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The U.S. Senate voted 51-43 to confirm Dr. Vivek Murthy as surgeon general. The nomination was held up by Republicans after the National Rifle Association opposition because he agreed with President Obama on the need for gun control.

Outgoing Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is playing hardball in the last few weeks of the Democratic majority in the Senate. He is “pledging to keep the Senate in session through the weekend to get 23 of President Barack Obama’s nominations confirmed and pass bills extending billions in tax breaks and providing terrorism risk insurance to commercial buildings,” Politico reports.

This was cross-posted from The Hinterland Gazette.