Senate group has agreed on a sweeping legislative proposal that would represent the most ambitious overhaul of the U.S. immigration system in three decades. The Washington Post will be examining portions of the bill on Post Politics in a series of blog entries.

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Sen. Kay Hagan of North Carolina is one of five Senate Democrats running for reelection next year in a state Mitt Romney won in 2012. Yet she's flashed something of a blue streak lately, coming out in support of gay marriage, and pledging to vote for a bipartisan measure to expand background checks on gun purchases.

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A letter addressed to President Obama was found to contain a substance that initially tested positive for the toxin ricin, the FBI said Wednesday.

The letter, intercepted Tuesday by authorities at a remote White House mail screening facility, contained “a granular substance that preliminarily tested positive for ricin,” the FBI said in a statement. It said there was “no indication” of any connection to the bombings Monday that killed three spectators at the Boston Marathon.

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"To see a wrong and not expose it, is to become a silent partner to its continuance." So read the letters that touched off a poison scare across Washington, after the contents of the envelopes discovered at off-site White House and Senate mailrooms showed preliminary positive results for ricin, a law enforcement source said Wednesday.

[Breaking news update at 1:01 p.m. Wednesday ]

The U.S. Senate will begin voting on amendments to gun legislation on Wednesday, including the leading proposals for tighter restrictions spurred by the Connecticut school massacre in December.

The U.S. Senate will begin voting on amendments to gun legislation on Wednesday, including the leading proposals for tighter restrictions spurred by the Connecticut school massacre in December.

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel tells senators he is sending about 200 soldiers from an Army headquarters unit to Jordan to assist efforts to contain violence along the Syrian border and plan for any operations needed to assure the safety of chemical weapons in Syria.