Good afternoon . . .
Texas Supreme Court Justice Priscilla Owen was confirmed by the Senate to a seat on the 5th US District Court of Appeals in New Orleans.
The 56-43 vote made Owen the first of President Bush's long-blocked nominees to win approval under the terms of an agreement by Senate "moderates."
"We must give fair up-or-down votes to other previously blocked nominees. It is the only way to close this miserable and unprecedented chapter in Senate history," Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN) said in a written statement.
Frist also asserted that the constitutional option is still available when Democrats use the term "extraordinary circumstance" too broadly to block judicial nominees.
Frist told reporters that he intends to seek early votes for the other blocked nominees next month.
Priscilla Owen Confirmed As Federal Judge - Yahoo! News
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The Senate is currently debating the nomination of John Bolton as the ambassador to the United Nations. Republican senator George Voinivich (R-OH) is leading the anti-Bolton forces.
It will be interesting to see if Majority Leader Bill Frist can reign Voinivich in and move the nomination forward. With the agreement on judicial nominees, it is unlikely that Frist will be able to be a strong senate leader.
That role is currently up for grabs.
Bolton is not covered by the agreement and is likely in for a filibuster lead by Voinivich.
GOP Says Bolton Should Be Given U.N. Post - Yahoo! News
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With their added strength in the Senate, Democrats are calling for a quick vote in favor of the stem cell research bill passed by the House.
Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid called for swift action on the bill that will expand stem cell research and criticized President Bush for his opposition.
Reid said it was "wrong politically, morally and scientifically" for Bush to oppose the loosening of restrictions.
Within hours, Bush declared, "There must be a balance between science and ethics and I have made my decision."
"The use of federal dollars to destroy life is something I simply do not support," Bush said at the White House.
The president has vowed to veto the measure. It would be the first veto of his presidency.
Reid Wants Swift Vote on Stem Cell Bill - Yahoo! News
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The Washington State trial investigating voter fraud and other charges in Washington State entered its first day of testimony.
In testimony, the mall ballot supervisor, Nicole Way, said that she told King County officials as early as spring 2004 that she told county officials that she could not tell how many ballots were mailed out and how many were returned. About two-thirds of the 900,000 in King County were mail ballots.
In a sworn deposition, Way testified that she and her direct supervisor, Garth Fell, approved a Nov. 17 mall ballot report that falsely showed all absentee ballots had been accounted for. She said they could not get the numbers to add up otherwise.
In her deposition, Fell said election superintendent Bill Huennekens knew about the inaccuracies in the report before certifying the results.
In direct testimony today, Huennekens denied and advanced knowledge of the inaccurate report.
Supervisor Testifies in Governor Dispute - Yahoo! News
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A teenager who was the youngest person to be sentenced to a life sentence is in trouble again.
Lionel Tate, now 18, was the center of a debate on sentencing youth to life terms for the murder of a six year old girl in 1999.
After serving three years, Tate was released to a one-year house arrest and 10 years probation.
Monday Tate was arrested and charged with holding up a Dominos delivery man at gunpoint at a friend's apartment. Tate is also charged with breaking into the apartment and shoving a 12 year-old boy.
Judge Jerry Pollock is holding Tate without bond. Tate's attorney, James Lewis, objected that the charges against his client were based on conflicting testimony and his client is a victim of mistaken identity and his past.
In October Tate was arrested for carrying a knife. At that hearing the judge said there would be "zero tolerance" for any probation violations.
If convicted, Tate will face a long-sentence based on his continued parole violations and the armed robbery.
Tate Held Without Bond in Robbery - Yahoo! News
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More tomorrow.
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