President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with county sheriffs in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington, Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2017. President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with county sheriffs in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington, Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2017.
Author: Editor
*** UPDATED x2 – Issues formal statement – Kennedy confirms bid ***…
An adviser says Democratic businessman Chris Kennedy plans to run for Illinois governor in 2018 against Republican incumbent Bruce Rauner. He said something interesting about the “Because Madigan!” angle used by the Republicans here.
Senator blocked from speaking in fierce attorney general debate
A Democratic senator has been barred from speaking during debate on the attorney general nominee after Republicans said she violated a Senate rule. Sen. Elizabeth Warren was interrupted, told to sit down and barred from speaking Tuesday during debate on President Donald Trump’s attorney general nominee, Sen. Jeff Sessions .
Sen. Sessions on track for confirmation as attorney general
The Senate is working overtime toward confirming President Donald Trump’s close ally, Sen. Jeff Sessions, to become the nation’s top law enforcement officer as attorney general. The Alabama Republican appears headed toward confirmation on Wednesday evening by a nearly party-line vote.
Bribe Bully Beg Borrow Steal
On February 10, 2016, the Indiana-based furnace company Carrier announced that it would close two factories in the U.S.-one in Indianapolis and one in Huntington-and shift production to Mexico. Just three days later, presidential longshot Donald Trump bragged on Twitter: “I am the only one who can fix this.
The Carrot, the Stick, and the Buggy Whip
As 2016 came to a close, dictionary makers Merriam-Webster posted a pathetic little tweet-a cry for help, really-that quickly went viral: “‘Fascism’ is still our #1 lookup. # of lookups = how we choose our Word of the Year.
Betsy DeVos’s Biggest Sin is Supporting School Choice, Not Lack of Experience
The Democrats, along with their cohorts in the media, did a terrific job in making Betsy DeVos’s lack of experience in the public school system the be-all, end-all of whether or not somebody can run the Department of Education. The caterwauling from Democrats, ignorant celebrities, and dunderhead media personalities managed to advance that narrative.
10 Things to Know for Today
In this Jan. 21, 2017, file photo, protesters stage a candlelight vigil calling for impeached President Park Geun-hye to step down in Seoul, South Korea. The Pyeongchang Olympics have been drawn into the country’s biggest political scandal in decades.
Officials: CIA chief to visit Turkey, discuss security
Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, walks to greet Ethiopia’s President Mulatu Teshome Wirtu, at the Presidential Palace, in Ankara Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2017. Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, walks to greet Ethiopia’s President Mulatu Teshome Wirtu, at the Presidential Palace, in Ankara Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2017.
Tax reform in the age of bad faith? No chance
I’m going to let you in on a little secret. LePage has no real interest in tax reform, and Democrats have zero incentive to play along with complicated schemes that shift taxes toward working people and give breaks to the wealthy.
Appeals court presses Trump administration on travel ban
A 34-year-old Dover man arrested in Massachusetts could be returned to New Hampshire as soon as Wednesday to face second-degree murder charges in the deaths of two women in Farmington.
City Council Oks food trucks and repeals panhandling ordinance
City Council Oks food trucks and repeals panhandling ordinance Hunter 2/8/17 The Iowa City Council has gone ahead and given the okay for food trucks to operate in the downtown. The vendors asked for a variance so that they could operate during the late night hours, after most of the brick and mortar restaurants have closed for the night.
Pennsylvania Senate passes bill targeting sanctuary cities
The Pennsylvania Senate advanced a measure on Tuesday that would cut off hundreds of millions of dollars in state subsidies to cities and counties that do not always honor detention requests from federal immigration authorities. The measure targeting sanctuary cities dovetails with a national debate being spearheaded by Pennsylvania’s U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey and President Donald Trump, both Republicans, as a top law-and-order priority.
Voting starts in Somalia’s presidential election
Sentencing is set Wednesday for an American-born Muslim convert convicted of helping to plot a 2015 attack on a Prophet Muhammad cartoon contest in Texas. Sentencing is set Wednesday for an American-born Muslim convert convicted of helping to plot a 2015 attack on a Prophet Muhammad cartoon contest in Texas.
Trump gets negative job rating, Snyder improving
Even though candidate Donald Trump won Michigan last November, he’s off to a rough start winning the job performance approval of Michiganders early in his presidency. Just three weeks into being America’s commander-in-chief, 48% of the 600 people polled statewide have an unfavorable opinion of President Trump, versus 39% who have a favorable impression of the former New York businessman.
Essential Politics: Eric Holder huddles in Sacramento
Few attorneys who bill by the hour end up posing for pictures with their clients, or stopping and answering questions from reporters. Good morning from the state capital.
As attorney general, Jeff Sessions will take center stage in some of…
Sen. Jeff Sessions, President Trump’s pick for attorney general, at his confirmation hearing in January. After enduring an unusually bitter confirmation battle for a sitting U.S. senator, Jeff Sessions will barely have time to settle into his fifth-floor office at the Justice Department before he takes center stage in some of the nation’s most acute controversies.
California is, like, totally out of control. Just the way we like it.
On Saturday, using his favorite 140-character medium, President Trump insulted the federal jurist who blocked his immigration order aimed at Muslim travelers, dismissing Judge James L. Robart as a “so-called judge.” Democratic U.S. Rep. Adam B. Schiff of Burbank, also on Twitter, responded tartly: “This ‘so-called’ judge was nominated by a ‘so-called’ President & was confirmed by the ‘so-called’ Senate.
Syria rejects Amnesty’s report of mass hangings as ‘untrue’
The left picture is of Alshogre taken on January 2017 in Stockholm, Sweden. The right pict… Sentencing is set Wednesday for an American-born Muslim convert convicted of helping to plot a 2015 attack on a Prophet Muhammad cartoon contest in Texas.
Court mulls travel ban: To compound whiplash, or calm it?
President Donald Trump’s travel ban… . Students from high schools and colleges throughout New York city protest with clenched fists, during a rally against President Donald Trump’s executive order banning travel from seven Muslim-majority nations, Tuesday Feb. 7,… .
Trump travel ban in hands of federal appeals court
A federal appeals court will decide whether to reinstate President Donald Trump’s travel ban after a contentious hearing in which the judges hammered away at the administration’s motivations for the ban, but also directed pointed questions to an attorney for two states trying to overturn it. It was unclear which way the three judges of the San Francisco-based 9th Circuit Court of Appeals would rule, though legal experts said the states appeared to have the edge.
13 European nations meet about possible migration uptick
Hundreds of migrants have been sleeping rough in freezing conditions in central B… . A migrant from Pakistan, center, talks with another while making tea on a fire in an abandoned warehouse where they took refuge in Belgrade, Serbia, Monday, Feb. 6, 2017.
Trump speaks with Afghan leader, U.S. commander calls for more troops
U.S. President Donald Trump and his Afghan counterpart discussed security in a phone call on Thursday, officials said, hours after the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan said thousands more troops were needed to break a stalemate with the Taliban. Trump and Afghan President Ashraf Ghani also spoke about opportunities to strengthen ties, counterterrorism cooperation and economic development, the White House said in a statement.
Syrian man leads Pledge of Allegiance at citizenship event
Rohi Atassi was among 117 immigrants to become the newest American citizens during a Chicago naturalization ceremony, but the Syrian dentist stood out among his peers. The 29-year-old was unexpectedly asked to lead immigrants from 37 countries in reciting the Pledge of Allegiance.
NFL concussion hearing Wednesday to be aired live online
A federal judge in Philadelphia will live-stream a hearing Wednesday in the NFL concussion case so retired players can learn what’s ahead as the estimated $1 billion settlement rolls out this year. The NFL this week is moving the first $65 million in payments into trust funds that cover injury claims, baseline testing and education.
Federal judge refuses to lift order delaying Ohio executions
A federal judge has refused to lift his order delaying Ohio’s executions after declaring the state’s new lethal injection process unconstitutional. Magistrate Judge Michael Merz last month rejected Ohio’s use of a sedative used in problematic executions in Arizona and Ohio.
Dakota Access pipeline construction expected to get go-ahead
This Sept. 29, 2016, file photo, shows a section of the Dakota Access Pipeline under construction near the town of St. Anthony in Morton County, N.D. The Army has notified Congress Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2017, that it will allow the $3.8 billion Dakota Access pipeline to cross under a Missouri River reservoir in North Dakota, completing the four-state project to move North Dakota oil to Illinois.
New Civil Air Patrol chapter in Owensboro recruiting members
Recruiting efforts are underway for a Civil Air Patrol chapter. It’s a nonprofit group that helps the US Air Force during search and rescue missions.
Warren raking in millions in campaign donations
U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren is raking in millions in campaign donations as she looks ahead to a re-election bid next year. According to an Associated Press review of Warren’s latest campaign finance reports, the Massachusetts Democrat took in a hefty $5.9 million in campaign contributions from January 2015 through the end of 2016.
Glitz, Gowns and Politics at This Yeara s Oscars
Amid the highly charged atmosphere surrounding the Trump administration, the emphasis this year could be on what the winners say as they accept their awards. “The Oscars are always political,” Sasha Stone, the executive editor of Awards Daily, told ABC News.
Political scandal overshadows South Korea 2018 Olympic prep
One year before the Olympics, the country is in political disarray, and winte… . In this Friday, Feb. 3, 2017 photo, a sign of the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympic Winter Games is seen in Pyeongchang, South Korea.
Silenced on the Senate floor, Elizabeth Warren goes to Facebook Live
On Tuesday night, Senator Majority Leader Mitch McConnell invoked ” Rule XIX ,” censuring Senator Elizabeth Warren for her attempt to read a letter critical of fellow senator and attorney general nominee Jeff Sessions. The section of the rule used says that “No Senator in debate shall, directly or indirectly, by any form of words impute to another Senator or to other Senators any conduct or motive unworthy or unbecoming a Senator.”
Bias-crimes sentencing bill advances
LaGrange Republican Sen. Sue Glick’s effort doesn’t create a separate crime as some states do.
Republicans Tried to Suppress The Words of Coretta Scott King. Bad Idea.
Senate Republicans banded together Tuesday night to block Sen. Elizabeth Warren from reading a letter Coretta Scott King, the widow of Dr. Martin Luther King, wrote to oppose a judicial appointment for Sen. Jeff Sessions more than 30 years ago. But the move ignited a firestorm of resistance from Democrats, ensuring widespread attention to the letter itself.
Gardner: Voted for ed chief on merit
Cabinet pick for U.S. Department of Education secretary Betsy DeVos, a Republican campaign donor, garnered the votes of all but two U.S. Senate Republicans, including Cory Gardner of Colorado, when she was confirmed to her post on Tuesday. “Senator Gardner carefully considers whomever is nominated for a Cabinet position on their merits, and their merits alone,” said spokeswoman Megan Taylor.
Bipartisan US lawmakers urge Trump to sanction Venezuela
In this Nov. 14, 2016 file photo, a billboard along the highway near Puerto Cabello, Venezuela, features an ant drawing and the Spanish slogan, “Freedom from bachaqueros.” Venezuelans call people who make a living illegally reselling food “bachaqueros,” after the leaf-cutter ants that haul food through the jungles.
Sen. Warren book on middle class coming in April
This book cover image released by Metropolitan Books shows, “This Fight Is Our Fight: The Battle to Save America’s Middle Class,” by Sen. Elizabeth Warren. The book will be published on April 18. Warren, a Democrat from Massachusetts, has written previous 10 books.
A Chinese Judge Is Calling Trump a ‘Bully’ and Schooling Him on What the Law Is About
A magazine featuring a front page story on Donald Trump sits on a magazine rack at a company office in Beijing on December 28, 2016. Donald Trump's attack on the U.S. judiciary is too much for many-even in authoritarian China, it seems.
This Is the Coretta Scott King Letter That Elizabeth Warren Was Prevented From Reading in the Senate
American civil rights campaigner, and widow of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Coretta Scott King stands behind a podium covered in microphones at Peace-In-Vietnam Rally, Central Park, New York, April 27, 1968. over the nomination of Senator Jeff Sessions as Attorney General after she quoted a letter written by Coretta Scott King in which King spoke out against Sessions' character, the Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said that Warren had “impugned the motives and conduct of our colleague from Alabama,” referring to Sessions; the Republican-held Senate then voted 49 to 43 to uphold the objection that she had breached the rules of debate.
Court hearing looms on Trump travel ban
President Donald Trump’s order temporarily banning U.S. entry to people from seven Muslim-majority countries came under intense scrutiny on Tuesday from a federal appeals court that questioned whether the ban unfairly targeted people over their religion. During a more than hour-long oral argument, a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals pressed a government lawyer whether the Trump administration’s national security argument was backed by evidence that people from the seven countries posed a danger.