Updating . .   

Law student files suit against University of San Diego -- A law student at the University of San Diego has filed a lawsuit against two students she says raped her, and against the university for allegedly discouraging her from reporting the assault to police and then doing a poor job of investigating the incident during an administrative hearing. Tony Perry in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/4/15

Superbug outbreak extends to Cedars-Sinai hospital, linked to scope -- Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles said it has discovered that four patients were infected with a deadly superbug from a contaminated medical scope and 64 more people may have been exposed. Chad Terhune in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/4/15

Lawmakers announce renewed push for Medi-Cal funding -- California lawmakers and advocates are gearing up for a new chapter in the battle over the state's healthcare program for the poor. Chris Megerian in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/4/15

Vaccines should be mandatory for California day-care workers, senator says -- A California lawmaker is urging the state to make vaccines mandatory for all adults who work in preschools and day-care centers, a move following the largest measles outbreak in California in 15 years. Rosanna Xia in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/4/15

Darrell Steinberg lands UC Davis post -- Former Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg is joining the ranks of academia – at an institution funded by a measure he championed while in the Legislature. David Siders in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 3/4/15

Jerry Brown finds Democrat to fill Riverside seat -- Riverside is one of the few big California counties where Republicans outnumber Democrats. But Gov. Jerry Brown has found one of his own, announcing Wednesday the appointment of a Democratic Temecula city councilman to the Riverside County Board of Supervisors. David Siders in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 3/4/15

Silicon Valley tech firms step up overseas cash stash as total hits $2.1 trillion -- Eight of the biggest U.S. technology companies added a combined $69 billion to their stockpiled offshore profits over the past year, even as some corporations in other industries felt pressure to bring cash back home. Richard Rubin Bloomberg -- 3/4/15

L.A. election's biggest winner? City Council President Herb Wesson -- In a Los Angeles election with an assortment of winners, no one at City Hall had a more triumphant Tuesday night than Los Angeles City Council President Herb Wesson. David Kahniser and Catherine Sailant in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/4/15

Lack of hot-button issues fueled dismal voter turnout in L.A. election -- The low voter turnout in Tuesday's election can be attributed at least in part to a drama-free ballot without the hot-button issues that bring people to the polls. Alice Walton in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/4/15

California Republicans announce teacher evaluation, employment overhaul -- Saying a major court decision that rejected California’s teacher employment rules compels them to act, Assembly Republicans on Wednesday unveiled a legislative package to overhaul how the state evaluates, dismisses and grants tenure to educators. Jeremy B. White in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 3/4/15

In one month, gas prices in state have surged about $1 a gallon -- California gas prices have shot up about $1 a gallon in the last month as oil refineries have been idled by a labor strike and an explosion. Tiffany Hsu in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/4/15

Gun rights showdown: Sunnyvale restrictions upheld by appeals court -- Sunnyvale's law restricting high-capacity gun magazines is constitutional and justified by legitimate efforts to minimize local gun violence, a federal appeals court ruled on Wednesday. Howard Mintz in the San Jose Mercury$ Maura Dolan in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/4/15

California bill would protect civilians recording police activity -- From the LAPD beating of Rodney King 24 years ago to last year’s death of Eric Garner after a scuffle with New York police officers, bystanders who recorded the incidents on video have allowed the public to see at least some of what happened. Patrick McGreevy in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/4/15

A ghost of Prop. 46 eyed in the Capitol -- California voters, confronted by a multimillion-dollar advertising blitz, overwhelmingly rejected Proposition 46, which would have raised the cap on pain-and-suffering damages in medical malpractices lawsuits. But new legislation in the Capitol targets a slice of Proposition 46, the part dealing with the state’s prescription drug database. Samantha Gallegos Capitol Weekly -- 3/4/15

San Francisco archdiocese teachers overwhelmingly reject moral strictures -- Eighty percent of faculty and staff at the four San Francisco archdiocese high schools subject to the archbishop's new moral strictures have signed a petition rejecting his additions to the handbook for the next school year. Lee Romney in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/4/15

McSwain: Executive pay bill calls out utilities -- How much are executives worth? This loaded question could someday be headed to a public hearing near you. Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez, D-San Diego, has introduced a bill that would require a public regulatory hearing about certain large bonuses for utility executives. Dan McSwain UT San Diego$ -- 3/4/15

California’s contract ‘sunshine’ season opens, no light expected -- The Department of Human Resources will throw wide its doors on Friday for state unions and the administration to publicly present their initial contract proposals in a public forum. Jon Ortiz in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 3/4/15

Tentative $415 million settlement in tech workers’ lawsuit -- A federal judge has tentatively approved a $415 million settlement in a major class action lawsuit by Silicon Valley workers who accused Apple Inc., Google Inc. and other tech companies of making an illegal agreement not to hire each other's employees. Associated Press -- 3/4/15

CSU Faculty Says Wage Increase Needed -- The California Faculty Association released a report today showing its member's salaries have essentially remained flat, while compensation at the University of California and in the community college system has gone up. Katie Orr Capital Public Radio -- 3/4/15

UC executive salary caps proposed in new bill -- The union-sponsored Assembly Bill 837 would cap executive compensation at $500,000, a limit its author claims will save $80 million per year and further the reforms sought by Gov. Jerry Brown. Katy Murphy in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 3/4/15

Bay Area Tech Boom Driving Up Cost of Psychotherapy -- Workers with higher salaries seek counseling and drive up therapists’ prices in the process. April Dembosky KQED -- 3/4/15

Fox: L.A. Voters Want Company --Voters in Los Angeles who bothered to vote in yesterday’s primary election decided they want company when future city and school district elections are called. Joel Fox Fox & Hounds -- 3/4/15

Jeffe & Jeffe: GOP Pulse Detected -- News Flash: The California Republican Party appears to have a pulse. From all appearances, “Dr.” Brulte seems to be weaning the state’s GOP off life support. Sherry Bebitch Jeffe & Doug Jeffe Fox & Hounds -- 3/4/15

Dry Winter Weather Worries Rice Farmers -- California rice farmers are worried that if doesn't rain or snow soon they will have to fallow fields again this year. The rice crop was down nearly 25% in 2014. But, it's not just the drought that's hurting growers. Market competition from states like Louisiana and Arkansas is also increasing. Lesley McClurg Capital Public Radio -- 3/4/15

Man killed by LAPD officers on skid row was Cameroonian national, feds say -- Federal immigration officials said Wednesday that the homeless man shot and killed by Los Angeles police on skid row was a Cameroonian national but provided no other details about the man's true identity. Richard Winton and Kate Mather in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/4/15

High Bay Area rent prices drive mom to raise child in a garage -- When Jones became pregnant she lost her job and could no longer afford to pay her apartment rent. She initially moved into a shelter and felt lucky when she found the single-car garage space converted into a studio in a San Mateo suburban home for $1,000 a month. Amy Graff in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 3/4/15

Study: Napa Quake Should Spur Retrofits to Older Buildings -- The message is driven home in a new report from the U.S. Geological Survey, which shows many of the structures damaged by last summer’s quake were built before 1950. Daniel Potter KQED -- 3/4/15

California cities leading in population growth, density -- Increasingly, Americans are living in cities, those cities are becoming more densely populated, and California is a major factor in both trends, a new Census Bureau report indicates. Dan Walters in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 3/4/15

Cleaner air is linked to stronger lungs in Southern California children -- Cleaner air has for the first time been linked to bigger and stronger lungs among school-age children, according to findings released Wednesday from a two-decade study in Southern California. Tony Barboza in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/4/15

Senate fails to override Obama's veto of Keystone XL pipeline -- The Senate failed Wednesday to override President Obama's veto of Keystone XL pipeline legislation, ending for now attempts by Congress to speed up approval of the controversial energy project. Lisa Mascaro in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/4/15

California lawmaker's pet inspires rare bipartisan compromise -- The 15-pound dog, with the jowls of a young Winston Churchill and the pluck of a latter-day Snoopy, is the inspiration for of Rep. Jeff Denham's (R-Turlock) measure approved Wednesday to allow dogs and cats to ride on Amtrak trains. Noah Bierman in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/4/15

Sacramento Artists Voice Opposition To $8 Million Out-Of-Town Piglet -- Artists who live in Sacramento are not pleased with a plan that would spend $8 million on a sculpture for the new Downtown Sacramento arena. They attended the Sacramento City Council meeting Tuesday night to speak against the plan. Bob Moffitt Capital Public Radio -- 3/4/15

California Policy & Politics This Morning   

L.A. measures to shift elections forge big lead -- In a campaign where the issue of voter participation was front and center, two measures to bolster turnout by combining Los Angeles elections with state and federal contests sailed toward passage Tuesday, early results showed. David Zahniser, Emily Reyes Alpert and Cathering Sailant in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/4/15

Legislators pressure CPUC officials over PG&E e-mails -- State legislators grilled the new president of the California Public Utilities Commission on Tuesday about what one senator called an erosion of confidence in the agency over whether its officials have cooperated too closely with Pacific Gas and Electric Co. and the other utilities they regulate. Jaxon Van Derbeken in the San Francisco Chronicle Marc Lifsher in the Los Angeles Times$ Jeff McDonald UT San Diego$ -- 3/4/15

State shuts 12 oil company wells that pumped waste into aquifers -- State officials have ordered oil companies to shut down 12 more wells that have injected oil-field waste water into drinkable aquifers beneath California’s drought-stricken Central Valley, regulators reported Tuesday. David R. Baker in the San Francisco Chronicle Chris Megerian in the Los Angeles Times$ Scott Smith Associated Press -- 3/4/15

Eric Garcetti's Mayor's Fund lets companies give big -- But the nonprofit, which took in about $5.2 million between its formation in June and last month, can also offer a discreet destination for special-interest money that is not subject to campaign finance restrictions. Peter Jamison, Doug Smith and David Zahniser in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/4/15

Kamala Harris speaks about U.S. Senate bid -- in Washington, D.C. -- Democratic Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris, the sole major candidate thus far in the 2016 U.S. Senate race to replace the retiring Barbara Boxer, made her first public remarks about her bid at a campaign-style event Tuesday night – 2,300 miles away, in Washington, D.C. Seema Mehta in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/4/15

Bill would add U.S. protections for delta -- The Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, 700 square miles stretching from Vallejo on San Pablo Bay Bay to Sacramento and Stockton, would get added federal protection for its historical and environmental assets under legislation introduced Tuesday by California’s two U.S. senators. Carolyn Lochhead in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 3/4/15

Lopez: 10 years later, L.A.'s skid row remains an urban dystopia -- On a cool, drizzly day 10 years ago, I met a lonely, afflicted soul in downtown Los Angeles who would eventually take me to places I'd never visited. Disney Hall, for instance, and the White House. And to the depths of skid row. Steve Lopez in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/4/15

Homeless man killed by LAPD stole French man's identity, officials say -- The homeless man who was shot and killed by Los Angeles police officers Sunday on skid row was a convicted bank robber who assumed the identity of a French man to enter the United States more than 15 years ago, according to records and interviews. Richard Winton and Kate Mather in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/4/15

John Mockler, Capitol’s top education finance guru, dies at 73 -- John Mockler, who wrote California’s landmark school finance law during a political and governmental career that spanned a half-century, died Tuesday of pancreatic cancer. He was 73. Dan Walters in the Sacramento Bee$ Greg Lucas Capitol Weekly Michelle Maitre and John Fensterwald EdSource -- 3/4/15

Four California legislative leaders report $48,000 in gifts -- California lawmakers reported Tuesday that they accepted tens of thousands of dollars in gifts last year, including concert and sports tickets, golf games, expensive dinners and overseas trips. Patrick McGreevy in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/4/15

California lawmakers took less free travel in 2014 -- Journeys funded by foreign governments and industry-backed nonprofits afforded California lawmakers abundant opportunities to get out of Sacramento last year, but they accepted less in free travel in 2014 than the previous year, according to an analysis by The Sacramento Bee. Jeremy B. White and Christopher Cadelago in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 3/4/15

Identities revealed of state lawmakers who attended Hawaii conference -- Twenty-five state lawmakers flew to Maui in November to attend a conference that was partly funded by a group of special interests, but it was not until Tuesday that all of their identities were made public when they were required to file annual gift reports. Patrick McGreevy in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/4/15

Gender bias rampant in workers’ comp cases, women’s groups charge -- A Bay Area mechanical designer suffering from carpal tunnel syndrome said she had her workers’ compensation reduced for a reason that has caught the attention of women’s groups and lawmakers: She was postmenopausal. Melody Gutierrez in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 3/4/15

Supreme Court appears to lean in favor of allowing searches of motel registries -- The Supreme Court justices, hearing arguments in a Los Angeles case, sounded prepared Tuesday to revive a city ordinance that gives the police the authority to regularly check motels' guest registries without search warrants. David G. Savage in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/4/15

Bullet train contractor seeks state compensation for project delays -- The contractor building the first segment of the California bullet train system said Monday it is seeking compensation for delays in the project and is not likely to start any major construction until June or July — months later than state officials said just weeks ago. Ralph Vartabedian in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/4/15

Herdt: Government by ‘Magic 8 Ball' -- State elected officials were never cut out to be gymnasts, but in executing complex tax maneuvers in recent years they’ve given the sport a try. In 2004, there was the contortionist “triple flip” of sales, property and general state taxes, followed by the “gas tax swap” in 2010. Timm Herdt in the Ventura Star$ -- 3/4/15

Pete Stark's son launches campaign for elected office -- Fortney "Fish" Stark announced Tuesday that he's running for the Ward 1 seat on the Board of Alders in New Haven, Connecticut, to represent a swath of the city that includes most of Yale's undergraduate campus. Stark, 19, is in his sophomore year studying political science at Yale. Josh Richman in the Contra Costa Times$ -- 3/4/15

Taxes, Fees, Rates    

Health officials would add $2 tax to packs of cigarettes in California -- After seven failed attempts since 2002, a coalition of health groups and lawmakers is once again proposing to increase the tobacco tax in California, arguing that an additional $2 per pack of cigarettes will save lives, in part, by discouraging people from smoking. Patrick Mcgreevy in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/4/15

Economy, Employers, Jobs, Unions, Pensions   

Oakland Minimum Wage Increases by 36 Percent Monday --  Oakland is the latest in a growing number of Bay Area cities seeing a jump in its minimum wage, with that base wage rising on Monday from the statewide minimum of $9 an hour to $12.25 — a 36 percent increase. Tiffany Camhi KQED -- 3/4/15

Education 

Janet Napolitano to cap UC enrollment unless state pays up -- Competition for California students hoping to enroll at the University of California next fall just got tougher: UC President Janet Napolitano said Tuesday she will cap enrollment at current levels unless the state increases UC’s funding by $218 million. Nanette Asimov in the San Francisco Chronicle Larry Gordon in the Los Angeles Times$ Alexei Koseff in the Sacramento Bee$ Katy Murphy in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 3/4/15

L.A. school board races head to runoffs as charter backers' clout shows -- A push by backers of charter schools to have a bigger voice on the Los Angeles Board of Education appears to have paid off, according to early election returns in three contested races. Howard Blume in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/4/15

San Francisco Supes tell archbishop his morality clauses are unwanted -- In a rebuke to the archbishop of San Francisco, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors unanimously passed a resolution Tuesday urging the conservative Catholic leader to respect the rights of teachers and administrators. Emily Green and Jill Tucker in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 3/4/15

Bill would require ‘breakfast after the bell’ at more schools -- Taking aim at the effect of hunger on students’ ability to learn, two California legislators announced Tuesday a bill that would require more schools to provide breakfast after the start of school. Jane Meredith Adams EdSource -- 3/4/15

Number crunch defines first part of the LCAP rubric -- Numerical data on a wide array of topics – from facilities and teacher assignments to learning climate and test scores – would serve as the centerpiece of a performance rubric for analyzing how well schools are using new state money to educate students. Kimberly Beltran Cabinet Report -- 3/4/15

Drought   

California snow levels reach historic lows -- Snow levels in the Sierra Nevada are at or below what they were during the driest years in California’s recorded history, surveyors said Tuesday, dashing hopes that last weekend’s storm would begin to pull the state out of its increasingly frightful drought. Peter Fimrite in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 3/4/15

Water conservation plunges -- Californians saved just 8.8 percent in January of this year compared to the same month in 2013, the baseline year which the State Water Resources Control Board uses for comparison. That’s a backslide in water savings compared to the 22 percent reduction in water between December 2014 and December 2013, the board noted, warning that stricter water rules are in the works. Deborah Sullivan Brennan UT San Diego$ Alex Emslie KQED Paul Rogers in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 3/4/15

Your DWP bill will be climbing soon because of the dry winter -- The typical Los Angeles Department of Water and Power residential customer will see a $2.61 monthly billing increase by July, as this winter’s low snow-pack means the agency has to buy more expensive imported water. Mike Reicher in the Los Angeles Daily News$ -- 3/4/15

Santa Barbara working to reactivate mothballed desalination plant -- Santa Barbara owns a mothballed plant — built more than 20 years ago during another severe drought — that can turn seawater into drinking water. But it was never used beyond a tryout phase before steady rain began falling again. Amanda Covarrubias in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/4/15

Snow survey could be the lowest on record since 1991 -- California's third snow survey this winter found the Sierra Nevada snowpack is far below normal and leaning toward being the lowest on record in more than two decades. The survey on Tuesday found a snowpack water equivalent of just 0.9 inches in the snowpack near Echo Summit, about 90 miles east of Sacramento. Fenit Nirappil and Kristin J. Bender Associated Press -- 3/4/15

California drought: Water conservation weakening as drought worsens -- Statewide, Californians cut water use 8.8 percent in January, compared to the previous January, according to new data released Tuesday by the State Water Resources Control Board. That's a far cry from the 20 percent water conservation target that Gov. Jerry Brown asked state residents to hit last year. Paul Rogers in the San Jose Mercury$ Matt Weiser in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 3/4/15

Immigration / Border 

Agents target industry helping Chinese women have US babies -- Federal agents searched three dozen homes Tuesday in California during a crackdown on so-called maternity tourism operators who arrange for pregnant Chinese women to give birth in the U.S., where their babies automatically become American citizens. Amy Taxin Associated Press Victoria Kim and Frank Shyong in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/4/15

Health 

UCSD creates ink sensor for glucose -- In a possible advance for diabetics, UC San Diego has created a way to measure glucose with a special ink that's applied to the skin with an ordinary pen. Gary Robbins UT San Diego$ -- 3/4/15

Salt's unexpected benefit -- The sodium consumed with salt is widely supposed to raise blood pressure and increase the rate of cardiovascular disease. But that position, endorsed by the American Heart Association and the Centers for Disease Control, has been disputed in recent studies in peer-reviewed journals that fail to find health risks for most Americans in their salt consumption. Bradley J. Fikes UT San Diego$ -- 3/4/15

Despite high poverty, Californians’ food aid use is low -- Nearly a quarter of California’s 38 million residents are living in poverty by a new Census Bureau method of calculating economic well-being – by far the nation’s highest rate. Dan Walters in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 3/4/15

Also . . . 

At 95, Lawrence Ferlinghetti Recounts More Than Six Decades of Life in San Francisco -- But 64 years after arriving in San Francisco, despite his status as a literary legend, the 95-year-old co-owner of the renowned City Lights bookshop and publishing house says he doesn’t feel so at home in the city by the bay anymore. He complains of a “soulless group of people” too busy with their phones to “be here” in the moment. Joanne Elgart Jennings KQED -- 3/4/15

Families of Elliot Rodger's slain roommates sue sheriff's, apartment -- The parents of three victims of Elliot Rodger's deadly rampage in Isla Vista last year have filed a federal lawsuit against Santa Barbara County, the county Sheriff’s Department and the apartment complex where the killer lived, alleging all ignored warning signs that Rodger was dangerous. Stephen Ceasar in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/4/15

Neighbors furious over fatal police shooting in Mission -- A man fatally shot by police in San Francisco’s Mission District last week was not a knife-wielding robbery suspect, his friends and neighbors said Monday, but a hardworking Guatemalan immigrant who was trying to get his cell phone back from the man police said he was trying to rob. Vivian Ho in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 3/4/15

Cheating scandal prompts supervisors to computerize hiring exams -- In the wake of an audit of Los Angeles County Fire Department hiring practices that uncovered widespread cheating on exams, county supervisors voted Tuesday to put in place standardized, digital testing procedures for hiring across all departments. Abby Sewell in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/4/15

California steps up prison drug screening for visitors and staff -- California prison officials say they expect to have drug-sniffing dogs and ion scanners at 11 prisons by this spring, an effort to put a damper on a behind-bars drug trade that had one out of four inmates testing positive for illegal substances last year. Paige St. John in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/4/15

Marchers protest fatal police shooting on L.A's skid row -- Chanting “They can’t kill Africa,” groups of protesters were set to march from the site of a deadly police shooting on skid row to an LAPD meeting in downtown Los Angeles on Tuesday morning. Sarah Parvini, Kate Mather and Richard Winton in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/4/15

Man killed by LAPD on skid row was convicted bank robber -- The 39-year-old man shot dead by Los Angeles police officers on skid row Sunday was convicted 15 years ago of an armed robbery at a Thousand Oaks bank and sent to federal prison, according to records and law enforcement sources. Richard Winton and Kate Mather in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/4/15

Metrolink train engineer dies of injuries suffered in crash with truck -- Glenn Steele, 62, died early Tuesday at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles of injuries suffered in the Feb. 24 crash, said Ed Winter, spokesman for the Los Angeles County coroner’s office. Veronica Rocha and Joseph Serna in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/4/15

Former State Assemblyman Nathan Fletcher Files for Divorce -- In a statement released to NBC 7, the couple said, “We have made the best decision for our family. It is an amicable divorce and we remain good friends. Our first priority is our children and we hope that everyone will respect our privacy as we make this transition.” Paul Krueger KNSD -- 3/4/15

POTUS 44     

Tug of War: Obama, Congress at Odds Over Who's in Control -- On some fronts, Obama has held his ground, watching near-gleefully as Republicans bungled early attempts to legislate and put their own internal disputes on vivid display. But lawmakers are challenging his authority on foreign policy, threatening to gum up major trade and climate deals while putting up obstacle after obstacle to a nuclear deal with Iran. Josh Lederman Associated Press -- 3/4/15

Beltway 

California lawmakers show wide discrepancy in missed votes -- House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy had the best attendance record among the members of the California delegation in the last session of Congress. He missed only one vote out of 1,204 cast. Kevin Freking Associated Press -- 3/4/15

Fact Check: Netanyahu gets much right in speech but Iran still faces nuke limits in a decade -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu overstated Iran's domination of the Middle East and understated the timespan of the nuclear deal taking shape with Tehran, while neglecting the role of Congress in lifting Iranian sanctions, in his speech to U.S. lawmakers Tuesday. Bradley Klapper Associated Press -- 3/4/15

Saunders: Bibi’s speech is the Dems’ box canyon -- Nancy Pelosi was near tears. After Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s address to Congress Tuesday, the House minority leader sent out a press release informing the media, “I was near tears throughout the prime minister’s speech — saddened by the insult to the intelligence of the United States” and “saddened by the condescension toward our knowledge of the threat posed by Iran.” Debra J. Saunders in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 3/4/15

Clinton asks if nation wants to see a woman president -- Hillary Rodham Clinton says women have made a difference at all levels of government but the nation has reached a turning point. She is asking a gathering of Democratic women, "Don't you someday want to see a woman president?" Ken Thomas Associated Press -- 3/4/15

Email issue revives old questions about Clintons -- Hillary Rodham Clinton is facing a new set of questions about ethics and transparency — the sort that have dogged her and husband Bill for decades. Julie Pace Associated Press -- 3/4/15

Hillary Clinton ignores email controversy -- Hillary Clinton on Tuesday evening avoided any mention of the swirling controversies over her use of a private email account while she was secretary of state and her family foundation’s foreign fundraising, opting instead to preview her likely campaign’s economic message to a sympathetic audience. Gabriel Debenedetti Politico -- 3/4/15

Boehner ends stalemate -- The House approved a nine-month funding bill for the Department of Homeland Security Tuesday, breaking a lengthy stalemate over President Barack Obama’s immigration policies that exacerbated the rift between Speaker John Boehner and the conservative wing of his conference. Lauren French, Jake Sherman and John Bresnahan Politico -- 3/4/15