Politics
‘Why do you keep asking me that?’: Cruz dodges abortion ban questions during debate
Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas struggled to respond to questions about abortion ban exceptions on the debate stage Tuesday night and instead tried to paint his Democratic opponent, Rep. Colin Allredas extreme on abortion.
Pressed multiple times on whether he supports or opposes exceptions for abortion bans in the case of rape or incest, Cruz took issue with the moderators’ line of questioning.
“Why do you keep asking me that?” the Republican asked, dodging the question for the third time.
“It’s not pro-life to deny women care so long that they can’t have children anymore,” Allred said.
Cruz, facing what may be his toughest re-election fight yetrepeatedly tried to turn attention to Allred on the subject of parental consent for minors seeking the procedure and accused his opponent of wanting to legalize “late-term abortion.” (Such abortions — those that occur at or after 21 weeks in pregnancy — account for less than 1% of all abortionsand they are often only carried out in extreme medical situations such as a severe fetal anomaly or to save the pregnant person’s life.)
After the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, Texas enacted a near-total ban on abortion except to save the life of the mother. But those exceptions are allowed in exceedingly rare cases, and many patients have been denied abortions even when life-threatening issues arose during their pregnancies. The Texas Medical Board later issued new guidance to clarify those exceptions after Kate Coxwhose fetus had a fatal diagnosis, was forced to travel out of state to terminate her pregnancy. Texas had the most patients travel across state lines for the procedure in 2023, with 35,500 patients traveling last year, compared with roughly 2,400 in 2019, according to The New York Times.
Cruz is a staunch anti-abortion zealot who has long pushed for restrictions on abortion access; in 2022, when Roe fell, he called it “nothing short of a massive victory for life.” But with abortion set to be one of the major issues this election, Cruz has gone somewhat muted on his fierce opposition to abortion rights, while Allred has made restoring those rights central to his campaign.
In the debate Tuesday, Allred said Cruz was trying to cast himself as moderate despite his record. The Democrat also fiercely rebutted Cruz’s claim that the incumbent is “pro-life.”
“It’s not pro-life to deny women care so long that they can’t have children anymore. It’s not pro-life to force a victim of rape to carry their rapist’s baby,” Allred said. “So to every Texas woman at home and every Texas family that’s watching this, understand that when Ted Cruz says he’s pro-life, he doesn’t mean yours.”
Clarissa-Jan Lim is a breaking/trending news blogger for BLN Digital. She was previously a senior reporter and editor at BuzzFeed News.
Politics
Hageman launches bid for Wyoming Senate seat
Wyoming GOP Rep. Harriet Hageman on Tuesday announced her campaign for Senate, hoping to succeed retiring Republican Sen. Cynthia Lummis in next year’s election.
The Wyoming Republican is a strong supporter of President Donald Trump, and with his backing she helped oust Republican then-Rep. Liz Cheney, a vocal critic of Trump’s, in the 2022 primary.
“This fight is about making sure the next century sees the advancements of the last, while protecting our culture and our way of life,” Hageman said in her launch video. “We must dedicate ourselves to ensuring that the next 100 years is the next great American century.”
Lummis announced she would not seek reelection last week, saying she felt like a “sprinter in a marathon” despite being a “devout legislator.” Hageman, who had been debating a gubernatorial bid, was expected to enter the Senate race.
Hageman touted her ties to the president in her announcement video, highlighting her record of support for Trump’s policies during her time in the House and vowing to keep Wyoming a “leader in energy and food production.”
“I worked with President Trump to pass 46 billion in additional funding for border security, while ensuring that Wyomingites do not pay the cost of new immigration. We work together to secure the border and fund efforts to remove and deport those in the country illegally,” she said.
Trump won the deep-red state by nearly 46 points in last year’s election, and Hageman herself was reelected by nearly 48 points, according to exit polling.
Still, Hageman bore the brunt of voters’ displeasure earlier this year during a town hall. As she spoke of the Department of Government Efficiency, federal cuts and Social Security, the crowd booed her.
Politics
Ben Sasse says he has stage 4 pancreatic cancer
Former Sen. Ben Sasse announced on Tuesday that he has been diagnosed with stage 4 metastatic pancreatic cancer.
The Nebraska Republican shared the news on X, writing in a lengthy social media post that he had received the diagnosis last week.
“Advanced pancreatic is nasty stuff; it’s a death sentence,” Sasse said. “But I already had a death sentence before last week too — we all do.”
The two term senator retired in 2023 and then went on to serve as president of the University of Florida. He eventually left the school to spend more time with his wife, Melissa, after she was diagnosed with epilepsy.
Sasse continued to teach classes at University of Florida’s Hamilton Center after he stepped down as president. He previously served as a professor at the University of Texas, as an assistant secretary at the Department of Health and Human Services and as president of Midland University.
Sasse on Tuesday shared that he and his wife have only grown closer since and opened up about his children’s recent successes and milestones.
“There’s not a good time to tell your peeps you’re now marching to the beat of a faster drummer — but the season of advent isn’t the worst,” Sasse said. “As a Christian, the weeks running up to Christmas are a time to orient our hearts toward the hope of what’s to come.”
Sasse said he’ll have more to share in the future, adding that he is “not going down without a fight” and will be undergoing treatment.
“Death and dying aren’t the same — the process of dying is still something to be lived. We’re zealously embracing a lot of gallows humor in our house, and I’ve pledged to do my part to run through the irreverent tape,” Sasse said.
Politics
Cannon keeps Jack Smith’s classified records report under wraps for now
U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon on Monday lifted restrictions on the release of former special counsel Jack Smith’s findings from his investigation into President Trump’s handling of classified records — but she gave the president a 60-day window to challenge her order. Cannon did not immediately lift her order barring the Justice Department from sharing…
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