CNN's GUT CHECK | for April 11, 2013 | 5 p.m.
- n. a pause to assess the state, progress or condition of the political news cycle

BELLIGERENT: Obama says North Korea needs 'to try lower temperatures’… After a meeting with United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, President Barack Obama said the two agreed that “now is time for North Korea to end the kind of belligerent approach that they've been taking and to try lower temperatures.” “Nobody wants to see a conflict on Korean peninsula,” Obama told reporters. “It’s important for North Korea to observe basic rules and norms that are set forth including a wide variety of UN resolutions that have passed.”

GUNS TO GET A VOTE: Senate overcomes filibuster, clearing the way for debate on gun bill… The U.S. Senate voted Thursday to overcome a Republican-led filibuster against tougher gun laws, clearing the way for a major congressional debate on a package of proposals sought by President Barack Obama in the aftermath of the Connecticut school massacre. Because of the bipartisan deal between Sens. Joe Manchin, D-West Virginia, and Pat Toomey, R-Pennsylvania, Senate Democrats proposing the legislation received support from enough Republicans to pass the cloture motion, 68-31, that sets up debate expected to last for two weeks. – Tom Cohen

FULL POST

CNN's GUT CHECK | for April 10, 2013 | 5 p.m.
- n. a pause to assess the state, progress or condition of the political news cycle

WHAT'S IN OBAMA'S BUDGET: President Barack Obama on Wednesday proposed a $3.77 trillion budget for 2014 that would cut deficits by $1.8 trillion over the next decade. Obama's budget blueprint - which has already drawn criticism from the left and the right - offers changes to Medicare and Social Security. It also includes tax increases that would primarily hit high-income households and corporations. – Jeanne Sahadi

SURPLUS ON PRINTING: The budget is 2,460 pages, including the historical tables and the appendix, and weighs a whopping 5.55 pounds.

HIT FROM LEFT: “I made a promise to the people of Rhode Island that I would always oppose cuts to Social Security, and I’m going to keep that promise,” wrote Democratic Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse in a written statement. “I cannot support a proposal that would force seniors to pay for deficits Social Security had no part in creating.”

FULL POST

CNN's GUT CHECK | for April 9, 2013 | 5 p.m.
- n. a pause to assess the state, progress or condition of the political news cycle

GUNS LIKELY TO GET A VOTE: Reid to force a vote Thursday on debating gun proposals… The U.S. Senate plans to vote on Thursday on whether to open debate on gun control legislation that some Republicans have pledged to filibuster, Democratic Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada said Tuesday. Republican Sen. Mark Kirk of Illinois tells CNN that he thinks there are enough votes in the Senate – from both Republicans and Democrats – to overcome a filibuster.

ANY DAY NOW: U.S. believes North Korea could test fire missiles at any time… Recent intelligence shows it is likely North Korea has completed preparations for test firing mobile ballistic missiles, a U.S. official said. Based on that intelligence, the Obama administration now calculates it is likely North Korea may test fire mobile ballistic missiles at any time. The official cautioned most of the information is coming from satellite imagery so it's impossible to reach a definitive conclusion because the U.S. has no means to gather information on the ground. – Barbara Starr

FEELING THE CUTS? A CNN/ORC International survey released Tuesday indicates that the cuts, known inside the Beltway as the sequester, appear to be mostly affecting lower-income Americans.

FULL POST

CNN's GUT CHECK | for April 8, 2013 | 5 p.m.
- n. a pause to assess the state, progress or condition of the political news cycle

IMMEDIATE THREAT: Worries about North Korean threat at all-time high… As North Korea increases its alarming threats against South Korea and the United States the past few weeks, a new national survey suggests that Americans are listening. According to the CNN/ORC International poll out today, 41% of Americans now characterize North Korea an immediate threat to the United States, an all-time high for that measure.

IRON LADY: Margaret Thatcher, Britain's first female PM, dead at 87… Thatcher, a towering figure in postwar British and world politics and the only woman to become British prime minister, suffered a stroke Monday, her spokeswoman said. A British government source said she died at the Ritz Hotel in London.

ANOTHER DEMOCRAT: Sen. Tim Johnson announced his support for same-sex marriage in a written statement on Monday. “After lengthy consideration, my views have evolved sufficiently to support marriage equality legislation,” Johnson said. “This position doesn't require any religious denomination to alter any of its tenets; it simply forbids government from discrimination regarding who can marry whom.”

FULL POST

CNN's GUT CHECK | for March 29, 2013 | 5 p.m.
- n. a pause to assess the state, progress or condition of the political news cycle

FOOT MEET MOUTH: REPUBLICANS CHIDE YOUNG FOR HIS 'WETBACKS' COMMENT… With the GOP actively working to reshape its image, it didn't take long for top Republicans to blast one of their own, Rep. Don Young, for using the derogatory term "wetbacks" in describing migrant workers from Mexico.

YOUNG’S COMMENT: “My father had a ranch; we used to have 50 to 60 wetbacks to pick tomatoes,” he said in an interview earlier this week. “It takes two people to pick the same tomatoes now. It's all done by machine.”

FORCEFUL RESPONSE: “Congressman Young’s remarks were offensive and beneath the dignity of the office he holds,” House Speaker John Boehner in a written statement. “I don’t care why he said it – there’s no excuse and it warrants an immediate apology.”

FULL POST