Senate approves Keystone pipeline bill, in face of White House veto threat

WASHINGTON –  The Senate passed legislation Thursday approving the Keystone XL oil pipeline, setting up a looming veto showdown with the White House.
The legislation passed on a 62-36 vote, after lawmakers spent weeks considering amendments. The House passed a similar bill earlier this month, though there are slight differences that have to be ironed out before the bill can go to President Obama's desk. 
The vote nevertheless marked the first time the Senate has voted to approve the controversial Canada-to-Texas oil pipeline. Nine Democrats joined with 53 Republicans to back the measure.
“Constructing Keystone would pump billions into our economy,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said before the vote. “It would support thousands of good American jobs and as the president’s own State Department has indicated, it would do this with minimal environmental impact.”
Russ Girling, CEO of the company behind the project TransCanada, said in a statement Thursday afternoon the firm was "encouraged" by the "strong bipartisan" showing in the Senate. 
Still, Republicans remain several votes shy of the 67 needed in the 100-member chamber to override a presidential veto.
And asked Thursday about the vote, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest reiterated that Obama would veto. 
It remains unclear whether majority Republicans could round up additional support to override. Since they took over the Senate in January, Republicans have made approving the Keystone pipeline their top priority on the heels of big wins in the November elections. 
The Senate vote capped weeks of debate that was often messy and on one occasion had the Senate in session into the early morning. Dozens of additions to the bill were considered, but only a handful, such as getting the Senate on the record that climate change is not a hoax, made it into the measure.
"The past few weeks have been a whirlwind. But the Keystone jobs debate has been important for the Senate and for our country," McConnell said. "The Keystone infrastructure project has been studied endlessly, from almost every possible angle, and the same general conclusion keeps becoming clear: Build it."
The bill authorizes construction of the 1,179-mile pipeline, which would carry oil primarily from Canada's tar sands to Nebraska, where it would connect with existing pipeline to Gulf Coast refineries.
First proposed in 2008, the $8 billion project has been beset by delays in Nebraska over its route and at the White House, where the president has resisted prior efforts by Congress to force him to make a decision. In 2012, Obama rejected the project after Congress attached a measure to a payroll tax cut extension that gave him a deadline to make a decision. The pipeline's developer, TransCanada Corp., then reapplied.
Environmental groups have called on Obama to reject the project outright, saying it would make it easier to tap a dirty source of energy that would exacerbate global warming. The State Department's analysis, assuming higher oil prices, found that shipping it by pipelines to rail or tankers would be worse for the planet.
Supporters say the pipeline is a critical piece of infrastructure that will create thousands of jobs during construction and boost energy security by importing oil from a friendly neighbor.

Fox News Poll: Romney remains top of GOP field, Clinton leads Democrats

Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton remain the front-runners for their respective party’s presidential nominations. In addition, Romney performs best against Clinton among the Republicans tested in hypothetical head-to-head matchups, coming out dead even.
That’s according to the latest Fox News poll, released Thursday. 
Click for full results of the poll (pdf)
In the quest for the GOP nomination, Romney leads with 21 percent among self-identified Republicans. He’s followed by Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee each at 11 percent, and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush at 10 percent. 
Then the single-digit tier: retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson earns nine percent support, followed by Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker at eight percent and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio at five percent. 
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and former Texas Gov. Rick Perry each get four percent. All others come in at two percent or less. 
Romney (20 percent) is the top choice among voters who consider themselves part of the Tea Party movement, followed by Carson (13 percent), and Paul and Walker (9 percent each). 
White evangelical Christians are also most likely to back Romney (15 percent), with Huckabee (13 percent), Bush and Paul (10 percent each) close behind.
The new Fox poll also asks voters their second choice candidate, so we can look at what happens to the competition if someone were to drop out of the running for the nomination. For example, if Romney decides against a third run for the presidency, Bush grabs the top spot (15 percent) and Huckabee and Paul tie for second (13 percent). 
Among Democratic contenders for their party’s nomination, Clinton still dominates -- although her numbers continue to slip. She now comes in at 55 percent among self-identified Democrats, down from 62 percent last month and a high of 69 percent in April 2014. 
Vice President Joe Biden makes gains in the new poll. He comes in second with 17 percent. That’s up from 10 percent last month. Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren is third with 12 percent -- unchanged from December. 
When Clinton’s name is removed, the poll shows Biden becomes the clear front-runner at 37 percent support. That’s well ahead of Warren who gets 21 percent and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo at 14 percent (even though he rates only four percent when measured against the whole field).
In hypothetical matchups for a 2016 presidential contest, Romney ties Clinton at 46 percent each. Clinton does better against the other Republicans tested: she leads Christie 48-42 percent, Bush 48-43 percent and Paul 47-44 percent. 
A look at the 2012 election in the rearview mirror: 43 percent of voters think Romney would have done a better job as president than Obama, but 50 percent disagree. Most Republicans say yes, Romney would have done better (83 percent), while most Democrats reject that idea (86 percent). By a 51-33 percent margin, independents say no, Romney would not have been better than Obama.
The Fox News poll is based on landline and cell phone interviews with 1,009 randomly chosen registered voters nationwide and was conducted under the joint direction of Anderson Robbins Research (D) and Shaw & Company Research (R) from January 25-27, 2015. The full poll has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus three percentage points. The results among Democrats and Republicans have an error of plus or minus five points.

White House acknowledges -- but also denies -- that Taliban are a terrorist group

With apologies to ducks ... 
If it quacks like a terrorist, isn't it one? 
The White House once again Thursday agonized to draw a fine-tuned distinction between the Taliban and terror networks like Al Qaeda, even as Press Secretary Josh Earnest acknowledged that, technically, the Taliban are still on an official terrorist list. 
The Obama administration is being pressed on the distinction because of a potential prisoner swap between the Islamic State and Jordan. The White House, without giving Jordan advice on what to do, has said the U.S. government does not negotiate with terrorists -- yet last year, the Obama administration traded five Taliban fighters held at Guantanamo for Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl. 
On Wednesday, a White House spokesman said that was different, in part because the Taliban are an "armed insurgency," not necessarily a terror group. 
However, while the Taliban are not on the State Department list of foreign terrorist organizations, they are on a Treasury Department list of "specially designated global terrorists" dating back to a 2002 executive order. 
Earnest acknowledged that listing on Thursday. 
But then it got complicated. 
Earnest explained, "They do carry out tactics that are akin to terrorism, they do pursue terror attacks in an effort to try to advance their agenda." 
He said the Treasury designation allows the U.S. to impose financial sanctions against Taliban leaders. 
However, he said the Taliban nevertheless are different from a group like Al Qaeda, in that the Taliban "have principally been focused on Afghanistan." 
Earnest continued, "Al Qaeda is a terrorist organization that has aspirations that extend beyond just the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan."    
The U.S. government has long viewed the Taliban through a different lens than it views groups like Al Qaeda. 
But the effort to reject comparisons between the Taliban-Bergdahl trade and negotiations with terrorists like the one between Jordan and ISIS has drawn criticism in Congress. 
House Armed Services Committee member Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., says "it's all semantics." 
"I would suggest that this administration start talking to any of the service members who fought in Afghanistan, who might have been injured or seen their friends hurt or killed, and ask them if the Taliban is a terror organization," he said in a statement on Thursday. "The administration might actually learn something and stop looking so foolish." 
Hunter also has noted that Bergdahl was held at one point by militants with the Taliban-aligned Haqqani network, which technically has been declared a terror group. 
In another Taliban-related development, a U.S. official told Fox News Thursday that one of the five prisoners traded for Bergdahl had since reached back out to the Taliban.
The Bergdahl trade is back in the headlines following claims that the Army may be preparing to charge him with desertion. The Pentagon and Army have adamantly denied the claims, saying no decision has been reached. 
Reports have emerged that Qatar also proposed a trade last year for an Al Qaeda operative held in a U.S. prison. Two Americans held by Qatar were ultimately released in December, and the Al Qaeda operative was released this month -- though the administration insists no trade was considered. Officials said the operative was released after time served. 
On Thursday, Earnest drew another distinction between the Jordan-ISIS discussion, and last year's trade. He noted that those talks were done using the Qatari government as an intermediary.

Healthcare Cartoon

Fox News Poll: Voters disagree with vision Obama expressed in State of the Union

Many American voters are not on the same page as President Obama when it comes to the mood of the country and his economic proposals. Yet significant improvements in perceptions of the economy are boosting approval of the president -- and less than half of voters want his executive actions repealed.
First, Americans don’t think we’re the happy family President Obama described in his State of the Union speech.  A new Fox News national poll released Wednesday finds that by a three-to-one margin, voters see America as a dysfunctional family rather than as the “tight-knit” grouping Obama claimed we are (73-24 percent).
Click here for full results of the poll (pdf)
Men, women and voters of all age groups endorse the dysfunctional description, and even a majority of Democrats -- 61 percent -- agrees. Still, Democrats are more than twice as likely as Republicans to call America a tight-knit family (37 vs. 14 percent).
Voters also sharply disagree with the president’s strategy of taking government actions to help improve economic conditions specifically for the middle class. By a 26-point margin, they think government policies should help improve the economy for everyone (61 percent) rather than target actions just for the middle class (35 percent). Even voters describing themselves as middle class think the focus should be on improving the economy overall (59 percent) rather than just for the middle class (37 percent). 
When it comes to helping everyone versus the idea of “spreading the wealth,” voters are more evenly divided. Forty-six percent think it is a good idea and 45 percent a bad idea to use some of the money government collects in taxes to “spread the wealth” to others who are less well off. That’s unchanged since 2008 when it was also 46 percent good idea vs. 45 percent bad.
Perhaps predictably, that view breaks down along income-related lines. Voters in households earning less than $50,000 like the idea of spreading the wealth (by a 12-point margin), while those earning $50,000 or more don’t like it (by a 9-point margin). Those voters describing themselves as middle class are more evenly divided: 45 percent call it a good idea and 47 percent say bad idea.
Roughly two-thirds of Democrats think spreading the wealth is a good idea (69 percent), while two-thirds of Republicans say the opposite (68 percent).
There’s more agreement that things are improving, as 53 percent of voters think the economy is getting better. That’s up 10 percentage points from 43 percent in September -- and marks a new high during Obama’s presidency. The previous high was 49 percent recorded in both October 2012 and May 2010. Still, for 36 percent of voters it feels like economic conditions are getting worse. 
Those living in higher-income households (58 percent) are more likely than those in lower-earning households (48 percent) to say the economy is getting better. In addition, voters under age 45 (59 percent) are more likely than those ages 45 and over (48 percent) to feel things are improving.
Democrats (72 percent) are more than twice as likely as Republicans (35 percent) to say things are looking up on the economy. 
Despite a record-high number saying the economy is improving, only 19 percent say they are better off financially now than when Obama took office. Some 28 percent feel they are worse off, while a slim 52-percent majority says their family’s financial situation is about the same.
Sunnier perceptions of the economy have helped Obama’s job rating: 45 percent of voters approve of how he is doing, while 51 percent disapprove. While his rating is still in negative territory, this is the first time since October 2013 that approval of the president’s performance has been this high. Last month, 42 percent approved and 53 percent disapproved. 
The increase in approval of Obama comes mainly from independents: 45 percent approve now, compared to just three in 10 in early January (31 percent) and December (30 percent).
And Congress also gets its best ratings in more than a year, although that’s not saying a lot: 18 percent approve, while 73 percent disapprove. The last time approval of Congress was this high was July 2013. In December, 14 percent approved of Congress and 80 percent disapproved.
Now that Republicans control Congress, some wonder if GOP lawmakers will try to cancel or repeal the unilateral actions Obama has taken through executive orders. Voters have mixed views: 45 percent want Congress to repeal Obama’s unilateral actions, yet 39 percent disagree. 
Political identification plays a big role in that assessment: most Republicans want Obama’s executive orders repealed (by 71-17 percent), while Democrats oppose that idea (60-23 percent). Independents split: 40 percent for repeal and 40 percent against.
Pollpourri
Voters resoundingly reject Obama’s proposal to start taxing so-called 529 college savings accounts: fully 82 percent call that a bad idea, including 80 percent of Democrats. The disapproval climbs to an overwhelming 88 percent among parents. The White House announced late Tuesday it will withdraw plans to tax these accounts. 
More than four in 10 American voters describe themselves as middle class (43 percent), and another 13 percent say they are “upper” middle class. Even 38 percent of those with household annual income over $100,000 consider themselves middle class.
Just 15 percent of voters think the country is safer than when Barack Obama became president. More than twice as many -- 34 percent -- feel the country is less safe now. The largest number -- 50 percent -- say things are the same.
The Fox News poll is based on landline and cell phone interviews with 1,009 randomly chosen registered voters nationwide and was conducted under the joint direction of Anderson Robbins Research (D) and Shaw & Company Research (R) from January 25-27, 2015. The full poll has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus three percentage points.

Arizona monitoring 1,000 people who could have been exposed to measles

Arizona health officials are keeping tabs on 1,000 people, including 200 children, who could have been exposed to measles at a Phoenix-area medical center.
The outbreak originated in California's Disney parks has now spread to the state. Those who have been exposed to the disease who have not been vaccinated are being asked to stay from for 21 days or wear masks if they have to go out in public.
"To stay in your house for 21 days is hard," State Health Services director Will Humble said. "But we need people to follow those recommendations, because all it takes is a quick trip to the Costco before you're ill and, 'bam,' you've just exposed a few hundred people. We're at a real critical juncture with the outbreak."
Health officials do not know the number of how many children were vaccinated for measles or their age ranges. Children under a year cannot receive the vaccination for measles, mumps or rubella, but can get an immunity booster.
Arizona is second in the number of cases traced to Disney parks last month, next to California. Measles has been confirmed in Utah, Washington, Colorado, Oregon and Nebraska as well.
The Arizona woman whose case was confirmed Tuesday in Maricopa County came into contact with a Pinal County family that traveled to Disneyland, but did not have telltale signs of measles like a rash when she visited the Phoenix Children's East Valley Center. Maricopa County health director Bob England declined to say whether she'd had the measles vaccine, which isn't 100 percent effective in stemming the spread of the disease.
"Unfortunately, she came down with the disease and by the time it was recognized had already exposed a large number of children at the facility," he said.
Masks are being placed outside health care facilities and signs went up outside placed in Kearny warning customers and employees that they could have been exposed to measles.

Romney takes aim at Clinton in Mississippi speech

Mitt Romney used a speech at Mississippi State University on Wednesday to strike at Hillary Clinton's foreign policy and economic credentials in what could be seen as a sneak preview of the 2016 presidential race.
Romney, making his third public appearance since it was revealed he is considering a third run for the White House, addressed students at the university and took pre-selected questions, cracking jokes about himself and making 2016 references. He criticized President Obama's foreign policy, as well as his handling of the economy.
He did not, however, say whether he would seek the White House in 2016.
"I'm thinking about how I can help the country," he told hundreds of students.
In his comeback bid, Romney has focused particular attention on the poor and middle class as he tries to broaden his appeal after being cast in 2012 as an out-of-touch multimillionaire.
"How can Secretary Clinton provide opportunity for all if she doesn't know where jobs come from in the first place?" Romney said, squarely attacking the Democrats' potential 2016 nominee.
"We need to restore opportunity, particularly for the middle class," Romney said. "You deserve a job that can repay all you've spent and borrowed to go to college."
In a follow-up question-and-answer sessions, he added: "The rich are fine in America. They're fine almost regardless of who's the president."
Before his evening address on campus, Romney stopped at the popular barbecue joint Little Dooey, bounding out of a black SUV to shake hands with employees, townspeople and students.
He displayed a good sense of local priorities with his choice of tour guides: MSU head football Coach Dan Mullen and his wife, Megan. Dan Mullen praised Romney's record in business and as governor of Massachusetts. "I would certainly endorse Governor Romney," he said.
When one well-wisher told Romney he'd been his choice for the White House in 2012, the former Massachusetts governor smiled and replied, "I wish I was there right now."
A few minutes later, Romney and the Mullens chatted over barbecue, comparing their business, political and sports experience. When Mullen — who led his Bulldogs to an Orange Bowl appearance last season — mentioned the difficulty of losing, Romney asked, "So what do you do?"
In his address, Romney outlined three principles that could serve as the foundation of a campaign: national security, improving opportunities for the middle class and ending poverty. The latter two principles are newly prominent for Romney, and he's explained them with references to his personal faith and work in the Mormon church — personal testimony he didn't always offer in 2008 and 2012.
In previous campaigns, Romney fueled his critics with high-profile missteps tied in some way to money. No gaffe was bigger than his remark — secretly recorded at a high-dollar Florida fundraiser — that he didn't worry about the 47 percent of Americans who "believe they are victims" and "pay no income tax."
On Wednesday night, he managed to joke about his wealth, insisting his public life isn't about generating attention or speaking fees. "As you may have heard," he said, "I'm already rich."
A Clinton spokesman did not immediately respond to Romney's remarks, although the Democratic National Committee fired back.
"We don't really need to hear a lecture on 'where jobs come from' from a guy who's best known for bankrupting companies and profiting off of outsourcing," DNC spokesman Mo Elleithee said.
Romney has acknowledged privately in recent weeks that he will make a decision about the 2016 campaign soon. While Romney was the overwhelming establishment favorite in the last election, the likely 2016 field includes other economic conservatives — including former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie — who have taken steps towards campaigns of their own.
He currently has a skeleton staff working largely on a volunteer basis, although Romney has more than $2 million in his presidential campaign fund as of late November, which would give him a significant head start over some competitors should he enter the race.
At Mississippi State, Romney sidestepped any mention of his would-be Republican rivals, instead using Clinton and Obama as foils.
"Secretary of State Hillary Clinton cluelessly pressed a reset button for Russia, which smiled and then invaded Ukraine, a sovereign nation," Romney says. "We need to help make the world a safer place."
He blasted Obama for not doing enough to prevent Iran from expanding its nuclear capabilities, and endorsed House Speaker John Boehner's controversial invitation to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to address Congress.
Romney also criticized the Democrats' "war on poverty," saying it's time to abandon the "liberal policies" of President Lyndon Johnson and his successors. "It's finally time to apply conservative policies that improve America's education system, promote family formation and create good-paying jobs," he said, though he avoided any policy specifics.
The university's Student Government Association invited Romney before he'd talked of a 2016 campaign. Romney aides said he is donating his $50,000 speaking fee, minus his travel costs, to CharityVision, a Utah-based organization that offers eye care to the poor.

New purported ISIS ultimatum to Jordan: Release Iraqi woman by sundown or pilot dies

The saga of a Japanese journalist and Jordanian military pilot held by the Islamic State terror group has taken a new turn with the release of a message promising to extend the deadline for Jordan's release of a female Iraqi prisoner.
The message, read in English by a voice the Japanese government said was likely that of hostage Kenji Goto, was released online late Wednesday after Jordan offered to hand over the Al Qaeda-linked would-be suicide bomber to the Islamic State group, or ISIS, in exchange for Jordanian air force pilot Lt. Muath al-Kaseasbeh.
"I am Kenji Goto. This is a voice message I've been told to send to you. If Sajida al-Rishawi is not ready for exchange for my life at the Turkish border by Thursday sunset 29th of January Mosul (Iraq) time, the Jordanian pilot Muath al-Kasaesbeh will be killed immediately," the voice on the recording says. The recording did not specify what Goto's fate would be if al-Rishawi was not released. Sunset in Mosul, Iraq is estimated to occur at 5:30 p.m. local time Thursday (9:30 a.m. Eastern). 
According to Reuters, Jordan's government said on Wednesday that it had not received any assurance that al-Kasaesbeh was alive and would only complete the exchange if he was freed as well. Earlier Wednesday, government spokesman Mohammed al-Momani announced that Jordan was willing to trade al-Rishawi for the pilot, but made no mention of Goto. Jordan reportedly is holding indirect talks with the militants through religious and tribal leaders in Iraq to secure the release of the hostages.
The latest recording was distributed via ISIS-affiliated Twitter accounts and could not be immediately verified. The Japanese government said early Thursday that it was studying the latest message, but did not immediately confirm its authenticity.
"We think there is a high probability that this is Mr. Goto's voice," government spokesman Yoshihide Suga said Thursday. He added that the government was in close communications and "deeply trusts" the Jordan government. He said Japan was doing its utmost to free Goto, working with nations in the region, including Turkey, Jordan and Israel.
Suga refused comment on the specifics of the talks with Jordan, saying the situation was developing. The Cabinet met to assess the latest developments, but did not issue any updates.
Efforts to free al-Kaseasbeh and Goto gained urgency after a purported online ultimatum claimed Tuesday that ISIS would kill both hostages within 24 hours if Jordan did not free al-Rishawi.
Japan has scrambled to deal with the crisis that began last week with the release of a video by ISIS showing Goto and another Japanese hostage, Haruna Yukawa, kneeling in orange jumpsuits between a masked man who threatened to kill them within 72 hours unless Japan paid a $200 million ransom.
That demand has since shifted to one for the release of al-Rishawi, who was convicted of involvement in deadly Amman hotel bombings in 2005. The militants have reportedly have killed Yukawa, 42, although that has not been confirmed.
"This heinous terrorist act is totally unforgivable," Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said in parliament Thursday.
Goto was captured in October in Syria, apparently while trying to rescue Yukawa, who was taken hostage last summer.
In Tokyo, Goto's mother, Junko Ishido, has been desperately pleading for the government to save her son.
"Kenji has only a little time left," she said Wednesday.
Releasing the would-be hotel bomber linked to Al Qaeda would breach Jordan's usual hard-line approach to the extremists and set a precedent for negotiating with them.
It would also be a coup for ISIS, which has already overrun large parts of neighboring Syria and Iraq. Jordan is part of a U.S.-led military alliance that has carried out airstrikes against the extremist group in Syria and Iraq in recent months.
ISIS has not publicly demanded prisoner releases before and Jordan's main ally, the United States, opposes negotiations with extremists.
Jordanian King Abdullah II faces growing domestic pressure to bring the pilot home. The pilot's father said he met on Wednesday with Jordan's king, who he said assured him that "everything will be fine."
The pilot's capture has hardened popular opposition among Jordanians to the air strikes, analysts said
"Public opinion in Jordan is putting huge pressure on the government to negotiate with the Islamic State group," said Marwan Shehadeh, a scholar with ties to ultra-conservative Islamic groups in Jordan. "If the government doesn't make a serious effort to release him, the morale of the entire military will deteriorate and the public will lose trust in the political regime."
The 26-year-old pilot, al-Kaseasbeh, was seized after his Jordanian F-16 crashed in December near the ISIS de facto capital of Raqqa in Syria. He is the first foreign military pilot the militants have captured since the coalition began its airstrikes in August.
Previous captives may have been freed in exchange for ransom, although the governments involved have refused to confirm any payments were made.
ISIS broke with Al Qaeda's central leadership in 2013 and has clashed with its Syrian branch, but it reveres the global terror network's former Iraqi affiliate, which battled U.S. forces and claimed the 2005 Amman attack.