Thursday in politics: Biden meets with NRA, Obama nominates Lew, and more

Phil Pruitt

Vice President Joe Biden meets Thursday with representatives of sportsmen and wildlife interest groups, gun owners' groups – including the National Rifle Association -- and the entertainment industry.

After the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Newtown, Conn., that left 20 children and six adults dead, President Barack Obama tasked Biden with coming up with recommendations on gun policy by the end of January.

On Wednesday, Biden met with gun-violence survivors and representatives from gun-safety groups and assured them that the White House is committed to speedy action.

[Biden states commitment to ‘immediate action’ on guns]

Obama will name White House Chief of Staff Jack Lew as his nominee for Secretary of the Treasury. Lew, Yahoo White House Correspondent Olivier Knox reports, is considered a trusted confidant of Obama’s who would take over just in time to help handle a series of tense confrontations with congressional Republicans.

Also worth noting on Thursday: Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai meets with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton at the State Department and Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Martin Dempsey at the Pentagon. Karzai meets with Obama on Friday.

And then there is this: Tickets to President Obama's inauguration are supposed to be free, but they're being peddled on eBay and Craigslist for up to $2,000 apiece, the Associated Press reports. Congressional offices and the Presidential Inaugural Committee are trying to clamp down on the black market.

Sources: Yahoo News’ The Ticket, Yahoo News Reporters Olivier Knox and Rachel Rose Hartman, Associated Press, Reuters.