Political Glance
Chuck Hagel was sworn in Wednesday as defense secretary - President Barack Obama's third in just over four years and the first who really wanted one of Washington's toughest jobs.
Introducing himself to Pentagon workers shortly after taking the oath of office, Hagel said he was humbled by the opportunity and ready for the challenge. He survived a contentious confirmation process in which some Republican senators questioned his suitability for the job and suggested he lacked the character to lead the military.
Hagel: Time to 'turn the page' on decade of war
Bloomberg-backed anti gun candidate wins Dem primary in Illinois
Illinois Democrats sent a message Tuesday night about guns and the power of New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, as they nominated Robin Kelly in a special election primary for Congress.
Kelly, a former state representative, supports an assault weapons ban. She is now heavily favored in the race to replace Democrat Jesse Jackson Jr. in the Chicago-based district.
Chuck Hagel confirmed as Secretary of Defense
The Senate confirmed Chuck Hagel on Tuesday to succeed Leon Panetta as defense secretary. Hagel's nomination bitterly split the Senate, with Republicans turning on their former GOP colleague and Democrats standing by Obama's nominee.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid asked what the GOP filibuster had done for "my Republican colleagues." "Twelve days later, nothing. Nothing has changed," the Nevada Democrat said on the Senate floor. "Sen. Hagel's exemplary record of service to his country remains untarnished."
The phantom Florida ballots: an electoral whodunit
The first phantom absentee ballot request hit the Miami-Dade elections website at 9:11 p.m. Saturday, July 7.
The next one came at 9:14. Then 9:17. 9:22. 9:24. 9:25.
Within 2½ weeks, 2,552 online requests arrived from voters who had not applied for absentee ballots. They streamed in much too quickly for real people to be filling them out. They originated from only a handful of Internet Protocol addresses. And they were not random.
Anti-communist oaths persist despite court rulings
It has been just shy of 50 years since the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a Washington state law barring members of the Communist Party from voting or holding public-sector jobs is unconstitutional.
Evidently, that is not enough time to remove it from the books.
Washington is one of a handful of states with similar laws still in existence despite their having been declared unconstitutional decades ago.
No plans to remove Cuba from terror list, according to U.S. officials
A newspaper report that top State Department officials believe Cuba should be removed from the U.S. list of countries that support terrorism drew denials Thursday from the department and the White House.
The Boston Globe had reported that “high-level U.S. diplomats” have concluded Cuba should be taken off the terror list, which would allow Secretary of State John Kerry to “remove a major obstacle to restoring relations” with the island. Interviews with “top administration officials and members of Congress indicate there is a growing consensus in policy and intelligence circles that Cuba’s support for terrorist groups has been terminated,” the Globe added.
Obama calms fears over Supreme Court action on voting rights
Speaking Thursday to “The Black Eagle” radio show on SiriusXM, Obama said listeners shouldn’t worry too much that discrimination against minority voterswill increase. The Supreme Court is hearing oral arguments about Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act next week.
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