The Note's Must-Reads for Wednesday, March 20, 2013

The Note's Must-Reads are a round-up of today's political headlines and stories from ABC News and the top U.S. newspapers. Posted Monday through Friday right here at www.abcnews.com

Compiled by ABC News' Carrie Halperin, Amanda VanAllen and Will Cantine

10 th ANNIVERSARY OF THE IRAQ WAR ABC News' Luis Martinez: " 10 Years After the Iraq Invasion" The 10 th anniversary of the start of the U.S. was in Iraq is a muted affair with no official commemorations planned in either Washington or Baghdad. Instead, the anniversary continues to draw the same lingering questions of the past decade, namely was the war in Iraq worth fighting. LINK

GUN CONTROL The Hill's Alexander Bolton and Jonathan Easley: " Reid guts Senate gun control bill" The gun control bill headed for the Senate floor bears little resemblance to the far-reaching proposal President Obama unveiled after the deadly shooting in Newtown, Conn.Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has decided the federal assault weapons ban will not be a part of the base bill and warned Tuesday an expansion of background checks to cover private sales might not make the cut, either. LINK

The Los Angeles Times' Paul West: " Ex-Gov. Mark Sanford tops GOP congressional primary in S.C." Former Gov. Mark Sanford took a big step on the road to political redemption Tuesday, topping a large field of Republican candidates in the special election for a South Carolina congressional seat. A onetime rising star in the GOP, Sanford sidetracked his career with an extramarital affair that became an international sensation. But in his first race since leaving the governor's office two years ago, he finished far ahead of 15 Republican primary opponents, with almost three times as many votes as his nearest competitor. LINK

The Washington Post's Ed O'Keefe and Philip Rucker: " Assault weapons ban dropped from gun bill" Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid on Tuesday declared politically dead the effort to ban military-style assault weapons, a setback for President Obama and gun-control advocates who are pushing the Senate to move quickly on bills to limit gun violence. Reid (D-Nev.) is preparing to move ahead with debate on a series of gun-control proposals when the Senate returns from a two-week Easter recess in early April. LINK

Bloomberg's James Rowley and Heidi Przybyla: " Senate Leaders Drop Assault-Weapon From Gun-Safety Bill" Three months after the mass shooting of 20 children and six adults at a Connecticut elementary school outraged the nation, Senate Democratic leaders are dropping an assault-weapon ban from gun legislation. While public opinion polls show most Americans support an assault-weapon ban, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said yesterday the proposal has fewer than 40 votes in the 100-member chamber. LINK

USA Today's Jackie Kucinich: " Senate Gun Bill Won't Include Assault Weapons Ban" Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Tuesday he hopes to have a bill to address gun violence on the Senate floor soon after the Easter break, but confirmed that measure will not include the assault weapons ban. LINK

MARINE DEATHS The Washington Times' Emily Miller: " Where's the concern? Seven Marines die and Obama tweets this picture of snack time" President Obama is still so fixated on fundraising and divisive campaign tactics that major tragedies and world crises get ignored. At 10:40 a.m. Tuesday, the @BarackObama Twitter feed posted a tweet that said "Snack time" along with a photo of two small children picking up apples from a bowl in the Oval Office. LINK

IMMIGRATION REFORM The New York Times' Ashley Parker and Michael D. Shear: " G.O.P. Opposition to Immigration Law Is Falling Away" Republican opposition to legalizing the status of millions of illegal immigrants is crumbling in the nation's capital as leading lawmakers in the party scramble to halt eroding support among Hispanic voters - a shift that is providing strong momentum for an overhaul of immigration laws. Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky, a Tea Party Republican, on Tuesday became the latest to embrace a more welcoming approach, declaring to the nation's 11 million illegal immigrants that if they want to work in America, "then we will find a place for you." LINK

The Wall Street Journal's Sara Murray: " Rand Paul Calls For Overhaul of Immigration Laws" Republican Sen. Rand Paul laid out a plan Tuesday that would grant legal status to illegal immigrants and an eventual pathway to citizenship, a move that could bolster his national profile while irking some of his supporters. LINK

SPENDING CUTS Politico's Jake Sherman: " House GOP: More spending cuts for debt ceiling" If hiking the debt ceiling seemed difficult in 2011, it's even trickier in 2013. They might have appeared to stand down from the last clash over the debt ceiling in January. LINK

ABC NEWS VIDEO " Protestor Steals The Show" LINK

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Source: http://news.yahoo.com/notes-must-reads-wednesday-march-20-2013-070603448--abc-news-politics.html

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