Cruz wins majority of delegates at Virginia convention

HARRISONBURG, Va. –  U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz has won the support of a majority of delegates up for grabs at a GOP convention in Virginia, delegates that could help decide the Republican presidential nominee if there's a contested national convention this summer.
Cruz supporters won 10 of the 13 at-large delegates elected Saturday at the Republican Party of Virginia's statewide convention at James Madison University in Harrisonburg.
Republican front-runner Donald Trump won the other three.
Cruz's victory will only matter if he can block Trump from clinching the nomination before the national convention in July. Virginia delegates will only be free to support whomever they choose after the first round of voting at the national convention.

Obama takes his last shots at White House Correspondents' dinner

He's been a Clown since day one.

WASHINGTON –  Even though President Barack Obama and his wife can't wait to get out of the White House, being a lame duck can hurt a guy.
"Last week Prince George showed up to our meeting in his bathrobe," Obama cracked at the White House Correspondents' dinner Saturday night. "That was a slap in the face."
Obama drew plenty of laughs with his barbed remarks to a ballroom filled with journalists, politicians, and movie and television stars. It was his eighth appearance at the event and his last as president.
"If this material works well, I'm going to use it at Goldman Sachs next year," Obama said. "Earn me some serious Tubmans."
The president waxed nostalgic at times. "Eight years ago I said it was time to change the tone of our politics. In hindsight, I clearly should have been more specific."
And he acknowledged that the years had taken their toll. "I'm gray, grizzled ... counting down the days to my death panel."
On the other hand, he pointed out that his approval ratings are up. "The last time I was this high," he said, "I was trying to decide on my major." When he said he couldn't explain the rise in his popularity, two photographs appeared on ballroom screens: Donald Trump and Ted Cruz.
Obama took a few more swipes at the presidential race, noting that "next year at this time someone else will be standing here in this very spot, and it's anyone's guess who she will be."
After calling presidential candidate Bernie Sanders the bright new face of the Democratic Party, Obama contrasted the slogan "Feel the Bern" with one he said was rival Hillary Clinton's: "Trudge Up the Hill."
Republicans took most of Obama's humorous broadsides. "Guests were asked to check whether they wanted steak or fish," he told the diners, "and instead a whole bunch of you wrote in Paul Ryan."
Obama said of the billionaire businessman and real estate mogul leading the GOP race: "He has spent years meeting with leaders from around the world — Miss Sweden, Miss Argentina, Miss Azerbaijan."
He added: "And there's one area where Donald's experience could be invaluable, and that's closing Guantanamo — because Trump knows a thing or two about running waterfront properties into the ground."
Turning serious, the president thanked the White House press corps and praised a free press.
"I just have two more words to say: Obama out." With that, he held out the mic and dropped it.
Obama took a few hits, too. Preceding his remarks was a tongue-in-cheek video tribute to his seven-plus years in office that contained highlights of his verbal gaffes — his reference to "57 states" and misspelling 'rspect" among them — as well as light-hearted moments.
Comedian Larry Wilmore, the evening's professional entertainment, began by saying, "It's not easy to follow the president." Then he proved his point, offering a series of jokes about the president, different media organizations and various presidential candidates that often were racially tinged and drew a mixture of laughter and groans.
"Welcome to Negro night," Wilmore said, and added that Fox News had reported that "two thugs" disrupted an elegant dinner, also mixing in critiques of CNN's viewership and MSNBC's firing of black anchors.
Wilmore said the president is showing signs that his time in office has been hard on him. "You came in here looking like Denzel, now you're going out looking like Grady from 'Sanford and Son.'"
As usual the Washington Hilton ballroom was a celebrity-spotters dream. Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders joined Vice President Joe Biden, Secretary of State John Kerry and other government officials taking a seat. Also on hand were Republican Party Chairman Reince Priebus, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
Trump, a regular in recent years, was absent this time, but a son and daughter-in-law, Donald Jr. and Vanessa Trump, were spotted on the red carpet.
Among the film and television performers at the event were Oscar winners Helen Mirren and Jared Leto, "Breaking Bad" actor Bryan Cranston, "Independence Day" stars Will Smith and Jeff Goldblum, actress Rachel McAdams, and "Night Manager" miniseries star Tom Hiddleston.
Proceeds from the dinner go toward journalism scholarships and reporting awards. This year's winners:
— Carol Lee of the Wall Street Journal, winner of the Aldo Beckman Memorial Award for excellence in White House coverage.
— Matt Viser of the Boston Globe, winner of the Merriman Smith Award for outstanding White House coverage under deadline pressure.
— Norah O'Donnell of CBS News, winner of the Merriman Smith Award for broadcast journalism.
— Terrence McCoy of The Washington Post and Neela Banerjee, John Cushman Jr., David Hasemyer and Lisa Song of InsideClimate, winners of the Edgar A. Poe award, which recognizes excellence in coverage of events or investigative topics of regional or national interest.

Trump backers furious over defeat at Arizona GOP convention

Backers of Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump accused the Arizona GOP convention of cheating after Texas Sen. Ted Cruz pulled out a strategic victory Saturday.
Cruz won virtually all of the 28 at-large national delegates and roughly split the 27 delegates selected by congressional district. Cruz's Arizona campaign organizer says simple math led to the at-large victory. Cruz offered a nearly identical slate of candidates as John Kasich backers, and the combined votes led to a win.
State Treasurer Jeff DeWitt, who chairs Trump’s Arizona campaign, said a challenge is possible after calls for a revote were rejected by the party.
"The Trump campaign is very unhappy with the results," DeWitt told reporters. "We don't feel that this was a fair process. The Trump button got checked more than any other, so why do we have so few delegates?"
Phoenix City Councilman Sal DiCiccio blamed “back-room-dealing politics” for the loss Saturday, according to The Arizona Republic.
"This is what America hates. This is why the voters have turned to Trump," DiCiccio said. "They're turning to Donald Trump because they are tired of the backroom politics, and that's what occurred here today."

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Former Gov. Jan Brewer lost her bid to become a delegate and said afterward that she was cheated.
"I got cheated," Brewer told reporters. "And the people of Arizona got cheated."
State party Chairman Robert Graham said the election was run fairly, and the Kasich-Cruz slates just combined to get the win.
"Mr. DeWit is making a habit of making outlandish comments to try to crush the integrity of a great meeting," Graham said. "This was a very pronounced victory for the Cruz-Kasich slates. If it was close, then you might say 'Hey, one person here, one person there,' but this was a commanding victory."
Constantin Querard, Cruz’s Arizona campaign chair, struck back against claims from DeWitt.

2016 Arizona Presidential Primary Results | InsideGov

"They lost because of math, not because of malfeasance. If you take the people that want Cruz, and you add to them the people who don't want Trump, that's a majority in just about any room in America."
Saturday’s victory was mainly strategic for Cruz since all 58 Arizona delegates are required to vote for Trump on the first national ballot because he won the state’s primary. If there is a contested convention, the state’s delegates can switch to back Cruz. There are three automatic delegates, including Graham.
With Trump at nearly 1,000 national delegates out of 1,237 he needs to win the presidential nomination outright after recent sweeps of five eastern states, even Cruz's Arizona backers believe Saturday's effort is likely to be for naught.
"It's most likely that Trump will be the next president, but I'm trying my hardest for it to be Cruz," said state Rep. David Livingston, who is unabashedly backing Cruz.
The battle at Saturday's convention goes back weeks, when Cruz backers were wrangling at local party meetings to nail down delegates to the state party.
Gov. Doug Ducey opened the convention by calling on the party faithful to end Democratic control of the White House.
Ducey called the past eight years "the most futile in modern American history" and said that it's time to "put a Republican in the White House and Hillary Clinton in the Big House."

Carley Cruz Cartoon

US weighing under-the-radar routes for Syrian refugees?

The Obama administration appears to be bowing to international pressure and pursuing under-the-radar “alternative” ways to bring in more Syrian and other refugees -- as soon as this year.
The latest indication that the administration is preparing to take in more than the 10,000 Syrians this year it already has committed to follows a March 30 “high-level meeting” on Syrian refugee admission in Geneva, Switzerland -- convened by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
At the meeting, attended by State Department officials, U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi called for countries to pursue “alternative avenues” for refugees – such as student and work visas, and expanded family reunification programs.
“These pathways can take many forms: not only resettlement, but also more flexible mechanisms for family reunification, including extended family members, [labor] mobility schemes, student visa and scholarships, as well as visa for medical reasons,” Grandi said. This followed an adviser suggesting the U.S. ask universities to offer scholarships to Syrian students, and help Syrian-Americans bring in their extended families outside the “time-consuming” refugee resettlement process.
The State Department immediately issued a media note reaffirming the “commitment to resettle at least 10,000 Syrians in FY 2016 and increase the total number of resettled refugees from around the world to 100,000 by the end of FY 2017.”
Additionally, in a wordy statement, the State Department appeared to agree with many of Grandi’s conclusions.
“The United States joins UNHCR in calling for new ways nations, civil society, the private sector, and individuals can together address the global refugee challenge. The United States encourages other countries to consider expanding resettlement and other forms of admissions for all refugee populations, ensuring that more of those in need have the opportunity to start their lives anew in safety and with dignity,” the note said.
Nayla Rush, senior researcher at the Center for Immigration Studies, said she thinks the administration is “100 percent” behind the idea.
“My fear is they aren’t really going to let anyone know about it,” Rush said.
Unclear is whether the refugees can be properly vetted, especially if they come in through an array of different visa programs. The Center for Immigration Studies, which advocates for lower immigration levels, reported on the U.N. meeting earlier this week.
In its media note, the State Department said the U.S. “has created a program to allow U.S. citizens and permanent residents to file refugee applications for their Syrian family members.”
Rush believes this is a sign the Obama administration is already expanding the family reunification program.
“Why create a family reunification program for Syrian refugees when refugees in the U.S. are already entitled to ask for their spouse and unmarried children under 21 to join them? Unless of course, the aim is to widen family circles to include aunts and uncles, brothers and sisters, grandmothers and grandfathers,” Rush said in a blog post on the subject
The State Department did not say if it was looking at expanding the student visa or family reunification programs, but told FoxNews.com that Syrians being considered on non-immigrant and immigrant visa categories must be considered in accordance with U.S. immigration law.
The department has worked with the Syrian Consortium for Higher Education in Crisis since 2012 to help students and scholars impacted by the bloody civil war. A State Department official said this consortium includes U.S. colleges that have committed to hosting Syrian students and scholars. The official said “several immigrant visa options” are available to Syrians, including family-sponsored visas.
Shuffling potential refugees into other programs could prove problematic.
On one hand, standard immigration vetting often requires a higher degree of documentation, as officials are more likely to waive requirements for asylum-seekers or refugees who are assumed to have fled their homes quickly. However, the Obama administration repeatedly has heralded its two-year process for refugees as one of the most rigorous in existence. Standard immigration programs usually take much less time.
Any attempt to expand the process could encounter opposition from Congress. In November, the House passed a bill to enhance Syrian refugee screening, but the legislation stalled in the Senate amid Democratic opposition.
Last month, Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, who co-authored the bill, wrote in a FoxNews.com op-ed that the Syrian refugee crisis risked becoming a “terrorist Trojan horse.”

Senator seeks secret memo used as ‘loophole’ for Obama regs

The Obama administration is facing pressure from Congress to release a secret Reagan-era memo allegedly used to this day to shield a slew of executive actions and regulations from congressional scrutiny.
At issue is a 1983 memorandum of understanding (MOU) that permits the Treasury Department to “escape” a review of economic costs and benefits when it comes to IRS rules.
Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, says this has helped the administration pursue a range of unilateral changes – and he wants the memo made public.
“This non-public MOU between the Treasury and White House further cloaks the regulatory process in secrecy and decreases regulatory transparency at a time when the Executive Branch is attempting to achieve a great deal of policy through regulatory measures generally and tax regulations specifically,” Hatch wrote to Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew.
In the letter, the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee argued the memo has been used by the Executive Branch to skirt congressional scrutiny for changes on everything from corporate taxes to ObamaCare. Committee sources told FoxNews.com the memo is a “loophole” being abused in order to reduce transparency.
According to Hatch, the 1983 guidance generally allows IRS rules to get around what’s known as the Congressional Review Act (CRA).
Under that law, Congress typically has the authority to review and rescind “major” federal regulations -- those with an annual economic impact of $100 million or more. If a rule is listed as “non-major,” the cost-benefit analysis is not required.
Here’s the rub: The 1983 memo, according to Hatch, generally describes IRS rules as not “major.”
This may have helped smooth the way for major regulations. In fact, neither the Employee Individual Health Care Mandate nor the Employee Health Care Mandate was listed as major by the administration or agencies.
Hatch said, given the sheer number of regulations, more scrutiny is needed by Congress. In his letter, he cited as an example a rule that controls the type of font companies can use for the word “turkey” when marketing “turkey ham.”
But it is larger issues that are of real concern. Committee sources note the memo takes on new importance in light of a host of new regulations issued by the Treasury Department aimed at tackling corporate inversions.
Hatch said he recognized why the IRS would want to issue new rules without undue interference from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), but those justifications do not allay his concerns.
The letter was first reported by The Washington Times.
Sam Batkins, director of regulatory policy with the conservative American Action Forum (run by former Congressional Budget Office head Doug Holtz-Eakin), said the memo may have been originally used to let the IRS make “ministerial” changes to tax law that occur annually.
“If you were to tell the average person that the Congress has not been able to vote on any major tax proposed by the administration, I think they would be very surprised,” Batkins said.
The office learned of the memo through correspondence between the committee and the administration.
The Treasury Department has until May 12 to respond. A representative with the department did not respond to a FoxNews.com request for comment.

Trump brushes off protests to address Calif. GOP, likens arrival to ‘crossing the border’

Donald Trump brushed aside yet another protest Friday — even joking that "it was fun" — and told a gathering of California Republicans that he's winning "landslides" on the road to what he described as a record-setting performance in the GOP primaries. 
Trump addressed the California GOP convention as part of a very visible push to win what could be a decisive primary in the state next month.  
He only used the top of his speech to address the demonstrations that have followed him since he got to the state and that delayed Friday’s address by about an hour.
“That was not the easiest entrance I’ve ever made. … It felt like I was crossing the border actually,” Trump said.
But he said despite being told it would be easier to skip the speech, he couldn’t “let these people down.”
“It was fun. It was a little different,” Trump said, later adding he had to get through “dirt and mud and under fences” to get in, and would do the same to get out.

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Trump addressed the state Republican convention ahead of the state’s June 7 primary.
The bulk of his speech was otherwise standard Trump fare, as the front-runner blasted what he called a “rigged” delegate system while mocking rival Ted Cruz as having “no path to victory.” 
Cruz, earlier in the day, said "Donald is desperately trying to convince everyone that the race is over."
Before Trump even arrived on Friday, protesters packed the area outside the hotel venue in Burlingame, Calif. Protesters could be seen breaking through barricades, as well as picking them up and tossing them aside, as they moved toward the front of the hotel.
One Trump supporter told Fox News he was confronted by the protesters. “I got punched, beat up, eggs thrown [at] me. … I got spit on,” he said.
A dozen protesters also linked arms to block the road in front of the hotel near San Francisco International Airport, but no one was using the street because police had already closed it to traffic. Protesters also draped a large "Stop Hate" banner outside the hotel. At least one could be seen waving the Mexican flag.
In Southern California the night before, violent demonstrations led to 17 arrests as the Republican presidential contender brought his campaign to conservative Orange County on Thursday.
While Trump held a rally at a fairgrounds amphitheater, dozens waved anti-Trump signs outside in what were initially mostly peaceful protests and traded insults with masses of the candidate's supporters who had lined up to see him. Later in the evening, however, the protests swelled and grew rowdy and spilled into the streets.
One Trump supporter had his face bloodied in a scuffle as he tried to drive out of the arena. One man jumped on a police car, leaving its front and rear windows smashed and the top dented and other protesters sprayed graffiti on a police car and the Pacific Amphitheatre's marquee.
Dozens of cars -- including those of Trump supporters trying to leave -- were stuck in the street as several hundred demonstrators blocked the road, waved Mexican flags and posed for selfies. Some protesters badgered Trump's fans as they walked to their cars in the parking lot.
Police in riot gear and on horseback pushed the crowd back and away from the venue. There were no major injuries and police did not use any force. The crowd began dispersing about three hours after the speech ended.
Seventeen people were arrested, Costa Mesa police Sgt. Mike Manson said.
Trump has drawn large crowds across the country, with some of his events marred by protests and scuffles. The Pacific Amphitheatre was filled to its capacity of about 8,000 and a couple thousand more were turned away, Orange County Sheriff's Lt. Mark Stichter said.
Earlier this week, a Trump rally in nearby Anaheim turned contentious when his supporters and protesters clashed, and several people were hit by pepper spray. Trump was not present.

Cruz says Indiana will decide GOP race

Texas Sen. Ted Cruz declared Friday that the 2016 race for the Republican presidential nomination will be decided next week in Indiana – making clear he's staking his underdog bid on a strong performance there. 
“It gives me great comfort that this primary is going to be decided by the Midwestern common sense of the Hoosier State,” Cruz said during a one-hour Fox News-hosted town hall in downtown Indianapolis.
Cruz, speaking with anchor Sean Hannity, did not say definitively whether he would drop out if he loses Indiana on Tuesday, but described the "heartland" state as critical.
Cruz trails front-runner Donald Trump by hundreds of delegates. Currently, the delegate count has Trump leading with 994, Cruz in second with 566 and Ohio Gov. John Kasich in third with 153. Cruz, at this point, cannot reach the requisite 1,237 delegates to clinch the nomination before the July convention. 
But Cruz said, “Here’s the simple reality – I believe nobody is going to get to 1,237.”
Cruz told the crowd Trump is one of the “greatest frauds in modern electoral history” and is “pretending to be an outsider.” 

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Cruz also fired back at comments former House Speaker John Boehner made earlier this week referring to Cruz as “Lucifer in the flesh” and a “miserable son of a b----.”
“Those comments reveal everything you need to know about Washington,” Cruz said. “Listen, we don’t have two parties in Washington. We have one corrupt bipartisan mess in Washington.”
Cruz called Boehner’s comments “striking,” adding the former house speaker was “letting out his inner-Trump.”
“He praised Hillary Clinton and he praised Donald Trump. He said, Donald is my friend, we go texting, we go golfing, he’s my buddy,” Cruz said.
He added, “I don’t know Boehner. I don’t think we’ve said 50 words to each other in our lives.”
Cruz gave “credit” Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders, saying “he is an honest socialist. He actually says what he believes.”
Former HP businesswoman Carly Fiorina, whom Cruz tapped earlier this week to be his running mate, also joined him at the event. Fiorina had been a GOP White House contender before dropping out of the race.
Fiorina kept up the attack on Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton, and Trump.
“Donald Trump’s contributed seven times to Hillary Clinton,” Fiorina said. “I’m sorry, it is not a choice or a contrast when Donald Trump agrees with Hillary Clinton on so many positions.”
Fiorina said that both Trump and Clinton are both “the ultimate insiders.”
“When Ted Cruz is the president of the United States, I suspect Hillary Clinton will be prosecuted.”
She added, “How long have Republicans and conservatives said we can only win by presenting a clear contrast, so here it is – people of Indiana, Cruz-Fiorina, Trump-Clinton.” 
At a separate address in California, though, Trump mocked Cruz's decision to announce Fiorina as his running mate. "I like Carly, but when she left she had no votes," he said.  
Speaking to California Republicans, Trump said of Cruz: "He has no path to victory."