Rubio Still Undecided on Tillerson Vote

Republican senator Marco Rubio told reporters Monday he is still mulling whether to support secretary of state nominee Rex Tillerson, a decision that could bode ill for the former Exxon Mobil CEO’s confirmation hopes. The Florida Republican said he’s awaiting responses to written questions to Tillerson following last week’s Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing.

Democrats find Trump’s picks more reasonable than Trump himself

The lack of fireworks surrounding Senate consideration of President-elect Donald Trump’s Cabinet picks may reflect a belief by minority Democrats that the people chosen are more reasonable than Trump. It could also be the residue of a surprising number of statements by Trump’s Cabinet choices contradicting the billionaire businessman’s oft-stated positions on issues running the gamut from Russia and NATO to nuclear weapons and Muslims.

Rudy Giuliani Just Said Trump Is Trying To ‘Get Us Back To A Free Press’

Rudy Giuliani appeared on Sean Hannity’s Fox News show Thursday night and praised President-elect Donald Trump for his relationship with the press. “It is refreshing and it is very good for our democracy that we have a president that is trying to get us back to a free press,” Giuliani said while discussing the president-elect’s handling of the media during his first news conference in 167 days.

Top Cabinet nominees Tillerson, Mattis contradict Trump’s foreign policy

Toughness with Russia and China, support of the Iran nuclear deal, the quest for a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict: Donald Trump’s diplomacy and military picks have outlined the incoming administration’s foreign policy in Senate confirmation hearings this week. And on many strategic issues, in particular the president-elect’s desire for improved ties with Russia, Rex Tillerson, the former head of ExxonMobil chosen for secretary of state, and James Mattis, the retired U.S. Marine Corps general chosen as defense secretary, contradicted Trump in the hearings Wednesday and Thursday.

USDA analysis says ethanol sharply cuts greenhouse gas emissions

Jan 12 The U.S. government on Thursday said that ethanol is better for the environment than previously expected in a report boosting the country’s biggest biofuel a week ahead of a new administration that has some in the industry concerned. The report, the first of its kind from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to examine the actual impact of ethanol, said the biofuel reduces greenhouse gas emissions by 43 percent relative to gasoline.

Rubio cannot back down now

Sen. Marco Rubio questions Rex Tillerson during his confirmation hearing for secretary of state on Wednesday in Washington. Sen. Marco Rubio was far and away the most effective questioner on the GOP side in yesterday’s confirmation hearing for Rex Tillerson for secretary of state.

At hearing, Rex Tillerson says Russia ‘poses a danger’ to US, but is not ‘unpredictable’

Barraged by questions about Russia, Donald Trump’s pick for secretary of state promised a far more muscular approach toward the Kremlin on Wednesday, abandoning much of the president-elect’s emphasis on improving ties between the Cold War foes. Instead, Rex Tillerson suggested the outgoing Obama administration responded too softly to Moscow’s takeover of Ukrainian territory.

Tillerson’s job as chief U.S. diplomat got harder before it began

Rex Tillerson’s job as chief U.S. diplomat became harder before it even began because of White House moves that have antagonized Muslim nations, European allies, Mexico and U.S. bureaucrats, current and former U.S. officials said. The Senate is expected to confirm Tillerson as the 69th secretary of state on Wednesday, making the former Exxon Mobil Corp CEO the chief foreign affairs adviser to President Donald Trump.

Wind turbine a source of energy and education

FOR RELEASE SUNDAY, JANUARY 8, 2017, AT 12:01 A.M. CST.- A wind turbine pictured here on Wednesday, December 28, 2016 was built south of the Central Community College-Hastings campus as a partnership with Bluestem Energy Solutions, Hastings Utilities and CCC. CCC hopes to add a wind energy program to the curriculum by the fall of 2017.

No time to go soft on Russian sanctions

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Dec. 30 that Russia will not be expelling U.S. diplomats in response to a new round of US sanctions. Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Dec. 30 that Russia will not be expelling U.S. diplomats in response to a new round of US sanctions.

Rick Perry’s Texas giveaways: There’s something fishy about…

Donald Trump’s selection of Rick Perry to lead the Department of Energy has prompted many Democrats to question Perry’s qualifications for the position. While he governed a state rich in fossil fuels and wind energy, Perry has far less experience than President Obama’s two energy secretaries, both physicists, in the department’s primary work, such as tending the nuclear-weapons stockpile, handling nuclear waste and carrying out advanced scientific research.

Senate Democrats Target President-Elect Trumpa s Cabinet Nominees

Senate Democrats are preparing to take a stand against eight of President-elect Donald Trump’s cabinet picks, a move which could slow the confirmation process, a senior Democratic aide confirmed to ABC News. With confirmation hearings scheduled to begin next week, the senators are calling for more detailed background information and financial records from Trump’s picks, including Secretary of State nominee ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson, Attorney General nominee Jeff Sessions, and Department of Health & Human Services nominee Tom Price, as first reported by The Washington Post .

Kasich Veto Of Energy Bill Sets Up 2017 ‘Lame Duck’ Shooting Season

When Republican State Senator Bill Seitz issued his statement Monday, following Gov. John Kasich’s veto of Ohio House Bill 554, he didn’t spare the rod to spoil this governor. “It is apparent that Governor Kasich cares more about appeasing his coastal elite friends in the renewable energy business than he does about the millions of Ohioans who decisively rejected this ideology when they voted for President-elect Trump,” Seitz, representing Ohio’s 8th District from Cincinnati, said.

Newt Gingrich: Donald Trump’s Twitter Foreign Policy Is ‘Brilliant’

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, an informal adviser to Donald Trump, spoke approvingly of the president-elect’s apparent desire to restart a nuclear arms race. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich praised the style and substance of Donald Trump ‘s suggestion for a new nuclear arms race , calling the president-elect’s use of Twitter to make major policy pronouncements “brilliant.”

Newt Gingrich: Donald Trump’s Twitter Foreign Policy Is ‘Brilliant’

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, an informal adviser to Donald Trump, spoke approvingly of the president-elect’s apparent desire to restart a nuclear arms race. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich praised the style and substance of Donald Trump ‘s suggestion for a new nuclear arms race , calling the president-elect’s use of Twitter to make major policy pronouncements “brilliant.”

License issued for $1B Montana power storage project

A Montana company has been granted a license to build a $1 billion, 400-megawatt power storage project in the central part of the state that would supplement electricity from wind turbines and other sources, according to documents released Thursday by federal regulators. The 50-year license from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission allows Absaroka Energy, of Bozeman, Montana, to construct and operate the project on a 177-acre site near the tiny town of Martinsdale, home to fewer than 100 people.

Senate Dems press Trump’s wealthy picks for financial data

Top Senate Democrats are trying to put the brakes on President-elect Donald Trump’s Cabinet picks, insisting on extensive financial information on some of the wealthiest Americans before moving forward on nominations. Frustrated by the slow response of billionaires and multimillionaires to their request, 16 Democrats delivered an ultimatum Thursday, saying no committee should vote on a nominee until the individual has cleared an FBI background check, provided a financial report and an ethics agreement with the Office of Government Ethics, and responded to “reasonable requests for additional information” such as tax returns.

Another view: Trumping the environment

Another view: Trumping the environment Whether Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump was elected, the environment is going to suffer. Check out this story on ldnews.com: http://ldne.ws/2ikiTeq President-elect Donald Trump gives a thumbs up to the crowd during a campaign rally on Aug. 31 in Phoenix.

The oilman who brought Trump and the Bush world together

Throughout the presidential campaign, the Bush family and many of its Republican allies turned their backs on Donald Trump. Now, they’re finding common cause with Trump over his pick to lead the State Department: Exxon Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson, who has long orbited their same political, philanthropic and business worlds.

Half of Utahns like Trump’s cabinet picks but no one from the state chosen

Fifty percent of Utahns like what they’ve seen so far from President-elect Donald Trump’s Cabinet selections, even though no one from the state has yet made the cut, according to a new poll. The UtahPolicy.com poll found that half of Utahns are pleased with the president-elect’s choices for his new administration, while 36 percent say they are displeased, and 14 percent aren’t sure how they feel.

Appraising Trump’s pick for secretary of state

Robert Gates served as defense secretary under George W. Bush, a Republican, and then Barack Obama, a Democrat, which qualifies him as an honest broker and independent thinker. How honest? He wrote in September that Donald Trump is “beyond repair” on national security, “stubbornly uninformed about the world” and “unfit to be commander-in-chief.”

The Trump Cabinet: Bonfire of the agencies

Democrats spent the first two decades of the post-Cold War era rather relaxed about Russian provocations and revanchism. President Barack Obama famously mocked Mitt Romney in 2012 for suggesting that Russia was our principal geopolitical adversary.

Trump Cabinet excites his voters: a We have to trust hima

As each Cabinet announcement draws fresh criticism of the wealth, connections or opinions of Donald Trump’s latest appointees, many Americans who voted for him say the president-elect is doing what he promised to do: draining the swamp. To them, the idea of a defence secretary nicknamed “Mad Dog” is bliss.

Op-ed: Red flags over Trump Towers

There is a really good reason to support Senate confirmation of Rex Tillerson to be President-elect Donald Trump’s secretary of state: Tony Perkins opposes him. Perkins is the president of the Family Research Council, otherwise known as the Bedroom Busybodies.

Alameda: City’s largest solar power system unveiled

The largest solar power system that operates under Alameda Municipal Power will reduce the equivalent of carbon dioxide emissions by 20,000 metric tons over its quarter-century lifespan. The energy savings also equals more than 48 million car miles or almost 22 million pounds of coal burning, according to Blue Oak Energy, which installed the rooftop and carport system at 1420 Harbor Bay Parkway.