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ByMaryClareJalonick The Associated Press WASHINGTON A Demo- cratic senator launched a filibuster Wednesday to force a vote on gun control legislation three days after 49 people were killed at a nightclub in Orlando, Flor- ida, in the worst mass shoot- ing in modern U.S. history. Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy said he would re- main on the Senate floor "until we get some signal, some sign that we can come together," as he also evoked the Newtown school shoot- ing in his state in 2012. His plea came as presumptive Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump said he would meet with the National Rifle Associa- tion about the terror watch list and gun purchases. "For those of us that rep- resent Connecticut, the fail- ure of this body to do any- thing, anything at all in the face of that continued slaughter isn't just painful to us, it's unconscionable," Murphy said. Twenty children and six educators died in the shoot- ing at Sandy Hook Elemen- tary School on Dec. 14, 2012. Murphy said he cannot look into the eyes of those chil- dren's relatives and tell them that Congress has done nothing since. The election-year fight over gun control pits strong proponents of the Second Amendment right to bear arms against those arguing for greater restrictions on the ability to obtain weap- ons. Trump, who has the en- dorsement of the National Rifle Association, told a rally in Georgia: "I'm going to save your Second Amend- ment." Since the Sunday morn- ing shooting in Orlando, Democrats have revived their push for gun control legislation but face fierce op- position. It's been nearly a decadesinceCongressmade any significant changes to federal gun laws. In April 2007, Congress passed a law to strengthen the in- stant background check system after a gunman at Virginia Tech was able to purchase his weapons be- cause his mental health his- tory was not in the instant background check database. Thirty-two people died in the shooting. The law increased the quantity and quality of re- cords entered into the sys- tem, but the amount of money provided to help states improve their contri- butions has lagged well be- low what was originally en- visioned. Murphy is seeking a vote on legislation from Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Ca- lif., that would let the gov- ernment bar sales of guns and explosives to people it suspects of being terror- ists. Feinstein offered the amendment in December, a day after an extremist cou- ple killed 14 people in San Bernardino, California, but the Republican-run Senate rejected the proposal on a near party-line vote. He also wants a vote to expand background checks. The Orlando shooter, Omar Mateen, was added to a government watch list of individuals known or sus- pected of being involved in terrorist activities in 2013, when he was investigated for inflammatory state- ments to co-workers. But he was pulled from that da- tabase when that investiga- tion was closed 10 months later. Trump said he would meet with the NRA to dis- cuss ways to block people on terrorism watch lists or no fly lists from buying guns. That wouldn't have blocked Mateen from buying a gun, however, since he'd been pulled from the watch list. Sen. John Cornyn, R- Texas, said Wednesday that he and Feinstein were talk- ing about a potential com- promise between her bill and a version he has of- fered that would let the government delay firearms sales to suspected terrorists for up to 72 hours. Prosecu- tors would have to persuade a judge to block the trans- action permanently, a bar Democrats and gun control activists say is too high. In a statement, the NRA said it was happy to meet with Trump and reiterated its support for Cornyn's bill. Cornyn and other Repub- licans argue that Feinstein's bill denies due process to people who may be on the terror list erroneously and are trying to exercise their constitutional right to gun ownership. Cornyn did not sound overly hopeful of reaching compromise with Feinstein. "We're trying, we're try- ing," he said. "But we're not going to presume some- body's guilty and deny them due process of law, we're go- ing to require the govern- ment to show some evidence and to provide for a con- stitutional process, that's where we differ." CONGRESS Senatorfrustratedbyinactionongunsbeginsfilibuster J.SCOTTAPPLEWHITE—THEASSOCIATEDPRESS Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., le , confers with Senate Minority Whip Richard Durbin, D-Ill., as they emerge from a closed-door party caucus on Capitol Hill in Washington. Murphy is launching a filibuster and demanding a vote on gun control measures. By Martin Crutsinger The Associated Press WASHINGTON The Federal Reserve is keeping interest rates unchanged in light of anuncertainjobmarket and offering no hints of when its next rate hike might occur. The Fed noted in a state- ment Wednesday after its latest policy meeting that thepaceofhiringhasslowed even as the overall economy has improved. The central bank indi- cated that it needs a clearer pictureofeconomicdevelop- ments before raising rates again.Itnotedthatthehous- ing market is improving and that the consequences of an export slowdown have less- ened. Yet it signaled its con- cern about the uncertainty ofjobgrowthandglobaleco- nomic developments. Some economists think a July rate increase is possible if the job market rebounds from a dismal May and fi- nancial markets remain calmafterBritain'svotenext weekonwhethertoleavethe European Union. "There are too many un- certainties to justify pull- ing the trigger," said Sung Won Sohn, an economist at the University of California's Martin School of Business. TheFed"wantstomakesure that the surprisingly weak payroll number for May is a temporaryphenomenonand not a harbinger of a weaker economy to come." Besides issuing a pol- icy statement, the Fed up- dateditseconomicforecasts, which show how it foresees rate hikes unfolding in com- ing months. A survey of the 17 officials found that six think there will be only one rate hike this year, up from just one official who thought so at the Fed's March meet- ing.The medianexpectation remains for two rate hikes this year. The expectations for rate hikes in future years did slow: The median forecast shows just three hikes in 2017andthreein2018,down from an expectation of four for each year. That change suggests that Fed officials remain concerned about a recovery that is still sending mixed signals on jobs and inflation and that they are comfortable that rates can be left ultra-low for longer. ECONOMY Fed leaves rates unchanged; no hint on timing of next hike This could be your lucky day by helping a dog or cat find a loving home from... 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