New Jersey Sen. Frank Lautenberg's death, and Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry’s move to Secretary of State, left two major vacancies in the Senate. Both states are looking to fill those seats with special elections in the next few months. R.D. Sahl, longtime Boston news anchor and Boston University journalism professor, and Sarah Gonzalez, northern New Jersey enterprise reporter for WNYC and NJPR, discuss the candidates.

House Speaker John Boehner strongly suggested he would abide by the Hastert rule on immigration legislation, meaning no floor vote unless a majority of House Republicans backed the bill.

President Obama didn't expect he'd need to have a "national conversation" about government data-gathering.

The legislation is one of the most far-reaching abortion bills in decades and follows the May murder convictions of Philadelphia abortion doctor Kermit Gosnell. The bill, which would ban nearly all abortions starting 20 weeks after fertilization, is unlikely to ever become law.

Hong Kong could be the center of an international legal battle now that NSA-leaker Edward Snowden has announced his intentions to stay in the city. Though it maintains a judiciary, media, and educational system of it's own, the city is technically part of China, and has an extradition agreement with the U.S. Emily Lau, chairwoman of Hong Kong’s Democratic Party, explains the political pressures Hong Kong's leaders expect to face should the U.S. make a move to extradite him.

Interviews with two key IRS staffers describe a workplace where office politics in Cincinnati and Washington, not partisan politics, served as the animating force behind the improper targeting of Tea Party groups.

Host Michel Martin checks in on the latest political news, including new poll numbers on how Americans view President Obama.

As we learn more about the National Security Agency's secret surveillance programs and leaker Edward Snowden, The Takeaway is looking at freedom in America, and freedom's relationship to privacy. Jill Lepore, New Yorker staff writer and professor of American history at Harvard University, explores the relationship between privacy, government transparency and freedom in U.S. history.

President Obama says federal judges have been "overseeing" the recently exposed government surveillance programs. But few, if any, experts in the Bush or Obama administrations believe that the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court has the enforcement teeth it once had.

The Obama administration says the bill "makes unacceptable deep cuts" to federal food aid programs and extends, rather than cuts, crop insurance payments to farmers.

The Supreme Court struck down an Arizona law that required proof of citizenship to register to vote. But while celebrating a victory, voting-rights organizations are still waiting for the superstar voting case of the current term: a challenge to the Voting Rights Act.

MSNBC host Chris Hayes was on the Leonard Lopate Show recently to talk about his book Twilight of the Elites. He also told us about the film he thinks everyone should see...

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday struck down Arizona's requirement that prospective voters provide proof of citizenship to register to vote. But some experts are concerned that the court may have inserted a few "poison pills" in its opinion that would damage voting rights protections down the road.

After the shootings in Newtown, there was a big push for national gun control legislation. But that legislation failed, and Congress is moving on. Host Michel Martin speaks with Colin Goddard, a survivor of the Virginia Tech shooting and a gun control advocate, about where the movement is today.

Economists hope the leaders of major economies gathering in Northern Ireland will discuss expanding global trade. Since interest rates can't be lowered much further, analysts say, trade will be a key catalyst for growth.

Migrant traffic across the Southwest border of Texas is on the rise as illegal crossings from Mexico have shifted away from Arizona. This could complicate things on Capitol Hill as the immigration reform bill makes its way through Congress. How will the Obama administration secure a bill that balances some level of forgiveness for illegal immigrants with increased security for border regions?

As President Obama meets with fellow G-8 leaders in Northern Ireland, Syria’s fate is high on the agenda, but there is little consensus on the best path forward. Former British ambassador Carne Ross is founder of Independent Diplomat, a non-profit diplomatic advisory group that is currently advising the Syrian Coalition. He outlines the Syrian rebels' position, and analyzes the potential issues in the international community.

The next move in the health care law is all about coverage for people who don't have health insurance. President Obama has been trying to clear up some of the confusion over who gets coverage, and when. But many questions remain to be answered.

Syria's civil war is expected to be a central issue as the U.S. president meets with the world's other major powers. Obama's decision last week to send weapons to the Syrian rebels is supported by Britain and France, but not by Russia.

A year after he survived a recall attempt, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker is a folk hero among many conservatives and often talked of as a presidential contender in 2016. Walker dismisses that talk, but he has taken steps that hint at national ambition.