The U.S. Senate is expected to confirm Hagel’s nomination at 4:30pm EST on Tuesday afternoon, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid criticized Senate Republicans for a 12-day filibuster which delayed the confirmation, saying it earned them “nothing” and sent “a terrible signal to our allies around the world.” source
The judge presiding over the prosecution of the WikiLeaks source Bradley Manning has ruled that the US soldier was brought to trial in good time within the military rules governing a court martial.
The ruling dashes the defence team’s hopes of having the charges against Manning dismissed. His lead lawyer, David Coombs, had argued in legal argument to the court that “extreme foot-dragging” by the prosecution had violated the accused’s right to a speedy trial.
The ruling has yet to be completed, with Colonel Denise Lind still set to rule on whether or not Pfc. Manning’s rights were violated under the Sixth Amendment and/or Article 10 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, though Col. Lind is not expected to side with Manning on those claims either. Assuming there are no changes, Pfc. Manning’s 12-week trial is scheduled to begin on June 3.
Las Vegas police are looking for a black Range Rover after a sudden burst of gunshots and a car fire led to the deaths of three people on the famed Strip, shutting down the gambling boulevard in several directions.
A Range Rover Sport with black rims and tinted windows pulled up to a Maserati at a stoplight at the intersection of Las Vegas and Flamingo Boulevards around 4:20 a.m. Thursday, Sgt. John Sheahan of the Las Vegas Police Department said.
Early reports indicated that guns were fired from both the Range Rover and the victims’ Maserati; however, police say there is no evidence that the second vehicle’s occupants fired a weapon of any kind. In addition to the three casualties, three additional victims were treated and released from a local hospital for minor injuries, and a fourth remains at the medical facility for additional treatment.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) could see a primary challenge from local businessman Matt Bevin, who sources say is reaching out to Tea Party groups in the state to gauge support for a 2014 Senate run.
Sarah Duran, president of the Louisville Tea Party, told The Hill that Bevin had been in touch with her over the phone to discuss his run multiple times over the past few weeks, and that he met with the group two weeks ago to discuss his interest in the race.
While exploring one’s options is far from being the same as declaring candidacy, the emergence of a strong Tea Party alternative like Matt Bevin could hurt McConnell in the long run, particularly if it forces the Senate stalwart to move any farther to the right on hot button issues. With many expecting actress Ashley Judd to challenge McConnell as well, the five-term Senator could have his work cut out for him during the 2014 midterm elections.
As authorities scoured Southern California for an ex-Los Angeles police officer suspected of shooting three officers, killing one, officials broadened the alert to include the entire state Thursday morning, and authorities in Nevada were warned.
The California Highway Patrol originally issued a “blue alert” for nine Southern California counties, warning that suspect Christoper Jordan Dorner, 33, was considered “armed and extremely dangerous,” early Thursday. Shortly after 9 a.m. that alert was broadened to the include the entire state.
Dorner is also a suspect in a Sunday double homicide that left a young couple dead, one of whom was the daughter of a retired LAPD captain. Dorner also isn’t the only one responsible for injuries on Thursday. Law enforcement officials have confirmed that officers shot two women delivering newspapers in Torrance after they mistook their vehicle for one being driven by Dorner. Both women were taken to area hospitals, and are expected to make a full recovery. Another shooting, for the same reason, did not lead to any injuries. We’ll have more on the story as it’s available.
Federal investigators are in the midst of an active criminal investigation of disgraced former Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong, ABC News has learned.
The revelation comes in stark contrast to statements made by the U.S. Attorney for Southern California, Andre Birotte, who addressed his own criminal inquiry of Armstrong for the first time publicly on Tuesday. Birotte’s office spent nearly two years investigating Armstrong for crimes reportedly including drug distribution, fraud and conspiracy — only to suddenly drop the case on the Friday before the Super Bowl last year.
Armstrong has yet to comment on the reports but, given his recent admissions on Oprah, we’d imagine he would have a hard time defending himself in court should the government decide to prosecute. Do you think Lance Armstrong should face criminal penalties for covering-up his usage of performance enhancing substances?
Barring an unexpected turn of legislative affairs, a ban on military-style semi-automatic assault weapons will not make it into law, top Hill aides and gun policy advocates say.
The ban will get a vote. But the purpose of that vote will be in part to facilitate its demise. The expectation is that there won’t be 60 members of the upper chamber to support the bill’s inclusion in the final legislative language.
The likelihood that an assault weapons ban ends up in the legislative scrapheap is hardly unexpected — the Wall Street Journal also reported on the issue on Monday morning. The ban is the most controversial of four major components of the gun control platform that the Obama administration introduced and that congressional Democrats have touted.
Long story short, Sen. Harry Reid is hoping that a Senate sub-committee strips out the assault weapons ban so that three more-popular gun control proposals might be passed by both chambers of Congress. Hit the jump for a detailed breakdown of the plan, and what it could mean for the gun control debate going forward.
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A law enforcement source says initial reports indicate that a five-year-old boy who was being held hostage in an underground bunker in Alabama for nearly a week has been released.
Authorities say 65-year-old Jimmy Lee Dykes shot and killed a bus driver last week in Midland City and then abducted the boy.
Dykes is now dead, the source says, but the boy is in stable condition. An ambulance was seen leaving the area of the bunker.
We’re glad to hear that unidentified young man is safe, and will be keeping an eye on the situation as new details continue to emerge. Officials have not yet released Dykes’ cause of death, though its possible that such an announcement could take place during a press conference scheduled this afternoon.
Tagg Romney, son of former GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney, is considering a Senate run in Massachusetts’s upcoming special election, according to the Boston Herald.
The Herald reported Monday that Romney was considering a bid to replace John Kerry in the seat that opened up after Kerry became Secretary of State. The Herald would not identify the source of its information.
Something tells us that the guy who admitted to wanting to slug the President over an election debate probably isn’t going to have the most positive effect on Senate already rendered rather ineffective by partisanship and bickering. We’d like to say his election would at least be a step up from Geraldo Rivera, but even that seems questionable at best…
Atlanta Police said a 14-year-old student has been shot at Price Middle School, near the Lakewood Heights neighborhood south of downtown Atlanta on Thursday afternoon.
According to the Atlanta Fire Department, there was a 14-year-old shot in the head. Grady Memorial Hospital says they have received one under-aged gunshot victim.
A second person was reported to have received cuts and bruises, but it is not known if that person was shot.
This is a developing story, and we’ll keep you updated as more information becomes available. For the time being, parents are being asked not to come to the school to avoid creating additional confusion.
Update: The alleged gunmen has been apprehended by Atlanta PD, and is believed to be a student; however, a name has not been released at this time.
Ten-year-old Nathaniel Pendleton Jr. recalled the way his big sister Hadiya would often greet him with a few gentle slaps on his cheeks whenever she came home from school.
“She said it was with love,” he said.Nathaniel etched “I miss you” and “I love you” on his arm Wednesday, a day after losing his only sibling when a gunman opened fire on a group of students just blocks from King College Prep on the South Side.
While it’s hard to say any single death is more important than another (particularly in a place where young people are dying so frequently), we suspect that Hadiya Pendleton’s time in Washington D.C. last week will make her death an intense topic of discussion as the gun control debate continues around the nation. Our hearts go out to the Pendletons, and all of Hadiya’s other family and friends, during what we can only imagine to be one of the most difficult times of their lives.
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