This morning we start to get a better sense of how House Republicans are going to handle immigration reform, with hearings slated to get underway in the Judiciary Committee at 10:30 a.m. One name on the witness list has reformers, especially business types, concerned. Evan McMorris-Santoro reports.
Writing in from Iowa, TPM Reader BF says don’t expect a Senate candidate Steve King would flame out like Todd Akin or Richard Mourdock …
Just a few thoughts on Steve King from someone who is now represented by him in Congress due to redistricting.
Don’t underestimate Steve King. Last election King faced two challenges: redistricting removed some of conservative south-west Iowa and brought the Democratic enclave of Ames into his district, and he faced his first serious challenger (with national backing), Christie Vilsack. King rose to the occasion.
No, not because he’s eating a donut during his interview with Letterman. But because post-Sandy, not just Bruce but the whole tri-state media world love him. Watch.
“These fake conservatives need to go away before they do more damage.” Brent Bozell, today on the Rove/Law money group to shut down Tea Party Senate candidates. Read More
Essie Mae Washington Williams, the long unacknowledged biracial daughter of arch-segregationist Strom Thurmond, has died at 87.
John McCain says he won’t support a filibuster of Chuck Hagel’s nomination. Which means about as clearly as can be that this drama (farcical drama, but drama) is over.
We’ve just gotten some very limited but telling detail on the end of that survivalist hostage standoff in Alabama. Police and FBI authorities raided the bunker and rescued the boy, who appears to be at least physically unharmed. The hostage taker died when the FBI agents moved in. Presumably the rescuers shot him during the raid, though this wasn’t stated explicitly. So possibly he took his own life as it unfolded.
Operationally just how that happened wasn’t clear. But the gist seems to be that hostage negotiators thought the situation was deteriorating rapidly and the hostage taker might be about to harm the boy. That’s when they moved in.
More news as we get it.
Law enforcement news conference on the latest developments in the Alabama hostage standoff. Watch.
We have very sketchy information. But the Alabama survivalist hostage standoff has ended. And we have reports that the 5 year old hostage is free and unharmed. More news as we get it.
Late Update, 5:04 PM: We now have multiple reports that the hostage taker is dead. What’s not clear is how he died, though some sort of law enforcement action or suicide.