CNN's GUT CHECK | for March 22, 2013 | 5 p.m.
- n. a pause to assess the state, progress or condition of the political news cycle

‘ASSAD WILL GO’: President Barack Obama at a press conference in Jordan said the Syrian regime has lost legitimacy and it is only a question of when President Bashar al-Assad will fall. “We are going to continue to closely consult with everybody in the region and do everything we can to bring an end to the bloodshed and to allow the Syrian people to get out of a leader who has lost all legitimacy because he's willing to slaughter his own people,” Obama said. “And I'm confident Assad will go. It's not a question of if, it's when.”

TURKEY GETS MUCH DELAYED APOLOGY: Obama scored a diplomatic coup just before leaving Israel when Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu apologized to Turkey for a 2010 commando raid that killed nine activists on a Turkish vessel in a Gaza-bound flotilla. The apology, long sought by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Erdogan, eased strained feelings between Turkey and Israel, two vital U.S. allies in the Middle East.

FULL POST

CNN's GUT CHECK | for March 21, 2013 | 5 p.m.
- n. a pause to assess the state, progress or condition of the political news cycle

PEACE IS POSSIBLE: President Barack Obama attempted on Thursday to invigorate the stalled Middle East peace process, urging young Israelis to pressure their leaders to seek peace with Palestinians while acknowledging the Jewish state's historical right to exist and defend itself from continuing threats.

“Peace is possible,” Obama said at a speech in Jerusalem. “It is possible. I’m not saying it’s guaranteed. I can’t even say that it is more likely than not. But it is possible.” – Tom Cohen. John King and Jessica Yellin

GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN UNLIKELY: House approves government funding bill… The House of Representatives easily approved legislation Thursday funding the government through the end of September and avoiding a partial federal shutdown, while also softening the blow of forced spending cuts. The measure, which passed the Senate on Wednesday, now goes to President Barack Obama to be signed into law. – Alan Silverleib

FULL POST

CNN's GUT CHECK | for March 20, 2013 | 5 p.m.
- n. a pause to assess the state, progress or condition of the political news cycle

ALL OPTIONS: Obama and Netanyahu talk tension with Iran… President Barack Obama said at a press conference on Wednesday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that “all options are on the table” regarding Iran's nuclear ambitions, adding that “we will do what is necessary in preventing Iran from getting the world's worst weapons.”

CHEMICAL WEAPONS IN SYRIA: President Barack Obama said Wednesday that the Syrian government's “use of chemical weapons against the Syrian people would be a serious and tragic mistake,” adding that Damascus “will be held for accountable for the use of chemical weapons or their transfer to terrorists.”

AMERICAN BOUNTY: The State Department has put a multimillion-dollar bounty on the heads of two Americans who the United States claims belong to an al Qaeda affiliate in Somalia, CNN has learned. – Elise Labott

FULL POST

CNN's GUT CHECK | for March 19, 2013 | 5 p.m.
- n. a pause to assess the state, progress or condition of the political news cycle

ESSENTIALLY IN AGREEMENT: Immigration reform: Congressional negotiators close to deal… A day after the Republican National Committee released a post-election report calling for comprehensive immigration reform, House Speaker John Boehner told reporters that the bipartisan House group working on legislation is “essentially in agreement” on a plan to address the politically controversial issue. Boehner emphasized he's intent on getting something done in the House, telling reporters, “I made clear the day after the election that dealing with immigration reform was a top priority and it is.” – Deirdre Walsh and Dana Bash

ASSAULT WEAPON BAN OUT: Senate leader says new weapons ban won't pass… Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Tuesday that a proposed ban on semi-automatic firearms modeled after military assault weapons has no chance of passing the Senate, but he wants to ensure a vote on it will take place. The proposal to update a similar 1994 ban that expired a decade later was one of four measures passed by the Senate Judiciary Committee in response to the Connecticut school massacre in December.

FULL POST

CNN's GUT CHECK | for March 18, 2013 | 5 p.m.
- n. a pause to assess the state, progress or condition of the political news cycle

BLOOMBERG TACKLES TOBACCO: New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg said his latest push to keep tobacco products out of sight is an attempt to de-glamorize the appeal of the product for kids and teenagers. “Smoking is going to kill these kids,” he said Monday on CNN's “The Lead” in an interview with Chief Washington Correspondent Jake Tapper. “It's going to leave them with not the great career prospects that you'd like, not the education that you'd like.” They mayor said they're trying to dissuade customers from viewing cigarettes as "normal." – Ashley Killough

OBAMA APPROVAL DOWN: A CNN/ORC International poll indicates that President Barack Obama's job approval rating has dipped below 50% for the first time since September, with half of the public saying they disapprove of the job he's doing in the White House. – Paul Steinhauser

GOP APPROVAL DOWN, TOO: According to the poll, 54% of Americans have an unfavorable view of the Republican Party, with less than three in ten saying they view the GOP in a favorable light.

MARKET WATCH: Stocks fall for 2nd straight day. Worries about Cyprus keep investors on edge. Dow falls 61 points.

FULL POST

CNN's GUT CHECK | for March 15, 2013 | 5 p.m.
- n. a pause to assess the state, progress or condition of the political news cycle

DEVELOPING: Maryland legislature votes to end death penalty… By an 82-56 margin, the Maryland House of Delegates voted Friday to ban the death penalty in that state. The bill now goes to Gov. Martin O'Malley's desk. “To govern is to choose, and at a time where we understand the things that actually work to reduce violent crime, when we understand how lives can be saved, we have a moral responsibility to do more of the things that work to save lives,” O'Malley said at a news conference. – Mark Morgenstein

‘A CHANGE OF HEART’: CNN Exclusive: One conservative's dramatic reversal on gay marriage... Sen. Rob Portman has been a leading Republican voice on economic issues for four decades. Now, the prominent Ohio conservative will be known for something else: reversing his hard-line position against gay marriage. "I'm announcing today a change of heart on an issue that a lot of people feel strongly about that has to do with gay couples' opportunity to marry," Portman told CNN. It has to do with another revelation, one deeply personal. His 21-year-old son, Will, is gay. "I've come to the conclusion that for me, personally, I think this is something that we should allow people to do, to get married, and to have the joy and stability of marriage that I've had for over 26 years. That I want all of my children to have, including our son, who is gay," said Portman. – Dana Bash

FULL POST

CNN's GUT CHECK | for March 13, 2013 | 5 p.m.
- n. a pause to assess the state, progress or condition of the political news cycle

OBAMA ON THE HILL – DAY THREE: President Barack Obama went to Capitol Hill for the third straight day on Thursday, where he met with both Senate Republicans and House Democrats. The meeting with Republicans was “surprisingly positive,” a source told CNN’s Dana Bash, because the president heard Republicans out on things like entitlements and tax reform and then gave thoughtful and candid responses.

“It was a great conversation,” Obama told reporters walking out of the meeting with Senate Republicans. “Always good to be back in the Senate.”

GUNS: WEAPONS BAN HEADS TO SENATE… A ban on semiautomatic firearms modeled after military assault weapons won approval Thursday from a Senate committee, sending the legislation to the full Senate for consideration as part of a package of gun measures being studied after the Connecticut school shootings last December that killed 20 first-graders. – Tom Cohen

FULL POST

CNN's GUT CHECK | for March 13, 2013 | 5 p.m.
- n. a pause to assess the state, progress or condition of the political news cycle

HABEMUS PAPAM: Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio of Argentina has been elected the next pope. He is the first non-European pope of the modern era. The decision came after the fifth ballot cast by the 115 cardinals since the papal conclave began Tuesday. The new pope succeeds Pope Benedict XVI, who became the first pope to resign in hundreds of years. He stepped down February 28, citing advanced age. The new pope becomes the leader of the world’s 1.2 billion Catholics.

“Please pray for me,” the new pope said as he finished his first public appearance as pope on Wednesday night. “Tomorrow I’m going to go pray to the Virgin Mary. Good night, thank you and have a good rest.”

POPE FRANCIS: Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio, the new pope, has chosen the name Francis, after Francis of Assisi.

BIDEN GOING TO ROME: A White House official confirms Vice President Joe Biden will lead the United States delegation to the installation of Pope Francis.

FULL POST

CNN's GUT CHECK | for March 12, 2013 | 5 p.m.
- n. a pause to assess the state, progress or condition of the political news cycle

OBAMA ON THE HILL: President Barack Obama met with Senate Democrats on Tuesday afternoon and stressed the importance of compromise, according to senators in the meeting. “He says working together with the Republicans in terms of getting a grand bargain or a major dent in this issue is critically important,” Sen. Carl Levin told CNN’s Ted Barrett. “Compromise is essential, but he hasn’t seen enough from them yet. But he is also going to continue trying.” Obama’s meeting with Senate Democrats is the first of three visits to Capitol Hill this week for talks with legislators.

IS THE CHARM OFFENSIVE GENUINE? After National Journal’s Ron Fournier reported that an anonymous “senior White House official” told him Obama’s Capitol Hill meetings are “a joke” and a waste of “the president's time,” White House press secretary Jay Carney sharply rejected the statement. “I have no idea who said that," Carney said in response to a question from CNN’s Jim Acosta. “But I can tell you that opinion has never been voiced in my presence, in the president's presence, in the West Wing. It does not represent the president's view, it does not represent the White House's view, and it does not represent the administration's view.”

FULL POST

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

SODA BAN SETBACK: A state judge invalidated a New York City law banning certain venues from selling sugary drinks in containers larger than 16 ounces. The ban was due to take effect on Tuesday. The judgment is a setback for Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who has backed several laws aimed at improving the health of New Yorkers. – Melanie Hicken

HOW OBAMA COULD SAVE MEDICARE: The White House often says President Barack Obama has a plan for reforming entitlements, particularly Medicare. However, the specifics of that proposal don't spring to mind as easily as the reforms being bandied about in Republican circles, such as providing seniors with vouchers to pay for premiums or raising the retirement age. Here are some of the key things that Obama would do… Pay less for drugs… Reduce payments for post-hospital care… Raise premiums on the wealthy and charge new enrollees more… Reduce payments to providers for unpaid debt. - Tami Luhby for CNN Money

MARKET WATCH: Dow adds 49 points to close at record high for 5th straight day. NASDAQ and S&P gain 0.3%. – Penelope Patruris for CNN Money

FULL POST