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Adam in the News

March 09, 2015

Republican senators warn Iran in open letter

Republican senators want to give Iranian leaders - and the president - a refresher on the constitutional balance of power. In a highly unusual move, a group of 47 Republicans in the upper chamber has written to Iran's top leaders to let them know that any nuclear deal they reach with the United States would be "nothing more than an executive agreement." Freshman Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) organized the letter, which features signatures from top Republican Senate leadership and potential … Continue Reading


March 08, 2015

Hillary Clinton Emails Test Budding Campaign’s Ties With White House

WASHINGTON-Hillary Clinton's exclusive use of private email as secretary of state is testing relations between her emerging campaign and the Obama White House, and their responses could set the tone for how the two Democratic Party powerhouses interact during the next 20 months. The contrasting reactions to the disclosure grew starker over the weekend when President Barack Obama answered questions on the matter, while Mrs. Clinton hasn't. Criticism of the former senator and first lady's … Continue Reading


March 06, 2015

Funding for DNA Lab Moves Forward

The nonprofit Community Foundation of the Verdugos is hoping to sustain the Verdugo Regional Crime Laboratory's funding through an initiative that is more than halfway to its $250,000 goal. Titled the Glendale-Burbank DNA Justice Project, the Foundation seeks to raise funds to help the laboratory purchase more equipment for DNA analysis at a time when the lab's federal funding is running out. Located at Glendale Police Dept. headquarters, the Verdugo Regional Crime Laboratory has served the … Continue Reading


March 06, 2015

Schiff cautious regarding Iran deal

U.S. Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) on Tuesday called for caution regarding the U.S.-Iran nuclear negotiations after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed Congress on the matter. Netanyahu said a proposed U.S.-Iran deal had major flaws, including that it would leave Iran's nuclear infrastructure largely intact and a sunset provision would allow Iran to gradually escape most restrictions on its nuclear activities after 10 years. "This morning, Prime Minister Netanyahu laid out the … Continue Reading


March 05, 2015

Lawmakers press Obama for 'lethal aid' to Ukraine

Senior House members wrote to President Barack Obama on Thursday to push the White House to supply "lethal aid" to Ukraine to combat the growing strength of Russian-backed rebels in the eastern part of the country. The letter to Obama, signed by eight Republicans and three Democrats, follows high-level meetings that Speaker John Boehner and House members held last week with lawmakers from the Ukrainian Rada, or parliament. The Ukrainian politicians urged more forceful action from the United … Continue Reading


March 02, 2015

Congressman Schiff ‘Takes His Leave’ With Leonard Nimoy

Friday, Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Burbank) submitted a continuation of remarks to the congressional record in the U.S. House of Representatives: "I rise today to celebrate the life of Leonard Nimoy of Los Angeles, California, who passed away on the morning of February 27, 2015, at the age of 83. "Leonard Nimoy, best known for his iconic role as Mr. Spock in the popular science fiction television series and motion picture franchise Star Trek, was born on March 26, 1931 in Boston, Massachusetts, … Continue Reading


February 26, 2015

Coalition Urges Congress To Rein In Sweeping 2001 War Authorization

WASHINGTON -- As Congress turns its attention to President Barack Obama's request to use military force against the Islamic State, more than a dozen groups are urging lawmakers to rein in a sweeping 2001 war authorization that never expired and is being used to justify open-ended military operations. The American Civil Liberties Union, National Security Network and Constitution Project are among 16 groups that sent a letter to lawmakers on Tuesday demanding that they revise Obama's war … Continue Reading


February 26, 2015

Assyrians in California to pray for those kidnapped, threatened by ISIS

The woman who entered St. Mary's Assyrian Church of the East on Thursday morning kissed the foot of a cross, then cried out a tearful plea. "Please, God, please help the innocent," she said in an ancient language inside the San Fernando Valley church. "Please save them." Her prayers reflect an ache that has settled into the hearts and minds of Assyrians far and wide since Monday, when the Islamic State, also known as ISIS, pillaged three dozen Assyrian Christian villages along the Khabur … Continue Reading


February 26, 2015

Southland leaders urge release of Rim of the Valley Corridor study draft

In a letter sent yesterday, Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Burbank), along with Reps. Judy Chu (D-Pasadena) and Ted Lieu (D-Torrance), urged the National Park Service to release the Rim of the Valley Corridor Special Resource Study draft, stating the report was completed months ago, but is stuck in "bureaucratic limbo." The Reps. expressed their "strong concern over repeated and lengthy delays in the issuance of the Rim of the Valley Corridor Special Resource Study and the repeated failure of the … Continue Reading


February 26, 2015

Planetary Science and the Great Adventure

In December, NASA launched its first unmanned test flight of the Orion spacecraft, which will eventually take astronauts to an asteroid and Mars. Think about that for a second - what was only dreamt about in science fiction novels and films will become a reality within the lifetime of many of us. But while this is an historic step in manned spaceflight, there's still a long way to go before we can land an astronaut on the surface of Mars. The next test flight of the Orion capsule and the … Continue Reading


February 25, 2015

3 planned to kill in U.S. if unable to join Islamic State, FBI says

Two men were arrested Wednesday in New York as they allegedly prepared to join Islamic State militants in Syria, while a third man was arrested in Florida for allegedly helping fund their efforts, after they boasted of their plans on the Internet. The three, all immigrants from Central Asia who live in Brooklyn, N.Y., allegedly plotted to launch attacks in this country if they were prevented from joining the extremist group, according to a criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court in … Continue Reading


February 23, 2015

Will we see a left-right alliance against broad warmaking authority for Obama?

With Senators and Members of the House returning from recess, one looming question is whether Congress will figure out a way to pass a measure authorizing President Obama's escalation against the Islamic State. Coming a mere six months after that escalation began, this whole episode is already suffused with absurdity. But passing something might make it marginally less absurd, which is all we can hope for at this point. Politico today quotes a number of liberal Democrats who are threatening … Continue Reading


February 23, 2015

Obama open to changes to military authority against IS

WASHINGTON (AP) - President Barack Obama is open to negotiating with Congress on his request for new authorization for military force against Islamic State militants, including his proposed three-year time limit on U.S. military action and the use of American troops, according to the White House. After a weeklong holiday break, lawmakers return to Washington on Monday and start work on Obama's request. Some Republicans say Obama's proposal is too restrictive for the mission to succeed. On … Continue Reading


February 18, 2015

California lawmaker introduces bipartisan resolution in favor of measles vaccine

The number of confirmed measles cases continued to climb in California this week, and the spread across the nation prompted legislators to introduce a bipartisan resolution Friday to urge vaccination. U.S. Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Burbank), along with Charlie Dent (R-Pa.), Thomas Marino (R-Pa.) and Peter Welch (D-Vermont), introduced the "Vaccines Save Lives" resolution with support from 90 other members of Congress. Since December, there have been 113 confirmed measles cases reported in … Continue Reading


February 15, 2015

Democratic Rep: Congress Shouldn't Give Obama A 'Blank Check' On War

Congress should act to pass an authorization to use military force against the Islamic State, but should also be wary of granting the president a "blank check," Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), the ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence committee, argued Sunday on ABC's "This Week." Last week, six months after the start of the U.S. military campaign against the Islamic State, Obama sent a proposed Authorization for Use of Military Force to Congress that authorizes three years of military … Continue Reading


February 14, 2015

Islamic State Sprouting Limbs Beyond Its Base

WASHINGTON - The Islamic State is expanding beyond its base in Syria and Iraq to establish militant affiliates in Afghanistan, Algeria, Egypt and Libya, American intelligence officials assert, raising the prospect of a new global war on terror. Intelligence officials estimate that the group's fighters number 20,000 to 31,500 in Syria and Iraq. There are less formal pledges of support from "probably at least a couple hundred extremists" in countries such as Jordan, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, … Continue Reading


February 13, 2015

Netanyahu's U.S. speech drives a wedge between Democrats, Israel

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's planned address to Congress next month is driving an uncomfortable and rarely seen wedge between congressional Democrats and Israel - and that may have been exactly what House Speaker John A. Boehner and other Republicans intended. For many Democrats, and especially the more than two dozen Jewish members of Congress, Boehner's decision to invite Netanyahu to speak about Iran's nuclear program - despite objections from the White House - is forcing them to … Continue Reading


February 12, 2015

Congress should refine Obama's request for war against Islamic State

When President Obama went on national television in September to announce that he was going to war against Islamic State, he said, in what seemed like a throwaway line, that he welcomed "congressional support for this effort." On Wednesday, to his credit, he went further and proposed specific language for a new three-year Authorization for Use of Military Force - although he continued to insist that "existing statutes" give him all the authority he needs. Even if Obama doesn't want to admit … Continue Reading


February 11, 2015

Obama’s proposal targeting ISIS evokes hope, concern from local lawmakers

Southland congressional leaders voiced strong concerns Wednesday with the language and scope of President Barack Obama's proposal to authorize limited military force against Islamic State fighters, though they welcomed the idea in principle. If approved by Congress, the authorization would be limited to three years and would not allow "enduring offensive ground combat." It would be the first war powers vote in more than a decade. "My biggest concern is that a future president would feel … Continue Reading


February 11, 2015

Obama asks Congress for 'flexibility' in fight against Islamic State

President Obama asked Congress on Wednesday to formally authorize military operations against Islamic State militants and sought the ability to use ground troops in limited situations, though he said that long-term deployment of U.S. ground forces isn't necessary to defeat the terrorist organization. The draft resolution seeking authorization for use of force says the extremist group poses a "grave threat" to Iraq, Syria and stability in the region as well as U.S. national security … Continue Reading

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