Jeff Sessions confirmed for AG

Jeff Sessions survived a ferocious confirmation hearing and has become the country's newest Attorney General.

The Times'  ERIC LICHTBLAU/MATT FLEGENHEIMER: "Republican Sen. Jeff Sessions of Alabama was confirmed on Wednesday as President Trump’s attorney general, capping a bitter and racially charged nomination battle that crested with the procedural silencing of a leading Democrat, Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, who had criticized the Alabama senator from the Senate floor."

"Sessions survived a near-party-line vote, 52-47, the latest sign of the extreme partisanship at play as Trump strains to install his cabinet. No Republicans broke ranks in their support of a colleague who will become the nation’s top law enforcement official after two decades in the Senate. Sessions won the support of just one Democrat, Joe Manchin of West Virginia."

"But the confirmation process — ferocious even by the standards of moldering decorum that have defined the body’s recent years — laid bare the Senate’s deep divisions at the outset of the Trump presidency."

Speaking of controversy, ranking Republicans are calling for lawmakers to throw caution to the wind and craft an Obamacare repeal, ASAP.

KHN's JULIE ROVNER: "Leading conservative Republicans from the House and Senate say Congress is moving too slowly on efforts to “repeal and replace” the Affordable Care Act. But their potential resistance to compromise — even with other members of their own party — underscores just how hard a task Republicans have set for themselves."

"We think it’s time to do something, and that’s to get rid of this law,” Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, told reporters at an event sponsored by the conservative Heritage Foundation. “The biggest problem with waiting is that’s not what we told the voters.”

"Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, one of the leading conservative voices in that chamber, said he will vigorously oppose efforts for Republicans to wait until they have a plan ready to replace the law before they repeal it. “There is a lot less agreement about what comes next,” he said. “If we load down the repeal bill with what comes next, it’s harder to get both of them passed.”

READ MORE related to Health: Mike Lee: Obamacare must be repealed first, replaced later -- WSJ's MICHELLE HACKMAN/LOUISE RADNOFSKY; Industry giants Anthem, Centene among the lowest-rated Medicaid plans in California -- California Healthline's CHAD TERHUNE; Threat of losing Obamacare turns some formerly apolitical Californians into protesters -- California Healthline's ANA B. IBARRA; LA County women are getting healthier, study finds, but poverty and homelessness rise -- Daily News' SUSAN ABRAM; Trump admin. weighs health insurance 'stabilization' -- AP's RICARDO ALONSO-ZALDIVAR

Meanwhile, Congress is trying to eliminate retirement security for low-income workers.

L.A. Times' EVAN HALPER: "An ambitious California law intended to help create retirement security for low-income workers is in the crosshairs of the Trump-era Congress, which is moving to block the state and others from launching programs to automatically enroll millions of people in IRA-type savings plans."

"The push is one of the most direct confrontations yet with California and other liberal states by a GOP-led Congress emboldened by President Trump’s election."

"And it is intensifying the debate about whether conservatives who now control Washington will honor their pledge to respect states’ rights, even when states pursue policies out of step with the Republican agenda."
 

Speaking of Congress, Rep. Duncan Hunter is catching some serious flack for his recent behavior.

Union-Tribune's MORGAN COOK: "Rep. Duncan Hunter’s campaign continued in the last quarter of 2016 to spend money on “food/beverages” at a cigar lounge in his district, where he was photographed apparently smoking a Cuban cigar on election night."

"Hunter’s financial disclosure report, filed last week with the Federal Election Commission, shows his campaign spent $404 at Alpine Tobacco Company Cigar and Wine Bar in Alpine in November. The spending is in addition to the $3,018 Hunter’s campaign has reported spending on “food/beverages” at that smoking lounge and two others since April 2015."

"Hunter’s campaign spending has come under scrutiny by the Office of Congressional Ethics since the FEC and The San Diego Union-Tribune first raised questions last April. He has reimbursed his campaign for more than $60,000 his office identified as personal, mistaken or insufficiently documented. None of the tobacco expenses have been reimbursed."

READ MORE related to Down-Ballot: L.A. rebound fuels Garcetti run for reelection despite mixed record -- L.A. Times' STAFF
 

Some bills in California pushing for economic and educational benefits for refugees are making their way 'round the Legislature.

Sacramento Bee's ALEXEI KOSEFF: "As the nation awaits a court ruling on President Donald Trump’s executive order temporarily barring refugees from entering the United States, California lawmakers had a different message Wednesday: You are welcome here."

"A trio of Assembly Democrats – Kevin McCarty of Sacramento, Lorena Gonzalez of San Diego and Adrin Nazarian of Los Angeles – announced legislation that aims to ease the arrival and assimilation of refugees in this state, which has resettled more than 100,000 people over the past 15 years."

"We stand here today with one clear voice and one clear message: We want to welcome refugees,” McCarty said."

READ MORE related to Immigration: The furor over Trump's travel ban shows his gift for catchphrases might have a downside -- L.A. Times' NOAH BIERMAN

Sen. Elizabeth Warren ignored warnings to curb impugning speech during a debate for Sessions' confirmation -- a decision that ultimately earned her a swift rebuke by the Senate's GOP majority -- but Kamala Harris wasn't willing to let Warren be silenced without a fight.

The Chronicle's CAROLYN LOCHHEAD: "When Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell ordered Sen. Elizabeth Warren to “take a seat” and stop talking late Tuesday night, he did more than cause Warren’s argument to be broadcast far beyond the empty chamber she was addressing. He also managed to infuriate Senate newcomer Kamala Harris of California, who jumped to Warren’s defense and made her first big splash on the national stage."

"Harris was among the first to take the floor after the incident, demanding a vote on a motion to allow Warren to continue to speak against President Trump’s nominee for attorney general, Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala."

"The vote failed on party lines, but the spectacle of a male Republican ordering a female colleague to sit and be quiet erupted in a Harris tweet storm under the hashtags #LetHerSpeak and #ShePersisted, followed by national newspaper headlines and nonstop cable TV coverage. Wednesday night, the Senate voted to confirm Sessions."

Speaking of Kamala Harris, she is introducing her first legislation as California's newest U.S. Senator, aimed at allowing refugees the right to legal counsel.

The Chronicle's CAROLYN LOCHHEAD: "California Sen. Kamala Harris will introduce her first bill in the Senate on Thursday to guarantee legal counsel for refugees and other travelers blocked at U.S. ports of entry, a bill intended to address the chaos that engulfed people trying to enter the country in the face of President Trump’s travel ban."

"Trump’s Jan. 27 executive order banned U.S. entry for 90 days for anyone from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria or Yemen. It also placed a 120-day ban on all U.S. admission of refugees who are fleeing violence and persecution in their home countries and indefinitely suspended admission of refugees from Syria."

"Several courts have blocked it and the order is currently under review by a three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco. Any ruling is expected to be appealed to the Supreme Court."

Sacramento is in for one more drenching deluge before the wet weather subsides, at least temporarily.

Sacramento Bee's BILL LINDELOF: "The last in a series of three storms is predicted to arrive Thursday in Sacramento before the weekend is bathed not in buckets of rainfall but warm, sunny weather."

"Showers are forecast for Wednesday in Northern California as rain has mostly abated from the Monday-Tuesday storm. Gusty afternoon winds could develop."

"Just after 2 p.m. Wednesday, Highway 50 was closed at Sawmill Road due to flooding, the city of South Lake Tahoe reports. Spooner Summit, on the Nevada side of Highway 50, is also closed because of a rock slide, causing backups in both direction of the highway, according to the city."

READ MORE related to Environment: How will California battle climate change? A new proposal revs up debate over cap-and-trade program --  L.A.'s mayor wants to lower the city's temperature, and these scientists are figuring out how to do it -- L.A. Times' DEBORAH NETBURN; Despite deluge, California water regulations aren't going anywhere -- The Chronicle's MICHAEL BODLEY; California extends emergency drought regulations despite heavy rain, snow -- Sacramento Bee's PHILLIP REESE; Crater in Oroville Dam spillway will continue to grow, officials warn, as reservoir levels climb -- Sacramento Bee's DALE KASLER/RYAN SABALOW/PHILLIP REESE; Flood warning issued as Bay Area braces for Thursday storm -- The Chronicle's SARAH RAVANI/MICHAEL BODLEY; Art Rosenfeld, 'godfather' of energy efficiency, dies at 90 -- Daily News; California's water-savings regulation extended -- Press-Enterprise's SUZANNE HURT; Dense fog shrouding roadways, delaying flights in Southern California -- Daily News

Low-income students pining for Advanced Placement courses just got dealt a swift kick to the gut: elimination of a federal subsidy that reduced testing costs.

EdSource's FERMIN LEAL: "Some low-income students in California could face a steep fee increase for Advanced Placement exams this spring following the elimination of a federal subsidy."

"The cost for each AP exam for these students could climb from $5 or $15 to $53 because of a provision in the federal Every Student Succeeds Act that eliminated the Advanced Placement Test Fee Program."

"Last year, the national program provided $28 million to states to help subsidize the cost of AP exams for low-income students."

READ MORE related to Education: New website provides information about Common Core materials -- EdSource's THERESA HARRINGTON; State urged to shift $1 billion from county education offices to school districts -- EdSource's JOHN FENSTERWALD; Michigan Republican resigns after UC Berkeley protest tweet -- AP

The Army has granted Energy Transfer Partners the greenlight to finish construction on the Dakota Access oil pipeline.

AP: "The company building the Dakota Access oil pipeline said it plans to resume work immediately to finish the long-stalled project."

"The Army on Wednesday granted the developer of the four-state oil pipeline formal permission to lay pipe under a Missouri River reservoir in North Dakota, clearing the way for completion of the $3.8 billion project."

"We plan to begin immediately," Vicki Granado, a spokeswoman for developer Energy Transfer Partners, said in an email to The Associated Press Wednesday night."

READ MORE related to Economy: Immigrants fueled LA economy to tune of $232.9B in 2014 -- Daily News' ELIZABETH CHOU; Twitter stock plunges after fourth-quarter sales disappoint -- EBT's QUEENIE WONG; Average asking rents rise 5 percent in LA to $1,775 a month -- Daily News' JEFF COLLINS; Trump loves Twitter, Wall Street not so much -- AP

Late-night freight on the railroad has local residents in a frenzy.

Sacramento Bee's TONY BIZJAK: "After years of silence, freight trains have begun sounding their horns through central Sacramento in recent weeks, often in the middle of the night, waking residents and upsetting officials who point out that Sacramento is a federally approved “no horn” zone."

"Robert Wilson, who lives near the train tracks in midtown Sacramento, is among those who say they have been startled from sleep in the past two weeks by long blasts of train horns as locomotives pass through midtown."

"Neighbors have bags under their eyes,” Wilson said. One train hit its horn this week a few feet from his residence at 1:45 a.m., “as loud as you can imagine."

Elk Grove city council has voted to repeal a property ordinance destined for gaming.

Sacramento Bee's CATHY LOcKE/HUDSON SANGREE: "Elk Grove City Council members voted Tuesday night to repeal an ordinance from October that allowed the Howard Hughes Corp. to sell 35 acres of land to the Wilton Rancheria Indian tribe for a casino."

"The council vote eliminates the need for a costly voter referendum on whether the October ordinance, which altered the city’s development agreement with Hughes, should stand. Casino opponents had submitted 14,900 signatures in support of a ballot referendum that would overturn the council's decision, nearly 6,000 more than necessary."

"I’ve heard loud and clear,” the public’s opposition to the October change, Mayor Steve Ly said before casting his vote to repeal the ordinance, in which he was joined by all the other council members who voted. Councilman Patrick Hume recused himself from the matter."

Oakland's newest police chief is setting a record already: the highest base pay of any police chief in the city's history.

The Chronicle's KIMBERLY VEKLEROV: "Oakland’s choice to head its beleaguered police department will get the highest base pay of any police chief in city history."

"Not only will incoming Chief Anne Kirkpatrick have the largest base salary of any top cop in Oakland — at $270,000 — her total compensation package includes a bump for various degrees and other premiums, dictated by an agreement between the Oakland Police Management Association and the city."