Around here
A bill requiring almost anyone buying a gun in Washington to undergo a background check has passed a key committee in Olympia. (SR)
The EPA is ready to start cleanup projects in the Silver Valley. (CdA Press)
The trial of prisoner Michael West, who is accused of gouging a fellow inmate's eyes out, is underway. (KXLY)
Out there
Automatic spending cuts ("the sequester") start next week, and the president and Congress are fighting about how to stop them — or who to blame if they set in. (WashPo)
VP Biden told a Facebook town hall with Parents magazine yesterday that his advice for home protection is to "buy a shotgun." (NPR)
North Korea threatened South Korea with "final destruction" during a UN conference yesterday. (Reuters)
BONUS: Who owns that beer?
Source: NPR's Planet Money blog
