This was a good debate, in as much as a number of the candidates were either on their game or more on their game than they’ve been in previous debates. Jeb Bush was more spirited and didn’t let Donald Trump slap him around quite as badly as he did in previous debates. In their own ways, Trump and Cruz did well too. Rubio was roughly how he’s been in earlier debates but several opponents landed real punches on him on issues like immigration.
There’s a flurry of chatter this morning to the effect that Ted Cruz may have released classified information in last night’s Republican debate. Marco Rubio hinted at that in the debate itself when he said he would be more careful than Cruz in not releasing classified national security information in a nationally televised debate. Now Sen. Burr (R), the chair of the Senate intelligence committee says that his staff will be looking into whether Cruz did in fact cross the line.
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After letting him squirm for a day, the Republican led Senate intel committee lets Ted Cruz out of the ‘leaking classified information’ penalty box.
Wilmington, Delaware church collapses in massive fire. Second fire to hit the same church this month. A local TV news drone caught the moment of the collapse on video.
Got questions? I’ve got answers. I’m answering reader questions in this thread in The Hive (sub req).
The budget package being voted on today by the House looks an awful lot like the ones cobbled together by then-Speaker John Boehner, a mix of provisions that incense the Freedom Caucus types and require concessions to Democrats (further inflaming the right wing of the conference) to win enough of their votes to get the thing over the hump. So how are Freedom Caucus members reacting this time? TPM’s Lauren Fox talks to some of them — and what you take away is that while Paul Ryan has bought some time he hasn’t really resolved the deeper structural issues.
This > “An upstate New York man who admitted building a remote control for a mobile X-ray device intended to kill Muslims has been sentenced to eight years in prison.”