. >> abc's tahman bradley is joining us now from washington with all of this drama. good morning, tahman. >> reporter: good morning, diana. good morning, john. to break the gridlock here in washington, president obama is trying a new approach. he's reaching out directly to gop lawmakers, gop rank and file. in fact, he even took a few of them out for dinner. a thumbs up from republican senators after a swanky dinner meeting with president obama. the dozen gop lawmakers dined on the president's dime. >> all i can say is we had a very good evening. i appreciate it very much really. you'll have to grab somebody else. >> reporter: do you think the conversations will continue? >> oh, yes, sure. >> reporter: the dinner was the latest in an outreach effort. by president obama to rank and file republicans. the president has been meeting with gop lawmakers at the white house and will address their caucuses on capitol hill next week. for mr. obama the approach is a shift from the combative tone he sometimes used in the past. the president hopes greater communication can lead to

. >> all right, tahman bradley in washington, thank you very much. >>> we go to north korea flexing their muscles right now after being slapped with a new round of sanctions. its young leader kim jong-un took a boat to inspect fences along the border. they claim there is already a long-range nuclear missile ready to fly. the regime has cut off a hotline used to communicate with south korea. all after tough new sanctions against north korea were approved yesterday at the u.n. analysts say they're years away from perfecting a nuclear weapon. >>> and in venezuela, 30 heads of state are expected at the funeral today for the late president hugo chavez. his body will be embalmed and displayed forever at a military museum there. the u.s. sent a diplomatic delegation to the funeral. later today his hand-picked successor will be sworn in as venezuela's acting president. >>> from the vatican now, one catholic cardinal from the u.s. says the decision on when to start the conclave at which the next pope will be elected is expected soon. all the cardinals have arrived there. and that american cardinal

abc's tahman bradley is following the arguments. orning, tahman. >> reporter: good morning, diana. good morning, john. high stakes at the supreme court, the justices weighing in explosive issue of same-sex marriage as a sea of people gather outside the court. in oral arguments the nine justices seemed divided over the issue of same-sex marriage but united that perhaps the matter shouldn't be before the court. at issue california's proposition 8, the 2008 ballot initiative that amended the state's constitution to ban same-sex marriage. the court's liberal justices questioned the rationale for restricting gays and lesbians from marrying. >> can you think of any other rational basis for a state using sexual orientation as a factor in denying homosexual benefits? >> reporter: conservative justices wondered how same-sex marriage could be a right guaranteed under the constitution. >> you want us to step in and render a decision based on an assessment of the effects of this institution which is newer than cell phones or the internet? >> rep

tahman bradley is following this high profile case. hman. >> reporter: good morning, john. good morning, diana. nine states plus district of columbia allow same sex couples to wed. under federal law they are denied marriage benefits. but now, those couples have had their day in court. 83-year-old edie windsor took her fight for marriage equality to the supreme court. >> today is like a spectacular event for me. a lifetime kind of event. >> reporter: windsor and her wife, thea spire were married three years, partners for 40. when spire passed away she was hit with a $360,000 federal estate tax bill. money she would not have had to pay if she had been married to a man. >> in the midst of my grief, i realized the federal government was treating us as strangers. >> reporter: the defense of marriage act, or doma, defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman. so gays and lesbians who are legally wed in their states, can't get the same benefits afforded to heterosexuals. a majority of the nine justices seemed highly skeptical of the l

abc's tahman bradley is in washington with more. good morning, tahman. >> reporter: good morning.nsify as congress debates president obama's new gun measures. both sides understand the stakes and are gearing up for a battle. more than 100 days since newtown tragedy, congress is set to take up new gun control measures. opponents and supporters are gearing up for a fight. >> this is what the survivors want. this is what the public wants. >> it slows down the law-abiding and does nothing to anybody else. >> reporter: the senate will soon begin debating a bill to expand background purchases, crack down on gun trafficking and provide additional funding for school safety. but what the bill will not include is a ban on military-style assault weapons. those in favor of gun laws are getting a big lift from michael bloomberg, who's pouring $12 million of his personal fortune into tv commercials in a dozen states, targeting wavering lawmakers. >> i believe in the second amends which i'll fight to protect. with rights come responsibilities. that's why i support comprehensive background checks

michael: that's action's tahman bradley covering the president in israel.ay, there was a palestinian bomb blast in southern israel, but it has been a fairly amicable and quiet time while the president has been there. we are fortunate to discuss the president's trip with david siegel the consul. tell me about what you were he can specking from the president's trip before it even happened. i had very low expectations. >> i think there have been low expectations if the general press, but i think we were very excited about this trip. it's his first trip to israel as president of the united states we're the first country in the second term that he chose to go to. his mental in terms of the past present, future, the. >>ish connection to the land, the challenges that we face, be it iran, syria and restarting the peace negotiations in the future, which is his vision a vision we share a vision of two states the people of israel and palestinians working together for the betterment of the middle east. we think it's a very exciting moment. michael: tell me, president o

abc's tahman bradley looks at the issues. >> reporter: president obama embarked on a trip to the middle winning the hearts and minds of the israeli people, mr. obama's first visit to israel as president. he will make several symbolic stops including laying a wreath at the founder of modern zionism. the centerpiece of the visit is delivering a speech to an audience of mostly college students. >> the president will visit israel with a message about the enduring relationship between the united states and israel about the unshakeable commitment the united states has to israel's security. >> reporter: even before the trip, the president tried to reassure israel of his commitment to their protection telling israeli tv that iran is still more than a year away from developing a nuclear weapon. >> that is a red line for us. something that would not only be dangerous for israel but would be dangerous for the world. >> president obama will use the visit to mend fences with israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu after the two leaders sparred over expansion of jewish settlements and areas claimed

abc's tahman bradley there in the elements of rain. starting to fall in washington, d.c. although this looks like rain at the moment. but we are gearing up for a big event. federal offices will be closed here today. there is a winter storm warning in effect. folks here saw what this monster storm did to the midwest and are gearing up. the colossal storm pushed through the mid-atlantic dumping heavy snow around washington, d.c. forecasters expect accumulations between 6 inches and a foot. >> kind of stressing me out. >> reporter: in montgomery county, maryland, crews prepared for the worst. >> we'll work as hard as we can to do the best we can. >> reporter: their goal to avoid

tahman bradley has the latest. >> reporter: john and diana, good morning. u.s.o a consigliere in a mob family. he's off the battlefield and will face justice. another senior al qaeda terrorist has been nabbed. osama bin laden's son-in-law is in u.s. custody and will appear before a federal magistrate in new york later today. sulaiman abu ghaith faces charges including conspiracy to kill u.s. citizens. he held the key position of al qaeda spokesman. in this video, he celebrates the 9/11 attacks on the u.s. according to u.s. officials, the cia has been tracking abu ghaith for years. as he moved from afghanistan to iran and then in january, into turkey, where he was arrested. >> once he left iranian territory and got into turkey, with close monitoring by u.s. government agencies, he was --