Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/434363
ByDavidEspo The Associated Press WASHINGTON Unhappy Republicans say Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas has given President Barack Obama a present this holiday season — a gift certificate good for confirmation of 12 judicial appointments, not long af- ter the voters had delivered the Democrats a lump of coal in midterm elections. Cruz, a tea party favor- ite and potential 2016 pres- idential contender, dis- puted the claim through his spokesman on Monday. But there was no dissent that Democrats, who must turn over power to Repub- licans in January, were in position to confirm not only the judges, but 11 other ap- pointees before the Senate wraps up work for the year. Among them are nomi- nees that Republicans have sought to block for two rel- atively high-profile posts. They are Vivek Murthy to become surgeon general and Sarah Saldana to head Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the agency that will oversee the new administration policy on immigration that Cruz wants to defund. At the root of the dispute lay a combination of the Senate's all-but-indecipher- able rules, Cruz's attempt to use their murky corners to his advantage, and a bipar- tisan desire of many law- makers to finish work for the year and return home for the holidays. "My concern about the strategy he employed is that it has a result he didn't in- tend," Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, said of Cruz' ma- neuverings on Friday night, when he sought to force a vote on Obama's immigra- tion policy. Among the con- sequences, she said, would be confirmation of a num- ber of appointees who are controversial, including some to "lifetime judicial" posts. Some officials said Cruz was personally informed by GOP aides that Senate Dem- ocratic leader Harry Reid was primed to take advan- tage if he went ahead. Under the Senate's rules, Cruz's maneuver allowed Reid to begin the time-con- suming process of confirm- ing nominations on Satur- day at noon — when law- makers had been scheduled to be home for the weekend. Had Cruz not made his move when he did, accord- ing to officials in both par- ties, Reid would have had to wait until Monday night — more than 48 hours later. Disgruntled Republicans said they felt confident that Reid's rank and file would not have been willing to re- main in Washington in that case, and only four or five nominees would be con- firmed instead of 23. Other Republican law- makers were far more force- ful than Collins in their judgment of Cruz on Mon- day. They declined to speak on the record, possibly feel- ing they had already done so enough during the un- planned, 12-hour Senate session on Saturday. "You should have an end goal in sight if you're going to do these types of things, and I don't see an end goal other than irritating a lot of people," Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah said then. Cruz's stated goal this time was to force a vote on Obama's new immigration policy, which is removing the threat of deportation for an estimated 5 million im- migrants living in the coun- try illegally. He made his move Fri- day evening, after senators already had been informed they were free to go un- til Monday without fear of missing any votes. In re- sponse to Cruz, Reid or- dered a Saturday session. Some senators who had left for home drove back hast- ily to avoid black marks on their voting records. CONGRESS RepublicansblameCruzforyear-endconfirmations LAURENVICTORIABURKE—THEASSOCIATEDPRESSFILE Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, talks with reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington. By Pat Eaton-Robb and Dave Collins The Associated Press HARTFORD, CONN. The families of nine people killed in the Newtown school massacre filed a law- suit against the maker and sellers of the Bushmas- ter AR-15 rifle used in the shooting, saying the gun should not have been sold for civilian use because of its overwhelming firepower. The lawsuit alleging wrongful death and neg- ligence was filed in state court and announced on Monday — the day after the second anniversary of the shooting, which left 20 chil- dren and six educators dead and became a rallying point for gun-control efforts. In addition to Bush- master, the defendants are Camfour, a firearm dis- tributor, and Riverview Gun Sales, the now-closed East Windsor store where the gunman's mother pur- chased the Bushmaster rifle in 2010. Messages seeking comment from the defen- dants were not immediately returned. The complaint says the gun allows shooters to in- flict "unparalleled civilian carnage." "In order to continue profiting from the sale of AR-15s, defendants chose to disregard the unreasonable risks the rifle posed outside of specialized, highly regu- lated institutions like the armed forces and law en- forcement," the plaintiffs wrote in the complaint. The so-called AR-15 rifle was first built by Armalite for military use, but the design was later acquired by Colt, which in the early 1960s began marketing the semi-automatic AR-15 rifle as the civilian version of its fully automatic M-16. Many other companies have since begun manu- facturing and selling AR- 15-type rifles. The weap- ons are popular in shoot- ing competitions due to the light weight of the gun and ammunition and the weap- on's accuracy. Bill Sherlach, whose wife, Mary, was killed in the shooting, said he believes in the Second Amendment but also that the gun industry needs to be held to "stan- dard business practices" when it comes to assuming the risk for producing, mak- ing and selling a product. "These companies as- sume no responsibility for marketing and selling a product to the general pop- ulation who are not trained to use it nor even under- stand the power of it," he said. A 2005 law shields gun manufacturers from most lawsuits over criminal use of their products, but it does include an exception for cases where companies should know a weapon is likely to be used in a way that risks injury to others. SCHOOL SHOOTING Families of Newtown victims sue manufacturer of rifle used in deadly attack Landscape/Fence Steve's Tractor &LandscapeService •FenceBuilding•Landscaping • Trenching • Rototilling • Disking • Mowing • Ridging • Post Hole Digging • Blade Work • Sprinkler Installation • Concrete Work Cont. 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