Conn. gov, state Dems under fire as GE ships up to Boston

They might be breaking out the bubbly in Boston, but the mood in Connecticut is anything but celebratory.
Democratic Gov. Dannel Malloy: Photo below

is facing growing criticism from lawmakers, business leaders and residents after General Electric, one of the state’s largest employers, announced it would relocate to neighboring Massachusetts.
State Republicans were quick to blame Malloy and the Democratic-led legislature for playing – and losing – what came down to an expensive game of chicken with the Dow titan.
“This is proof positive that the Democrat majority’s fiscal plans are failures,” Connecticut Senate Minority Leader Leonard Fasano said in a statement, blaming the state's tax policies and warning "many more businesses" could follow in GE's footsteps.
GE announced Wednesday it would move its global headquarters to Boston after four decades in Fairfield, Conn., as part of an effort to transform itself into a dominant player in the digital era. With it, the company will take hundreds of jobs.

'We win some, we lose some. This hurts'
- Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy

The company moved in part because the business-friendly relationship it had with Connecticut had started to sour in recent years. GE’s decision to relocate came after two of the largest corporate tax hikes in Connecticut history were passed by state lawmakers in 2011 and 2015. GE had hinted it would to leave but some state leaders believed the company was bluffing.
They were not.
Massachusetts beat out other “competitive” bids in New York and Rhode Island to lure GE to the state by offering $120 million in grants and other financial incentives, while the city of Boston threw in an extra $25 million in tax relief. GE also is eligible for $1 million in workforce training grants.
Fasano said Connecticut residents “deserve an apology from every Democrat lawmaker whose disrespectful comments mocked companies like GE when they raised legitimate concerns about the state budget."
Democrats tried to downplay the move, while Malloy told reporters at a press event in Middletown, Conn., “We win some, we lose some. This hurts.”
However, he maintained the state was still “highly competitive.”
“You’re not going to turn Connecticut around on a dime.”
But others fear GE’s move could have lasting effects on the community that will be difficult to reverse.
“A move like this is a seismic event,” David Lewis, president of Operations Inc., a human resources consulting company based in Connecticut, told FoxNews.com.
“It sends a message about whether or not this county is still a viable place to do business,” he said. “That I think is one of the biggest concerns.”
State Sen. Tony Hwang, who represents the town of Fairfield, said for now, the plan is to move forward.
“I know our community is strong,” Hwang said in a written statement. “I know we will all work hard with one another to build back what we are losing.”
Boston was among 40 potential sites formally considered in a process that began in June but had been in the works for more than three years.
“In addition to adding hundreds of high-paying jobs to our state, we look forward to partnering with GE to achieve further grown across a spectrum of industries and are confident GE will flourish in the Commonwealth’s inventive economy,” Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker said in a statement announcing the deal.
GE said it would employ around 800 people in Boston: 200 for its corporate staff and 600 designers, developers and industrial project managers. The company has roughly the same number of employees at its Fairfield location.
The move to Boston -- aside from allowing the company to reap the massive financial incentives offered by Massachusetts – also allows GE to tap new talent from a cluster of tech and research universities in the area including Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Obama administration announces halt on new coal leases

The King has Spoken.

WASHINGTON –  The Obama administration announced Friday it will temporarily halt new coal leases on federal lands until it completes a comprehensive review to determine whether fees charged to mining companies provide a “fair return” to taxpayers. 
The decision immediately triggered accusations from business groups and Republican lawmakers of a renewed "war on coal."
Interior Secretary Sally Jewell, on a conference call, stressed that the move “is not a pause on coal production” entirely -- but will give the government time to study the benefits of coal as well as its impact on the environment.
Jewell told reporters she is “confident” the pause on new leases will not disrupt the country’s ability to meet production needs.
Karen Harbert, president and CEO of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Institute for 21st Century Energy, slammed the decision. Herbert called the move “a foolish crusade” that strips America of one of its “diverse mix of energy sources.”
"Another day, another front on the war on coal from this administration,” she said in a statement following the announcement. “At this point, it is obvious that the president and his administration won't be satisfied until coal is completely eradicated from our energy mix.”
Roughly 40 percent of the coal produced in the United States comes from federal lands. The vast majority of that mining takes place in Wyoming, Montana, Colorado, Utah and New Mexico.
It's unclear what impact the moratorium will have on many coal companies given the declining domestic demand for coal and the closure of numerous coal-fired power plants around the country. Coal companies have already stockpiled billions of tons of coal on existing leases.
But the announcement will no doubt please environmental groups that have long said the government's fee rates encouraged production of a product that contributed to global warming.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell called Friday's announcement the "latest front in an ideological war on coal that has contributed to devastation in communities in Eastern Kentucky and to the loss of thousands of jobs across the commonwealth."
The administration held a handful of public hearings last year to get feedback on the adequacy of the fees charged companies for coal mined on federal lands. The government collects a 12.5 percent royalty on the sale price of strip-mined coal. The rate was established in 1976. The money is then split between the federal government and the state where the coal was mined. Coal companies also pay a $3 fee annually for each acre of land leased.
Government auditors have in the past questioned whether the rate provided an appropriate return, though they did not make specific recommendations to raise it. Industry groups counter that any increase in royalty rates will hurt consumers and threaten high-paying jobs.
President Obama said during the State of the Union address Tuesday that he would push to change the way the federal government manages its oil and coal resources.
The review will look at such issues as how, when and where to lease, how to account for the public health impacts of coal, and how to ensure American taxpayers earn a fair return on their resources.  An administration official noted that reviews of the federal coal program have occurred twice before, once in the 1970s and again in the 1980s, and pauses on the approval of new mining leases accompanied each review.
Jewell said some exceptions to the moratorium will be allowed, most notably for small lease modifications. And while the federal government will proceed with environmental reviews for pending lease applications, no final decision will be made.
The administration held hearings in Montana, Wyoming, Colorado and New Mexico last year on the federal coal program. Several people representing tribes, local ranchers and environmental groups spoke in favor of increasing royalty rates, saying it would hasten the transition to cleaner energy sources.
Several GOP lawmakers sent staff to relay their concerns about the Interior Department's efforts.
For example, Penny Pew, a district director for Republican Rep. Paul Gosar of Arizona, said that "President Obama and his agency minions are trying to put the coal industry out of business by imposing a flurry of draconian mandates not based in reality."
Industry officials also voiced concerns.
Meanwhile, David J. Hayes, a senior fellow at the liberal-leaning Center for American Progress, said Thursday the current rules for coal mining on federal lands were written when people could still smoke on planes and dump sewage in the ocean.
"President Obama and (Interior) Secretary (Sally) Jewell are absolutely right to launch this comprehensive review and to set the federal coal program in a more fiscally and environmentally responsible direction," Hayes said.

Sanders gaining ground on Clinton, in echoes of 2008

New national polling is showing Bernie Sanders gaining ground on Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton, casting into doubt Clinton as the inevitable nominee for the party, and recalling the 2008 race where Clinton was eventually beaten by underdog Barack Obama.
Despite a 30 percent-plus lead over Sanders in the summer in many polls, Clinton's lead has shrunk drastically in recent months as she continues to be dogged by doubts about her candidacy, while Sanders continues to gain strength in key states and across the U.S.
With key votes in Iowa and New Hampshire just weeks away, Clinton's apparent firm hold on the nomination seems to be slipping away.
Polls now show Sanders with a comfortable lead in New Hampshire. A Fox News Poll released last week showed Sanders with a commanding 13 point lead in the Granite State, with a 50-37 point margin. The poll shows a stunning increase for Sanders, who was only one point ahead in a similar poll in November.
Meanwhile in Iowa, Clinton's once solid lead is dwindling and it seems the Hawkeye State is up for grabs. The Real Clear Politics average shows Clinton with a four point lead, with some polls showing the two tied and a recent Quinnipiac poll actually showing Sanders with a five point lead.
Should Sanders win the coveted prizes of both Iowa and New Hampshire, it would hand him momentum going into trickier states such as South Carolina, and would raise serious questions about Clinton's ability to secure the nomination.
It isn’t just in the vital states of Iowa and New Hampshire where Clinton’s lead is narrowing – polls are showing Sanders gaining ground nationally.
The latest Fox News Poll showed Clinton with a 15 point lead nationally. That’s down from a 25 point advantage as recently as two months ago, suggesting the race is tightening and that Sanders may be a serious concern for the Clinton camp.
Clinton’s troubles sealing the nomination despite being labeled by many as the inevitable nominee has echoes of the 2008 Democratic primary, in which she held a similar status but was beaten in Iowa by then-Sen. Barack Obama. Obama gained enormous momentum from the win in Iowa and eventually went on to win the nomination.
The Washington Post’s Philip Bump compared the 2016 and 2008 races and concluded that Clinton was actually doing better in 2008 than she is now.
“Nationally, she was doing much better in 2008 than she is right now, perhaps in part because the anti-Clinton vote in 2008 was still split between two people -- Barack Obama and John Edwards -- instead of just one. But that recent trend line, a function of two new national polls that were close after a bit of a lull, is not very good news [for Clinton],” Bump wrote.
The narrowing of the race comes as Sanders and Clinton have ratcheted up the rhetoric at each other.  Clinton has called for Sanders to be more specific about his proposals and how he would pay for proposals such as a single-payer health care system.
"I wish that we could elect a Democratic president who could wave a magic wand and say, 'We shall do this, and we shall do that,' " Clinton said this week in Iowa. "That ain't the real world we're living in!"
Sanders for his part has also turned up the heat on the former Secretary of State and released a TV spot Thursday that appeared to take a shot at Hillary Clinton’s record on Wall Street.

Gitmo Cartoon

10 Yemeni detainees sent from Gitmo to Oman, in 'troubling' transfer

The Obama administration on Thursday quietly transferred 10 Yemeni detainees from the prison at Guantanamo Bay to neighboring Oman – so quietly, in fact, that the news was first reported by state-run Middle East news agencies. And once the news got to Capitol Hill, it set off alarm bells given the host country’s proximity to Al Qaeda’s most active branch.
The transfer is the largest batch of detainees shipped out of the Cuba prison camp so far this year. It is part of a wave of transfers as the administration steps up efforts to shrink the prison population, with the ultimate goal of closing the facility despite congressional resistance.
Fox News reported earlier this week that the 10 detainees were slated for transfer, but the destination at the time was not known. The state-run Oman News Agency published a brief statement Thursday morning saying the detainees had arrived in Oman.
The Omani Foreign Ministry reportedly described the move as a “temporary stay.”

The Defense Department subsequently announced the transfer, and identified the detainees, late Thursday morning, saying the administration coordinated with Oman to ensure the move was conducted with “appropriate security and humane treatment measures.”

According to a statement, Defense Secretary Ash Carter notified Congress in advance. The Pentagon said the individuals “were unanimously approved for transfer by the six departments and agencies comprising the task force,” and said the government is “grateful” to Oman for its “humanitarian gesture and willingness to support ongoing U.S. efforts to close the Guantanamo Bay detention
facility.”Ahead of the announcement, Sen. Kelly Ayotte, R-N.H., slammed the transfer as a “thinly veiled attempt to undercut the will of Congress and would further endanger the American people.”
The administration is banned by law from transferring Guantanamo detainees to Yemen, given the risk in that country. Yemen is not only racked by civil war, but is the home of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. At least three previously released Guantanamo detainees have gone on to become leaders with AQAP in Yemen after leaving the camp.
Given that Oman neighbors Yemen, Ayotte described the move as a potential attempt to “circumvent” the congressional ban on sending prisoners to Yemen.
“This potential transfer is all the more troubling in light of the fact that Ibrahim al Qosi, who was released from Gitmo by the Obama administration in 2012, is now reportedly a leader and spokesman for AQAP,” Ayotte said. “… The administration has not been forthright with the American people about the terrorist affiliations and activities of these detainees, or provided sufficient assurances that they will not return to the battlefield, particularly given their possible proximity to Yemen.”

The transfer also coincides with a recent weapons deal. The terms are classified, but the State Department a week ago approved the proposed sale of TOW 2B missiles and supporting equipment to the government of Oman – valued at about $51 millionThe department said the sale would help an ally build its ground defenses and bolster the country's national security and defensive capabilities.A State Department official told Fox News, though, that the deal and the detainee transfer are unrelThe transfer brings the number of remaining detainees to 93The transfers are part of an administration effort to bring down the prison camp’s population as much as possible. Fifty-nine prisoners, however, currently are not eligible for transfer abroad, and the administration is trying to figure out what to do with them. Though Congress has blocked transfers to the United States, the Pentagon nevertheless has conducted a series of site surveys of prisons in the U.S. in the past few months. President Obama reiterated his goal of closing the camp in his State of the Union address on Tuesday.

Planned Parenthood to endorse Hillary Clinton

Planned Parenthood announced Thursday that it will endorse Hillary Clinton for president -- the controversial group’s first political endorsement in its history.
The group, which has been under fire from Republicans after a number of controversies over its abortion practices, will formally endorse Clinton at a campaign event in New Hampshire on Sunday, Fox News confirmed.
The group announced the endorsement on Twitter, calling Clinton the “only candidate to speak up for Planned Parenthood at the debates” and cited her legislative record of “expanding and protecting access to reproductive health care.”
Clinton said in a statement she was "honored" to receive the endorsement. "There has never been a more important election when it comes to women's health and reproductive rights-and Planned Parenthood's patients, providers, and advocates across the country are a crucial line of defense against the dangerous agenda being advanced by every Republican candidate for president," she said.

Planned Parenthood files federal lawsuit over undercover videos

Only in America!

Planned Parenthood filed a federal court lawsuit Thursday alleging extensive criminal misconduct by the anti-abortion activists who produced undercover videos targeting the handling of fetal tissue at some Planned Parenthood clinics.
"The people behind this fraud lied and broke the law in order to spread malicious lies about Planned Parenthood," said Dawn Laguens, the organization's executive vice president. "This lawsuit exposes the elaborate, illegal conspiracy designed to block women's access to safe and legal abortion."
The anti-abortion activists, who named their group the Center for Medical Progress, began releasing a series of covertly recorded videos in July alleging that Planned Parenthood sold fetal tissue to researchers for a profit in violation of federal law.
Planned Parenthood has denied any wrongdoing, saying a handful of its clinics provided fetal tissue for research while receiving only permissible reimbursement for costs. The lawsuit says the videos were the result of numerous illegalities, including making recordings without consent, registering false identities with state agencies and violating non-disclosure agreements.
The civil lawsuit was filed on Thursday in U.S. District Court in San Francisco. It seeks compensatory and punitive damages, as well as legal fees. A Planned Parenthood lawyer, Beth Parker, declined to estimate how much money would be sought, but it said the amount would include extra money spent since the videos' release on additional security for Planned Parenthood clinics.
David Daleiden, a founder of the Center for Medical Progress who oversaw the video operation, said he looked forward to confronting Planned Parenthood officials in court.
"My response is: Game on," he said in an email. "I look forward to deposing all the CEOs, medical directors, and their co-conspirators who participated in Planned Parenthood's illegal baby body parts racket."
The lawsuit alleges that Daleiden and several collaborators, including longtime anti-abortion activist Troy Newman, "engaged in a complex criminal enterprise to defraud Planned Parenthood." The suit contends that the Center for Medical Progress violated the Racketeer Influence and Corrupt Organization Act (known as the RICO Act), engaging in wire fraud, mail fraud, invasion of privacy, illegal secret recording and trespassing.
According to the suit, Daleiden, Newman and other defendants used aliases, obtained fake government IDs and formed a fake tissue procurement company, Biomax, in order to gain access to private medical conferences and health care centers, and to tape private professional conversations of medical providers.
The videos provoked an outcry from the anti-abortion movement, and prompted numerous investigations of Planned Parenthood by Republican-led committees in Congress and by GOP-led state governments. Thus far, none of the investigations has turned up wrongdoing by Planned Parenthood in regard to fetal tissue research, but Republicans in Congress and in several states are seeking to cut off government funding to the organization.
The videos created a "poisonous environment" in which Planned Parenthood staffers were targeted with hate mail and death threats, said Parker, the organization's lawyer. She cited the attack in November on a Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado in which three people were killed; the man arrested in the shooting depicted himself in court as a "warrior for the babies."

Trump, Cruz clash over eligibility, ‘New York values’ at GOP debate

Ted Cruz and Donald Trump clashed in a spectacular way at the Republican presidential debate Thursday, engaging in a rapid-fire and quick-witted exchange over Cruz’ eligibility for office – and later, a dispute in which Trump cited 9/11 to put down his rival’s jokes about “New York values.”
The tension between the two men, who until now have maintained a certain peace on the debate stage, was palpable. Trump essentially admitted he’s now getting tougher on Cruz because he’s rising in the polls in Iowa – and gave no ground over the course of more than two hours.
While all seven candidates on the prime-time Fox Business Network debate stage spent much of their time attacking President Obama and Hillary Clinton, the Trump-Cruz battle on display could set the tone for the final run-up to Iowa and New Hampshire.
In perhaps his most withering retort, Trump slammed Cruz for questioning “New York values.” Recalling memories from after 9/11, Trump described the “horrific” clean up and the “smell of death” in the city.
“It was with us for months, the smell,” Trump said. “And everybody in the world loved New York, loved New Yorkers -- and I have to tell you, that was a very insulting statement.”
On the question of Cruz’ eligibility, however, the Texas senator arrived well-prepared to rebut the GOP front-runner’s claims that his Canadian birth might make him unable to run for office.
He noted Trump ignored the questions last year, and alleged he was only going after the issue because of the polls.
“The Constitution hasn’t changed, but the poll numbers changed,” Cruz said.
Then, in a retort reminiscent of Reagan’s famous “youth and inexperience” quip, Cruz tried to flip the script by noting some “birther theories” also say a candidate must have two parents born on U.S. soil to be eligible to run.
Pointing out Trump’s mother was born in Scotland, Cruz said: “On the issue of citizenship, I’m not going to use your mother’s birth against you.”
Trump said, “But I was born here … big difference.”
This touched off a heated exchange, punctuated by frequent, thunderous boos and applause from the audience.
Trump argued that Cruz is exaggerating his poll numbers – “he’s doing better, he’s got probably a 4 or 5 percent chance,” he said -- but maintained that Democrats could use the questions to file suit against him.
And if he won, Trump said, “Who the hell knows if you can even serve in office?”
He called the issue a “big overhang” and said, “You can’t do that to the party.”
Trump also toyed with the idea of naming Cruz his running mate, and Cruz extended the same offer – but Trump said he’d probably “go back to building buildings” if he lost.
Florida Sen. Marco Rubio then interjected to talk about other issues.
“I hate to interrupt this episode of court TV,” Rubio said.
The moment of levity was fleeting, with the two later tangling over Cruz’ “New York values” comments. Before Trump offered his somber memory of 9/11, Cruz said, “Not a lot of conservatives come out of Manhattan. I’m just saying.”.
The exchanges, at times, seemed to relegate the other five candidates to a debate among themselves, though most on stage put on an energetic performance.
Rubio and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie -- who are battling with Cruz, Ohio Gov. John Kasich and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush for the No. 2 position in New Hampshire – tangled at one point over Christie’s conservative credentials. Christie fired back by suggesting Rubio was just playing politics.
At another point, the New Jersey governor cut off Rubio when he tried to elaborate on entitlements, saying, “You had your chance” and “blew it.”
Cruz and Rubio also tangled over immigration, with Rubio claiming Cruz has reversed course on several fronts. “That is not consistent conservatism, that is political calculation,” he said.
“I appreciate you dumping your oppo research folder on the debate stage,” Cruz countered, maintaining that he opposes “amnesty” while Rubio backs citizenship for illegal immigrants.
Bush chimed in to mock the debate between the “back-bench senators.”
Meanwhile, Cruz took aim at one of his favorite targets, the media – criticizing The New York Times for a critical report about a campaign finance disclosure mistake. He said if that’s the best the Times has, “they better go back to the well.”
Despite the intra-party battles, the candidates tried to focus their attention on Obama and Clinton.
Bush ripped the Democratic front-runner for being at the heart of an FBI probe over her email set-up, saying if elected, “she might be going back and forth between the White House and the courthouse.”
Rubio added that Clinton would actually be “disqualified.”
At the opening of the debate, the candidates slammed the president’s “rosy” State of the Union address earlier in the week.
“I watched story-time with Barack Obama, and I gotta tell you, it sounded like everything in the world was going amazing,” Christie said.
Cruz also ripped Obama for omitting any mention of the U.S. sailors detained by Iran in his State of the Union. “It was heartbreaking,” he said. Those sailors were later released.
Cruz also slammed Obama for saying in the same address that anyone knocking the economy is “peddling fiction.”
“The president tried to paint a rosy picture of jobs,” Cruz said.
The debate Thursday was among the last before the kick-off nominating contests of 2016.
The only other debate before the Iowa and New Hampshire contests will be held Jan. 28. The tight calendar has fueled the new tensions in the GOP race, particularly as Cruz challenges Trump for the lead in Iowa.
The Republican front-runner also has been engaged in an unusual battle on the sidelines with South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, who was tapped to give the official GOP response to President Obama’s State of the Union address Tuesday. Haley urged Americans to ignore the “angriest voices,” and later acknowledged she was referring to Trump and others.
Trump, asked about the remarks at the debate, seemed to brush off the challenge.
“I’m very angry… and I will gladly accept the mantle of anger,” he said.
Trump also stood by his controversial call to temporarily bar Muslims from entering the country – to which Bush repeated his charge that the plan is “unhinged.”
Kasich, as before, cast himself as a practical problem-solver with fiscal conservative credentials. Retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson was also asked about whether Bill Clinton’s past indiscretions are a fair topic.
“Here’s the real issue, is this America anymore? Do we still have standards? Do we still have values and principles?” he said, pointing to divisiveness in the country. “We need to start once again recognizing that there is such a thing as right and wrong. And let's not let the secular progressives drive that out of us.”
An earlier evening debate featured three lower-polling candidates -- former HP CEO Carly Fiorina; former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee; and former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum. Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul qualified but did not attend. Hours later at the prime-time debate, a very brief protest broke out when some started chanting, “We want Rand.”
The debates were held at the North Charleston Coliseum and Performing Arts Center in North Charleston, S.C.