Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/646059
ByStevePeoplesandJill Colvin The Associated Press FORT WORTH, TEXAS Don- ald Trump scored a power- house endorsement Friday as he sought to regain head- way in a Republican pres- idential race that devolved into a series of fierce in- sults and schoolyard taunts heading into the weekend before critical Super Tues- day contests. New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie stunned the Re- publican establishment by swinging behind the New York billionaire, declaring "there is no better fighter than Donald Trump." Tak- ing the cue, Trump un- leashed a raw assault on Marco Rubio, who went af- ter him with fury on the de- bate stage the night before. Trump called the first- term Florida senator "a ner- vous basket case," "a choke artist," "a frightened little puppy" and insulted the size of his ears. "This is a low-life," Trump said of Ru- bio, not leaving out Texas Sen. Ted Cruz. "Cruz lies, but at least it's reasonable lies." Earlier, Rubio joked that Trump might have wet his pants backstage on de- bate night. Christie's endorsement came after Rubio shattered months of relative peace with the Republican front- runner by repeatedly at- tacking Trump's charac- ter in the debate. Christie caught the room by surprise when he stepped out to join Trump at a Forth Worth news conference announc- ing the governor's support. The shift marked the be- ginning of a long-awaited Trump takedown effort that was cheered by anx- ious Republicans nation- wide who question Trump's party loyalty and fear he's unelectable in a general election. Christie's support gave Trump an opportunity to turn the attention back to himself, as he has done re- peatedlyduringtroublespots in the campaign. His critics acknowledge they are run- ning out of time to stop him. He's won three consecu- tive primary contests and looks strong in many of the 11 states participating in Tuesday's mega-round of voting. A close look at the delegate math suggests that he could have an insur- mountable delegate lead by mid-March if trends don't change quickly. Christie's endorsement is a blow to Trump's Repub- lican competitors, not least Rubio, who had been court- ing the tough-talking New Jersey governor since he dropped his own presiden- tial candidacy earlier in the month. "Desperate people do desperate things," Chris- tie said of Rubio's attacks while standing at Trump's side. "The idea that Marco Rubio can get inside Donald Trump's head is an interest- ing proposition." Acknowledging "a sense of urgency," Rubio contin- ued where he left off Thurs- day night as he campaigned in Oklahoma and gave a se- ries of interviews designed to weaken his rival's tight- ening grasp on the Repub- lican nomination. "We have a con artist as the front-runner in the Republican Party," Rubio charged during an Okla- homa City rally. He also de- scribed a backstage encoun- ter with Trump the night before during which Trump requested a full-length mir- ror "maybe to make sure his pants weren't wet." At roughly the same time in Texas, Trump drew cheers after sharing his own backstage encoun- ter with Rubio: "He was putting on makeup with a trowel," Trump said. "I will not say that he was trying to cover up his ears." Trump's opponents con- cede that it might take an extraordinary "brokered" national Republican con- vention in July to stop him at this point. Yet his many critics in the GOP establish- ment cheered Rubio's ag- gressive shift, something they have been encourag- ing for months. "Point is, there's still a pathway to beating him," said Liz Mair, a Republi- can strategist leading an anti-Trump group. "As of Wednesday, I wasn't con- vinced there really was." On the Democratic side, Hillary Clinton claimed new headway on the eve of a South Carolina Democratic primary that she's expected to win handily. "I think it does take me a little bit longer to get into the rhythm of campaign- ing," she said on MSNBC's "Morning Joe." "We hit our stride in Nevada. Our mes- sage of breaking all barriers is really beginning to take hold. I really felt we were on an upward trajectory." Even if the Republican- backed Trump attacks don't work in the short-term, Clinton suggested he'd be vulnerable as the GOP nom- inee in the fall. "When it moves to the general election, I think you're going to see a real se- riousness," she said, "with people turning and saying, 'What do we know about this man?'" PRESIDENTIAL RACE Trump wins Christie's support in race laced with insults TOMFOX—THEDALLASMORNINGNEWSVIAAP New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, right, introduced Republican presidential candidate Donald J. Trump a er endorsing him before a rally at the Fort Worth Convention Center in Fort Worth,Texas, on Friday. By David Eggert The Associated Press LANSING, MICH. Gov. Rick Snyder's newest release of state emails and documents related to Flint's water di- saster indicates that his aides' reluctance to brief him, his own mismanage- ment — or both — led to de- lays in addressing the pub- lic health threat. A full year before his ad- ministration helped the city reconnect to Lake Huron water after lead contamina- tion was exposed, two top advisers were already ad- vocating the move, citing E. coli and a General Mo- tors plant's rusting parts. Snyder's chief legal counsel even told the chief of staff that using Flint River wa- ter was "downright scary." Yet the Republican gov- ernor insists the warnings — weeks before his re-elec- tion — were never given di- rectly to him, and state of- ficials decided then that it would cost too much to re- join Detroit's system. With documents reveal- ing such discussions in Sny- der's inner circle, even the governor's allies acknowl- edge how badly the issue seems to have been han- dled. "The right people were raising the right issues, they were sounding the alarms," said John Truscott, a pub- lic relations strategist who was the spokesman for for- mer GOP Gov. John Engler. "Why wasn't it followed through on?" Snyder has apologized but refused to resign over his administration's role in the water crisis. The tainted water has left children with elevated lead levels, which have been linked to learn- ing disabilities and other problems. He has also re- assigned top spokespeople and fired regulators that a task force concluded were responsible for not deploy- ing corrosion controls after the April 2014 switch, which let lead leach from aging pipes into some homes. "We didn't connect all the dots that I wish we would have," Snyder said Friday in Flint, where he signed into law $30 mil- lion in state aid to partially cover the water bills of res- idents and businesses go- ing back about two years. "That's where I'm kicking myself every day." The newly released emails detail how Snyder failed to get a handle on the crisis over the course of a year: • In October 2014, senior policy adviser and deputy legal counsel Valerie Brader emailed other top Snyder officials asking to request that Flint's state-appointed emergency manger return to buying water from De- troit's water system. She alluded to problems with a carcinogenic disinfectant byproduct, known as trih- alomethane — 2½ months before the public was noti- fied. • Chief legal counsel Mike Gadola quickly re- sponded to the email to concur, telling chief of staff Dennis Muchmore and oth- ers that using Flint River water was "downright scary" and noting that his mother lived in Flint. "Nice to know she's drinking wa- ter with elevated chlorine levels and fecal coliform," he said. "I agree with Val- erie. They should try to get back on the Detroit system as a stopgap ASAP before this thing gets too far out of control." Muchmore, who now works for a law firm, told the Detroit Free Press that he and the others had dis- cussed their concerns with the governor. "We shared them," he said. • Snyder's office became aware of a spike in Gene- see County Legionnaires' cases in January 2015, two months earlier than previ- ously thought, and a full year before he disclosed two waves of the deadly out- break to the public. CONTAMINATION Snyder lawyer called Flint water 'scary' before lead crisis, according to records ONLY15MINUTESFROM RED BLUFF. . . DRIVE A LITTLE, SAVE A LOT!! 20804 Front Street • Cottonwood (530) 527-0100 - 347-1024 HOURS: MON.-FRI. 9AM-5:30PM • SAT 9AM-4PM A-Z APPLIANCE YourCompleteDiscountHomeApplianceCenter On a qualifying Frigidaire ® purchase March 16 to March 22, 2016. See store for details. SAME OR NEXT DAY DELIVERY | NEWS | REDBLUFFDAILYNEWS.COM SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2016 8 A