O'Malley, Van Hollen top Democratic list to replace Mikulski

All eyes are on former Maryland governor Martin O’Malley and a trio of Democrats in Congress, as both parties scramble to find candidates to replace Barbara Mikulski in the Senate.

Much of the speculation is on the Democratic side, given the state’s blue political tint and the party’s dominance at the ballot box in presidential election years. But Republicans were buoyed by Gov. Larry Hogan’s surprise victory in November and are vowing to field a candidate who can make the 2016 race competitive.

O’Malley, who left the governor’s office in January after two terms, would be a formidable Senate candidate if he decided to skip a race for the Democratic presidential nomination against Hillary Rodham Clinton. He has name recognition, a bulging list of contacts across the country who can help him raise money, and a base in Baltimore where African-American voters are key.

Reps. Donna Edwards and John Sarbanes are the other Democrats in Congress whose names are tossed out as possible Senate candidates. Edwards is the first black woman to represent Maryland in Congress and represents Prince George’s County in the Washington suburbs. Sarbanes, who represents the Baltimore suburbs and Annapolis, is the son of a longtime U.S. senator.



http://onpolitics.usatoday.com/2015/03/02/mikulski-senate-maryland-replacement/

U.S. manufacturing sector had its best gains since October

U.S. stocks traded higher on Monday as investors digested Chinese economic news and U.S. manufacturing data.

"The news out of China cutting its benchmark interest rate and better-than-expected inflation news out of the euro zone are providing a lift to the U S market," Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Rockwell Global Capital, said in a note. "However, it's the beginning of a very intense week of domestic economic data which we see steering the indices."

ISM Manufacturing for February and construction spending data are due at 10 a.m. ET.

The U.S. manufacturing sector had its best gains since October, according to Mark's final Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index that rose to 55.1 in February from 53.9 in January.


http://www.cnbc.com/id/102468007

Rubio advisors telling Florida Republicans to start looking for candidates.

Rubio's advisers have told party leaders that they should expect to recruit a candidate to run for his Senate seat in 2016, according to four people involved in the talks, who discussed the private conversation on the condition of anonymity because Rubio has not notified the National Republican Senatorial Committee of his plans.

At the same time, Rubio's team is preparing for a national campaign. His top political adviser and likely campaign manager, Terry Sullivan, has been recruiting operatives — including Jim Merrill, who ran Romney's New Hampshire campaigns and was at Rubio's side for a two-day visit to the state last week. Spokesman Alex Conant is leaving Rubio's Senate office this week to begin work at his political action committee.

"When you consider doing something like that, you can't just decide to do it and then start working," Rubio said. "You have to have conditions in place to move forward. Some of them are very similar to the ones we'd have to take anyway if we ran for Senate. Others are different."


http://news.yahoo.com/floridas-rubio-close-decision-presidential-run-081416772--election.html

Monday: Personal Income and Outlays, ISM Mfg, Construction Spending

Monday:
• At 8:30 AM ET, Personal Income and Outlays for January. The consensus is for a 0.4% increase in personal income, and for a 0.1% decrease in personal spending. And for the Core PCE price index to increase 0.1%.

• At 10:00 AM, the ISM Manufacturing Index for February. The consensus is for a decrease to 53.0 from 53.5 in January. The ISM manufacturing index indicated expansion in January at 53.5%. The employment index was at 54.1%, and the new orders index was at 52.9%.

• Also at 10:00 AM, Construction Spending for January. The consensus is for a 0.3% increase in construction spending.
Read more at http://www.calculatedriskblog.com/2015/03/monday-personal-income-and-outlays-ism.html#wCHH8QoBTXv78h5z.99


http://www.calculatedriskblog.com/2015/03/monday-personal-income-and-outlays-ism.html

Just finished House of Cards Season 3.....WOW!! (No Spoilers)

If you take all 13 episodes in total, Season Three was Kevin Spacey's finest moment as an actor. I still have goosebumps all over.

Leonard Nimoy in "In Search Of..."

Feingold actively considering comeback bid.

WASHINGTON -- Russ Feingold has been reaching out to supporters in recent weeks to discuss a 2016 Senate bid to retake his old seat from Republican Ron Johnson, sources with knowledge of the calls told The Huffington Post.

The progressive Wisconsin Democrat was wiped out of the Senate in the tea party wave of 2010, but since then, many supporters have been keeping their fingers crossed that he'd run again -- in a presidential election year likely to be more favorable to Democrats.

Multiple sources who spoke on the condition of anonymity told HuffPost that in recent months, Feingold has talked to Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett (D) and Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Wis.), among others.

Feingold will step down in March from his position as the State Department's special envoy for the Great Lakes Region of Africa, the sources indicated, and can't make an announcement before that.


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/02/26/russ-feingold-_n_6761946.html

S. Dakota Republican accuses Common Core of contributing to Native American deaths

A South Dakota lawmaker made the bizarre claim on Tuesday that Common Core educational standards was partly to blame for a rash of deaths among Native Americans, Think Progress reported.

“We’ve buried eight kids down on that reservation in the last week,” state Rep. Elizabeth May (R) said. “We need to sit up and pay attention. I’m not naive enough to think the Common Core is what’s causing all of this, but it’s part of the effect. We’ve got teachers down there who have just quit teaching it.”

May did not mention any specific cases or even name which of the state’s nine reservations where these deaths occurred. She said she had spoken to an unidentified “Indian educator” who opposed Common Core but had not been able to discuss the issue with lawmakers.

Indian Country Today Media Network reported last week that five Ogala Sioux teenagers had committed suicide on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation over the past two months. However, the curriculum was not cited as a possible reason for any of the deaths. Yvonne DeCory, who works with a tribal suicide prevention program, mentioned bullying, poverty and “tenuous family relationships” as factors.


http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2015/02/s-dakota-republican-accuses-common-core-of-contributing-to-native-american-deaths/

‘American Sniper’ Jury Finds Ex-Marine Guilty of Murder

STEPHENVILLE, Tex. — Eddie Ray Routh, the mentally disturbed veteran who killed Chris Kyle, the former Navy SEAL marksman who inspired the movie “American Sniper,” was sentenced Tuesday to life in prison after a jury here found him guilty of murder, rejecting his claims that he was legally insane at the time.

Mr. Routh and his lawyers had argued that he was not guilty by reason of insanity and that he belonged not in prison but at a state mental hospital. His two-week trial for the killings of Mr. Kyle and Mr. Kyle’s friend Chad Littlefield in 2013 centered on Mr. Routh’s state of mind. Jurors had to decide whether Mr. Routh’s erratic behavior, his delusions about hybrid pig people and his heavy drug use were proof of insanity or evidence that he was troubled but criminally responsible.

With the death penalty off the table, the verdict that Mr. Routh was guilty of capital murder left him facing only one possible sentence, and the judge issued it minutes after the verdict was announced — life in prison without parole.

The judge announced the decision in a courtroom just three miles from a movie theater that had been playing “American Sniper” since Mr. Routh’s trial began on Feb. 11. The movie and the trial made for a strange intersection of pop culture and criminal law. The verdict came two days after the movie lost the Academy Award for Best Picture to “Birdman,” and Mr. Kyle’s widow, Taya Kyle, attended the Oscars ceremony in Los Angeles on Sunday, then the closing arguments here on Tuesday.


http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/25/us/american-sniper-trial-jury-finds-ex-marine-guilty-of-murder.html?_r=0

Rubio will not seek re-election

The New York Times reports Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) “is quietly telling donors that he is committed to running for president, not re-election to the Senate.”

He’s expected to make a formal announcement in April.


http://politicalwire.com/2015/02/24/rubio-seems-set-on-presidential-bid/