Jose Garcia
Jose Garcia's JournalCruz: Nuclear option on the table if Dems filibuster SCOTUS pick
Source: Politico
Ted Cruz is taking an aggressive stance toward Senate Democrats who are threatening to block President Donald Trump's Supreme Court nominee, issuing an explicit warning that Republicans could rewrite Senate rules if Democrats force their hand.
The Texas senator said in an interview that no matter what they try, Democrats will not be able to stop Trump's nominee — and said that the GOP should not shy away from changing the filibuster's 60-vote threshold on high court nominees if need be.
"The Democrats are not going to succeed in filibustering the Supreme Court nominee," Cruz said on Tuesday. "All procedural options are on the table. The bottom line is we will confirm a strong conservative to replace Justice Scalia."
Cruz has been particularly committed to the Supreme Court fight, floating an indefinite blockade if Hillary Clinton had won and using Trump's commitment to a conservative justice as his primary rationale for supporting a former rival. But his stance amounts to an escalation of a roiling conflict over the vacant seat.
Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2017/01/ted-cruz-nuclear-option-democrats-filibuster-234432
Insane Clown Posse march to protest 'gang' status moving forward
Source: MLive Media Group
WASHINGTON -- Detroit-based rap group, Insane Clown Posse is proceeding with plans for a peaceful march and protest in Washington D.C. this September.
The group is asking their fans -- known as Juggalos -- to join them for the march as the group continues to fight the FBI and the Department of Justice over a 2011 Gang Task Force that listed Juggalos as a "loosely-organized hybrid gang
"As many of you are no doubt personally aware, the FBI's inclusion of Juggalos as a 'gang' has resulted in hundreds if not thousands of people subjected to various forms of discrimination, harassment, and profiling simply for identifying as a Juggalo," reads a passage on the march's website.
ICP announced plans for the march last July and has been involved in a lawsuit with the FBI and DOJ over the classification for several years. However, the government has yet to declassify the group.
Read more: http://www.mlive.com/news/index.ssf/2017/01/insane_clown_posse_planning_ma.html
TransCanada Submits New Application To Build Keystone XL Pipeline
Source: NPR
The company that wants to build the controversial Keystone XL oil pipeline says it has submitted a new permit application to the U.S. State Department.
The TransCanada announcement came just two days after President Trump took executive actions to speed the approval process for both the Keystone XL and Dakota Access Pipelines.
The Keystone XL is an important project for Canada's oil sands companies because it would transport their crude from rural Alberta to Steele City, Neb. From there, existing pipes would move it to the Gulf Coast where crude can fetch higher prices, either from local refineries or on the world market.
On Tuesday, Trump also signed a memorandum directing the commerce secretary to develop a plan to ensure pipelines constructed in the U.S. are built with pipes manufactured domestically.
Read more: http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/01/26/511892321/transcanada-submits-new-application-to-build-keystone-xl-pipeline
Theresa May suggests UK health services could be part of US trade deal
Source: The Independent
Theresa May has left the door open for the greater involvement of US corporations in British healthcare as she arrives in America to lay the groundwork for a future trade deal.
Ms May would only say that she was committed to a health service that is free at the point of delivery, but made no comment on whether the NHS would be off the table in any future talks.
Trade and the UK’s economic relationship with the US will be one of the key pillars of the Prime Minister’s visit to Philadelphia and Washington DC.
Asked whether health services might form a part of a potential deal, she said: “We're at the start of the process of talking about a trade deal. We're both very clear that we want a trade deal.
Read more: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/theresa-may-donald-trump-nhs-us-trade-deal-brexit-torture-a7548156.html
KING ABDULLAH II OF JORDAN TO VISIT US
Source: Jerusalem Post
King Abdullah II of Jordan is slated to visit the United States on Monday in order to meet with "the new administration and Congress," the embassy has reported on Thursday.
Read more: http://www.jpost.com/Breaking-News/King-Abdullah-II-of-Jordan-to-visit-US-479723?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter
White House denies offering Infowars credentials
Source: The Hill
he White House press office is denying it offered credentials to conspiracy theorist Alex Jones’s website Infowars, after Jones claimed in a video that he had been offered access.
“He is not credentialed for the White House. The White House Press Office has not offered him credentials,” White House deputy press secretary Sarah Sanders told BuzzFeed on Thursday morning.
Jones on Wednesday posted a video claiming the White House offered him credentials.
"Here's the deal, I know I get White House credentials, we've already been offered them, we're going to get them, but I've just got to spend the money to send somebody there," Jones says in the clip.
Read more: http://thehill.com/media/316252-alex-jones-white-house-offered-infowars-press-credentials
Dem Castro weighs challenge to Cruz
Source: The Hill
Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-Texas) says he'll decide by the spring whether to challenge Republican Sen. Ted Cruz (Texas) in 2018.
“I said I’ll take a look at it, and I will,” said Castro Wednesday at a Buzzfeed Brews event at the Newseum in Washington, D.C. “I want to make a decision by the end of spring.
"Obviously if you want to run in Texas, it’s a large state and you need a lot of money and a lot of time to mount a serious campaign,” he told Buzzfeed's Tarini Parti.
When first asked about Cruz, Castro had joked that his stomach was "going to be in knots."
Read more: http://www.thehill.com/blogs/in-the-know/in-the-know/316257-dem-castro-weighs-challenge-to-cruz
Federal judge rejects Ohio's new lethal injection proces
Source: Associated Press
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — A federal judge on Thursday declared Ohio's new lethal injection process unconstitutional and delayed three executions, including one scheduled next month.
The ruling by Magistrate Judge Michael Merz in Dayton followed a weeklong hearing over the three-drug method Ohio planned to use Feb. 15 on death row inmate Ronald Phillips.
The judge agreed with attorneys for Phillips and two other condemned killers that the first drug in the process, the sedative midazolam, couldn't pass a constitutional bar of causing "substantial risk of serious harm" previously set by the U.S. Supreme Court.
The judge also barred the state from using the second and third drugs in the protocol that paralyze inmates and stop their hearts.
Read more: https://apnews.com/ce9d063add4241c38bb620097f059f98?utm_campaign=SocialFlow&utm_source=Twitter&utm_medium=AP
Alex Jones: White House offered Infowars press credentials
Source: The Hill
Radio show host and conspiracy theorist Alex Jones’s website Infowars has been offered White House press credentials, Jones said in a video he posted Wednesday.
"Here's the deal, I know I get White House credentials, we've already been offered them, we're going to get them, but I've just got to spend the money to send somebody there," Jones says in the clip.
"I want to make sure it's even worth it. I don't want to just sit there up there like ‘I’m in the media, look our people are there.’ “
White House press secretary Sean Spicer indicated Monday that four "Skype seats" would be made available to some journalists who are outside of a 50-mile radius of Washington, D.C.. It is not known when the Skype seats will be deployed during daily press briefings.
Read more: http://thehill.com/media/316252-alex-jones-white-house-offered-infowars-press-credentials
Carl Edwards not ruling out US Senate run in '18
Source: Associated Press
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Carl Edwards remains a hot topic in NASCAR, two weeks after his abrupt retirement as a full-time driver.
Terry Smith, a political science professor at Columbia College, speculated in a Wednesday piece for KBIA's Talking Politics that Edwards will challenge U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill in Missouri next year. McCaskill, a Democrat, is in her second term.
Edwards didn't exactly rule it out when reached by The Associated Press. He texted: "I believe firmly in the principles that the U.S. was founded upon. If I could help, I definitely would consider it."
Edwards also stressed that has no such plans at the moment, but also quoted Gen. Douglas MacArthur: "No man is entitled to the blessings of freedom unless he be vigilant in its preservation."
Read more: http://www.columbiatribune.com/news/politics/elections/carl-edwards-not-ruling-out-us-senate-run-in/article_79d3ed4f-6fe5-52d7-9c39-017c3cb6910c.html
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