Politics

Update at 2:25 p.m. ET. It's Official:

Praising Sally Jewell as an executive who turned outdoors equipment retailer REI into one of the nation's most successful and environmentally conscious companies, President Obama just said he is nominating her to be his next interior secretary.

Noting that Jewell, who in a previous job worked as an engineer for Mobil, has also climbed mountains in Antarctica, the president joked about that being "just not something I think of doing."

Our original post:

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DAVID GREENE, HOST:

This is MORNING EDITION, from NPR News. Good morning. I'm David Greene.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

And I'm Steve Inskeep.

Passing major legislation in the United States is a little like solving a Rubik's cube. If you don't solve everything, you've solved nothing, and all the pieces have to come together in the exactly the right way.

GREENE: And the puzzle gets even harder in a time of brutal partisanship. The big question in Washington is whether that Rubik's cube moment has arrived for immigration law.

(Revised on 2/6/1013 at 12:28 pm ET to include FCC comment.)

In Washington, there's always one kind of alleged war or another against some group or idea — the war on women, the war on religion and the war on the Second Amendment come quickly to mind.

This week, many of us became aware of another supposed conflict we had never heard of: essentially, a war on Wi-Fi.

While a path to citizenship is a central component of proposed changes to the nation's immigration laws, most Mexican immigrants now eligible for U.S. citizenship don't obtain it, according to a new study.

The Pew Hispanic Center report found that only about 36 percent of eligible Mexicans take the steps to become U.S. citizens, compared to 68 percent of all other immigrants.

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ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST:

Senator Ron Wyden, Democrat of Oregon, is one of those 11 senators that Carrie mentioned who've demanded the administration turn over secret documents about the operation against Anwar al-Awlaki. Senator Wyden also sent a letter last month to the White House counterterrorism chief, John Brennan, the president's nominee to run the CIA. And in that letter, he asked: How much evidence does the president need to determine that a particular American can be lawfully killed?

Senator Wyden joins us now. Welcome to the program.

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ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST:

From NPR News, this is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED. I'm Robert Siegel.

AUDIE CORNISH, HOST:

And I'm Audie Cornish.

It seems like the keyword in Washington these days is deadline: debt ceiling deadlines, tax deadlines, spending cut deadlines. Well, today, President Obama called for a delay on a looming deadline: the automatic spending cuts that are set to kick in on March 1.

The AFL-CIO begins a big push this week to build momentum for comprehensive changes to the nation's immigration laws.

But it wasn't long ago that organized labor viewed illegal workers in the U.S. as a threat — and fought against proposals that would lead to citizenship.

Richard Trumka, president of the AFL-CIO, referenced the labor movement's history with the immigration issue in a YouTube message to members late last year.

A confidential Justice Department memo obtained by NBC News outlines legal theories the Obama administration has used to justify killing American citizens abroad. Here are five key questions and answers about the document:

1) What is it?

Florida voters in 2010 approved constitutional amendments by nearly 2-to-1 margins that forbade state legislators from coordinating with political parties or favoring incumbents when drawing new congressional districts.

So what did lawmakers in Tallahassee do? The Republican leaders in charge of drawing new maps coordinated with Republican Party consultants to protect Republican incumbents.

The national conversation about overhauling immigration often focuses on Latino immigrants. But what works for one ethnic group may not be ideal for all. Host Michel Martin finds out what Asian immigrants want most from immigration reform.

So what did you do during the blackout on Super Bowl Sunday? Other than, say, apply some deer antler spray?

For most Americans, it was trying to figure out the ScuttleButton puzzle on Super Bowl Sunday. Actually, it's always difficult trying to solve ScuttleButton while watching the game on Super Bowl Sunday. But now it's time to focus on the new puzzle.

(We updated the top of this post at 1:30 p.m. ET.)

Looking to head off deep, automatic spending cuts set to kick in on March 1, President Obama on Tuesday afternoon said that to avoid the negative economic effects that come with "political disfunction," Congress should move quickly to pass "a smaller package of spending cuts and tax reforms" that won't hurt the economy.

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RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

President Obama delivers his State of Union address a week from today. That speech is expected to expand on proposals the president put forth at his inauguration. One surprise in his inaugural address was a call to do more on climate change - that after a campaign that mostly ignored concerns about the environment. NPR's Ari Shapiro looks at what environmental groups are expecting now.

ARI SHAPIRO, BYLINE: President Obama's inaugural address spent a full eight sentences on climate, more than any other subject.

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STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Now, on the same as that funeral, President Obama continued his push for tougher gun laws. He was talking yesterday in Minneapolis on a subject he is expected to address in next week's State of the Union speech.

NPR's David Welna reports.

The Boston Herald caused a bit of a stir Monday, reporting that Mitt Romney's eldest son, Tagg, is considering a bid for the Massachusetts Senate seat long held by new Secretary of State John Kerry.

Louie and guest co-host, UTEP Political Science professor Gregory Rocha, talk with Congressman Beto O'Rourke about his first 4 weeks in office.  O'Rourke talks about the debt ceiling, committee appointments, immigration reform, assistance for veterans, and gun control.  http://orourke.house.gov/  O'Rourke's El Paso district office is located at 303 N. Oregon St., M-Thu 8:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m., Fri 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m.  915-541-1400.  Aired Feb. 2, 2013.

The debate over gun control continues to dominate the headlines. Meanwhile, the U.S. Senate doubles the number of African-American members by welcoming William 'Mo" Cowan. He replaces John Kerry. Host Michel Martin talks politics with Republican strategist Ron Christie and Keli Goff, political correspondent for The Root.

Last week, former Sen. Chuck Hagel faced a very critical confirmation hearing in his quest to become the next secretary of defense, and President Obama and a bipartisan group of senators made the pitch for immigration reform. Weekend Edition Sunday host Rachel Martin speaks with NPR's Mara Liasson about the week in politics.

Host Laura Sullivan talks with The Atlantic's James Fallows about the news this week Chuck Hagel's confirmation hearing, the Chinese cyber-attack of The New York Times, and that newspaper's obituary of former New York City Mayor Ed Koch.

The White House has released proof that President Obama really did shoot skeet — at least once — at the Maryland presidential retreat, last summer.