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The governor of Puerto Rico said in a televised address Monday that the island cannot pay back more than $70 billion in debt, setting up an unprecedented financial crisis that could rock the municipal bond market and lead to higher borrowing costs for governments across the United States. “This is not about politics,” said Puerto Rico’s governor, Alejandro Garcia Padilla. “It’s about math.” “The first step is to revive economic growth...We will never get out of this vicious cycle,” said Garcia Padilla. “But we need to do more—much more—to return to riches and to become more competitive and have an...

While the Supreme Court of the United States ruled Friday that same-sex marriage is legal in all 50 states, several religious leaders in Corsicana said Monday they will not hold a same-sex wedding service in their churches. ... Pastors of several churches cited Biblical teachings for their stance. ...

The Navy is weighing whether to have Marines hitch a ride on foreign warships, citing a shortage of U.S. vessels due to recent budget cuts -- raising bipartisan security concerns about the leverage this could give other countries. A key concern is whether a warship host nation could deny Marines permission to come ashore. "Ceding our amphibious ships to other countries -- it's almost silly and I can't believe it is even an option for the Navy," said Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., who served as a Marine in Iraq. "Now we are going to have to ask other countries, much...

States not permitted to alter federal voter registration form to require proof of citizenship. The Supreme Court today refused to accept a case which sought to allow states to supplement a federal voter registration form so as to require proof of citizenship to vote. Such proof is particularly important given how freely many states are handing out drivers licenses to illegal immigrants, and the Obama administration’s unilateral implementation of quasi-amnesty deferrals (some of which were stopped in court). It’s just not enough anymore that someone is here legally (or at least, is not being deported) [Snip] This is not just...

Ted Cruz continued his verbal assault on last week’s historic Supreme Court decisions on Monday, saying the justices who ruled in favor of Obamacare and gay marriage “rewrote the Constitution.” “They joined a team, they put on bright-blue Obama jerseys and they rewrote the law,” the U.S. senator from Texas told Yahoo News’ Katie Couric during a live sit-down interview from Yahoo’s New York City studios. “Those decisions are a threat to our democracy.” Cruz slammed Chief Justice John Roberts, who wrote the majority opinion in the Obamacare case on behalf of what the 2016 Republican presidential hopeful called “five...

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court ruled on Monday that Arizona’s voters were entitled to try to make the process of drawing congressional district lines less partisan. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg wrote the majority opinion in the 5-to-4 decision. She was joined by Justices Anthony M. Kennedy, Stephen G. Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan. The case, Arizona State Legislature v. Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission, No. 13-1314, concerned an independent commission created by Arizona voters in 2000. About a dozen states have experimented with redistricting commissions that have varying degrees of independence from the state legislatures, which ordinarily draw election maps. Arizona’s commission is most...

TEHRAN, Jun. 29 (MNA) – An Iranian MP revealed that Barack Obama has sent a secret message to Iranian authorities just a few days ahead of recent nuclear negotiations in Vienna. Iranian daily Hamshahri reported on its Monday issue that US President Barack Obama has sent another secret message to Iranian authorities through leaders of one of Iran’s neighboring countries. The newspaper has quoted Tehran’s representative and Parliament Board member Mehrdad Bazrpash as saying that the message has been delivered in recent days by the leader of Iran’s neighbor and highlighted that the letter has been on nuclear issue. While...

A Time For Truth Isn’t Just The Name Of Sen. Cruz’s New BookRove Today: “When Mr. Cruz and I talked in 2009, I was not raising money for the Bush Library, nor was former President Bush 43 going to endorse some unnamed Dallas state representative for state attorney general, nor were any library donors “berating” me.”Rove in 2009: “[T]he distress you mention is not mine or 43 — it is the people raising money for the library who are also Branch fans and will not understand why one part of the Bush family is for not-the-guy while they are raising...

...The Constitution is silent on the question of marriage because marriage has always been a local issue. Our founding fathers went to the local courthouse to be married, not to Washington, D.C. I’ve often said I don’t want my guns or my marriage registered in Washington. Those who disagree with the recent Supreme Court ruling argue that the court should not overturn the will of legislative majorities. Those who favor the Supreme Court ruling argue that the 14th Amendment protects rights from legislative majorities. Do consenting adults have a right to contract with other consenting adults? Supporters of the Supreme...

In early 1989, seven weeks after his father moved into the White House, Jeb Bush took a trip to Nigeria. Nearly 100,000 Nigerians turned out to see him over four days as he accompanied the executives of a Florida company called Moving Water Industries, which had just retained Bush to market the firm’s pumps. Escorted by the U.S. ambassador to Nigeria, Bush met with the nation’s political and religious leaders as part of an MWI effort to land a deal that would be worth $80 million. Jeb Bush reminded Nigerians who his father was In 1989, Jeb Bush traveled to...

DENVER — Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry may not agree with Colorado’s decision to legalize recreational marijuana, but he said Saturday he will defend the state’s right to make a hash of things. Speaking at the Western Conservative Summit, Mr. Perry made a vigorous defense for the states’ role as “laboratories of democracy,” in the words of the late U.S. Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis, even if it means sticking up for Colorado’s retail pot market. “Let this country compete again. I am so optimistic about the future of America if we would free up these states from this one-size-fits-all,”...

Commentators have missed the real significance of Justice Antonin Scalia’s dissent in the gay marriage case. He calls the decision a judicial “Putsch,” an attempt to overthrow a form of government—ours. His dissent, joined by Justice Clarence Thomas, was written “to call attention to this Court’s threat to American democracy.” Scalia understands the power and meaning of words and he chose the word “putsch” for a specific purpose. Hence, Scalia is saying this was not only a blatant power grab and the creation of a “right” that does not exist, but a decision that depends on public ignorance about what...

From the article "I am not adding much commentary to this, because I really think little is necessary. I am busy trying to find a hand hold on our slippery slope, because I fear my nation is falling into an abyss. Excerpted from the Northern Colorado Gazette: Using the same tactics used by “gay” rights activists, pedophiles have begun to seek similar status arguing their desire for children is a sexual orientation no different than heterosexual or homosexuals."

U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz on Saturday said county clerks in Texas should "absolutely" be able to opt out of issuing same-sex marriage licenses if they have religious objections. "Ours is a country that was built by men and women fleeing religious oppression," Cruz said in an interview with The Texas Tribune, "and you look at the foundation of this country — it was to seek out a new land where anyone of us could worship the Lord God Almighty with all of our hearts, minds and souls, without government getting in the way." The interview followed a major speech here...

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), a 2016 presidential hopeful, says GOP leaders want to divide conservative primary voters so that a moderate candidate will end up being the party’s nominee. "The last thing the Republican leaders in Washington want to see is millions of Americans across the country mobilizing and coalescing around one strong conservative candidate," he told a crowd of 200 supporters in Iowa on Saturday, according to the Sioux City Journal. Senior Republicans want the party’s various factions at each other’s throats so "once again, they run right up the middle with 24 percent and nominate an establishment moderate...

Today marks what could be considered one of the most controversial days in the history of the United States of America. If you haven’t heard, the Supreme Court has decided that same-sex marriage is now a Constitutional right and that traditional marriage between one man and one woman is no longer the definition of marriage.There is one state (and if you have read my articles before, you know which one I’m talking about) that is already leading the way, in essence combating SCOTUS and their disastrous decision. Of course, I’m talking about the Lone Star State.In a directive issued in...

BALTIMORE (AP) -- Baltimore State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby wants a judge to order a separate trial for two of the six officers charged in the death of Freddie Gray. In a motion filed Friday, Mosby asked a judge to allow two officers, William Porter and Lt. Brian Rice, to be tried separately from the four others. Porter and Rice are each charged with reckless endangerment, misconduct in office, second-degree assault and manslaughter, which is a felony. Mosby's motion does not explain her strategy for trying Porter and Rice separately from the others. Sgt. Alicia White faces the same charges as...

With the Supreme Court’s historic ruling that effectively legalizes same-sex marriage in all 50 states, the 2016 presidential candidates really have no choice today but to comment on the decision from one angle of another. Here’s what they had to say. Hillary Clinton was quick out of the gate with a personal statement, followed by a rebranding of her campaign logo that has already been retweeted more than 20,000 times:

The editorial board of PennLive/The Patriot-News in Harrisburg, Pa. is taking a hardcore stance against those who disagree with the Supreme Court ruling to legalize gay marriage. “As a result of Friday’s ruling, PennLive/The Patriot-News will no longer accept, nor will it print, op-Eds and letters to the editor in opposition to same-sex marriage,” they declared. After receiving strong pushback, the newspaper’s editorial board, which is overseen by Editorial Page Editor John Micek, quickly revised its policy. Freedom of speech will be allowed — but only for a “limited” period of time. Micek explained on Twitter: “Clarification: We will not...

Louis Farrakhan stated “We need to put the American flag down. Because we’ve caught as much hell under that as the Confederate flag” in remarks before the Metropolitan AME Church in Washington, DC on Wednesday first reported by DC’s WMAL. Farrakhan said, “White folks march with you because they don’t want you upsetting the city, they don’t give a damn about them nine.” He added that when the police took suspected shooter Dylann Roof to Burger King they were saying “You did a good job. Kill all them [bleep.]”