GOP pushes immigration bill, skirting rules as Dems protest

Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee upended the rules Thursday for immigration legislation that would extend family detentions as chairman Lindsey Graham muscled the measure forward over the objections of Democrats. Graham gaveled open the hearing saying he wasn't going to wait any longer to address the crisis at the southern border. He acknowledged that his outreach to Democrats has failed to reach a compromise on detention policies for children and families. In pushing the bill forward, the chairman skirted committee rules allowing for amendments and requiring minority participation in certain actions, including to end debate.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio asked why officer involved in Eric Garner's death wasn't fired

Federal prosecutors announced earlier this month that they would not file charges against Daniel Pantaleo, who was involved Eric Garner's death.

UK warship commander says Iran trying 'to test' Britain in Gulf

The commander of a British warship accompanying UK-flagged ships through the Strait of Hormuz amid heightened tensions with Iran said Wednesday that Tehran appeared to be testing the Royal Navy's resolve. William King, commander of HMS Montrose, said during 27 days patrolling the flashpoint entrance to the Gulf he had had 85 "interactions with Iranian forces", which had often led to "an exchange of warnings" over radio. Montrose, on a three-year deployment in the region since April based at a British naval hub opened in Bahrain last year, began the escorts through the world's busiest oil shipping lane earlier this month.

F-14 Tomcat: The Jet the Navy Has Never Been Able to Fully Replace

The report notes that both the Super Hornet and the F-35C are severely challenged by new enemy fifth-generation fighter aircraft such as the Russian-built Sukhoi T-50 PAK-FA and Chengdu J-20. While the requirement for a carrier-based long-range strike capability is a frequent subject of discussion around Washington, the U.S. Navy’s need for improved air superiority capabilities is often neglected.The service has not had a dedicated air-to-air combat aircraft since it retired the Grumman F-14 Tomcat in 2006. But even the Tomcat was adapted into a strike aircraft during its last years in service after the Soviet threat evaporated. Now, as new threats to the carrier emerge and adversaries start to field new fighters that can challenge the Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet and Lockheed Martin F-35C Joint Strike Fighter (JSF), attention is starting to shift back to this oft-neglected Navy mission—especially in the Western Pacific.(This first appeared in 2016.)(Recommended: Is It Time to Bring Back the Battleships?)

Toxicologist says ExxonMobil's neighbors should keep close eye on air quality after fire

The shelter in place is over, but after the ExxonMobil plant fire, Baytown residents need to know what goes up must come down.

Democratic debate - LIVE: Trump loses yet another Republican congressman as Biden and other candidates prepare for 2020 showdown

Donald Trump is attacking a CNN anchor of colour for bringing up tweets the president launched against minority politicians and civil rights leader that were largely viewed as racist.He referred to journalist Don Lemon as “the dumbest man on television” for discussing the tweets at Tuesday night’s Democratic debates, adding, “I am ‘the least racist person in the world,’" appearing to quote his own previous claims about himself.The president found himself under siege in the latest round of Democratic 2020 primary debates on Tuesday evening, with Pete Buttigieg accusing him of pretending to be disabled to avoid service in the Vietnam War, and Elizabeth Warren saying he “disgraces the office of president every single day”. In further bad news for the president, California governor Gavin Newsom has signed a new bill into law that would make it mandatory for every presidential candidate to release five years of their tax returns or face being left off ballot papers in the state in November next year.Please allow a moment for our liveblog to load

Democratic debate: Joe Biden gaffe sends viewers to spoof website supporting Pete Buttigieg

It took just minutes for the spoof website to be set up.Moments after US presidential hopeful Joe Biden had directed voters to a campaign site that did not exist during Wednesday’s Democrat leadership debate, some wag had grabbed the URL and set up a fake – in support of rival Pete Buttigieg.Mr Biden’s gaffe – in which he told viewers to “go to Joe30330” rather than “text JOE to 30330” – was seen by many to raise serious questions about the 76-year-old’s understanding of digital technology.But, for others, it was a starting gun on an online race to buy the domain name cited by the former vice-president.Josh Fayer, a 21-year-old public relations student at Syracuse University in New York, said he had just stopped watching the debate when a friend texted to say he had managed to grab the rights to Joe30330.The pair decided to redirect it to Mr Fayer’s parody presidential campaign site “Josh for America”, which he had launched as an April Fool’s joke this year.The site introduces him as “the first Gen Z’er to declare candidacy for this office” and includes a video that stated his platform of “no homework in college”.He told the Reuters news agency: “I don’t have any broader ambitions for a fake exploratory committee. I didn’t file any of the paperwork.”He initially said he did not want to endorse any presidential candidate but, by Thursday morning, the site’s donate button sent visitors to a page inviting them to contribute to the campaign of “our good friend Pete Buttigieg”.The campaign for Mr Buttigieg, the mayor of South Bend, Indiana, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.A spokesman for Mr Biden campaign also declined to comment.