Atlantic Monthly Contributors's Blog, page 1117

Boehner 'Absolutely' Trusts the President; Ryan's Budget Is a 'Vision'

House Speaker John Boehner appeared on ABC's This Week to gab with guest host Martha Raddatz about his relationship with the President, the state of the Republican party, and any other Sunday gossip they could think of. As much as Boehner appreciated the President's most recent efforts to reach out to Republicans, he said it won't do much to bridge any policy gaps between the White House and Republicans. "Well, it's always a good thing to engage in more conversation - engage more members in the conversation that - have not been involved up to this point," Boehner said. "But when you get down the bottom line, the president believes that we have to have more taxes from the American people, we're not gonna get very far." In other words: thank you for the dinner, but we're still doing to make your life miserable. "If the president doesn't believe that the goal ought to be to balance the budget over the next ten years - I don't - not sure we're gonna get very far," he continued. "And this is the whole issue. We have a spending problem here in Washington and it's time to solve the problem." Raddatz asked Boehner whether or not he trusted the President. "Absolutely," Boehner said. "The president and I, as I have made very clear, have a very good relationship," he explained. "We're open with each other. We're honest with each other. But we're trying to bridge some big differences." But enough about the President, yeesh. Everyone always wants to talk about him.

They switched topics eventually to another hot-button issue of the day: the future of the Republican party. With the dust barely settled from the CPAC conference, Boehner fought against the idea something may be wrong with Republican party values. It's a communications issue, he contends. "The issue with our party is pretty simple. There's nothing wrong with the principles of our party," Boehner said, responding to Rand Paul calling Republican leadership "stale and moss-covered" at CPAC this week. Boehner argued Republicans needs to do a better job explaining in simple terms why their policies would help people. They need an Explainer-in-Chief, like how the Democrats have Bill Clinton. "Why balancing the budget, as an example, would be good for American families," Boehner said. "We've gotta do a better job of helping people understand what our principles are in terms that they deal with every day."

They also touched on Rob Portman's recent coming out as a gay marriage supporter. Portman was the first Republican senator to do so. Boehner doesn't see his stance on the issue changing any time soon, if ever. "Rob's a great friend and a long-time ally. And I appreciate that he's decided to change his views on this. But I believe that marriage is a union of a man and a woman," Boehner told Raddatz. Portman apparently called Boehner to discuss his new stance. "Listen, I believe that marriage is the union of one man and one woman. It's what I grew up with. It's what I believe. It's what my church teaches me," Boehner said. "And I can't imagine that position would ever change."

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Paul Ryan still thinks his budget is a good idea. Ryan had to defend his budget during an appearance on CBS' Face the Nation on Sunday morning. According to Ryan, his budget that cuts Obamacare is "what people want." It's a "vision document," Ryan said. "It is what we think is the right way to go." Nation host Bob Scheiffer asked whether or not he trusts Obama -- the same way Boehner was asked the same thing on This Week. Ryan was nowhere near as definitive as the Speaker. "I subscribe to the Reagan school of thought, which is trust but verify," Ryan said. "The so-called charm offensive, I think it’s a good thing."

Republican Sen. Bob Corker and Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin made some baby step progress towards economic reform during Fox News Sunday's panel discussion Sunday morning. Corker left the door open for a deal that may appeal both sides -- rather than shutting everything down like most usually do -- and earned praise from Durbin for being willing to negotiate. "I think there, by the way, is a chance on a deal. I know the president is saying the right things and we have an opportunity over the next four months," Corker said, before laying out what a successful deal might look like. "I think Republicans, if [Democrats] say true entitlement reform, would be glad to look at tax reform that generates additional revenues. And that doesn’t mean increasing rates, it means closing loopholes, and that also means arranging our tax system so that we have economic growth, and I think we have been saying that since day one," Corker said. Durbin thanked Corker for his "honest and constructive answer." "What Bob Corker just said from his side is a basis set of principles that both parties can rally around," Durbin said.

Corker also praised the Obama administration's decision to increase the number of missile interceptors along the country's west coast to address any growing concern over a North Korean attack on Fox News Sunday. But while Corker "applauds the efforts," he thinks more still needs to be done. "I do hope we’ll focus on a base on the eastern side with radar facilities, and I think the question is, Chris, how does the nondeployment of the fourth phase of our European base system affect us over time? So there’s some technical issues that we’re going to be getting into this week with the Pentagon and State Department," Corker said. Not that he thinks the country is in any real danger. "I don’t think that threat is imminent – I don’t think they have the delivery mechanisms that are necessary to really harm us. But I think it’s really good that we’re taking those precautionary measures to make sure they cannot do damage, I think it puts us in … a different place as it relates to negotiating with them and at the end of the day," Corker said.

Also on FNS, Durbin urged his fellow Senators to pass a continuing spending resolution this week so the government won't shut down after Easter weekend. If they don't then the next available opportunity won't be until after a scheduled two-week recess. Durbin said there were too many amendments added to the bill -- the number was almost at 100, he said -- that were threatening to slow the process down. Some weren't even related to budget issues. "This is all very important, I understand, but we have work to be done in just a short period of time. I urge my Senate colleagues: let’s be sparing in the amendments. Let’s get the CR passed," Durbin said. "We can do it; we can do it quickly this coming week." Durbin didn't go into specifics when asked if the Senate's resolution will clash with the House budget that preserved the sequester cuts. "We have put together a CR that is acceptable in its dollar terms to the House of Representatives," he said, "and I think we can agree on what that will be."

Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus announced a new $10 million initiative as part of the Growth and Opportunity Project that will send "hundreds" of Republicans operatives to communities across the country during his appearance on Face the Nation. "Our party's had a real quality of context problem," Priebus said. "We have become a party that parachutes into communities four months before an election and while that’s how we’ve operated for years and years... in comparison to the other side, the Obama campaign lived in these communities for years. The relationships were deep." The Republican committee will send their workers to communities across the U.S., with a focus on minority communities, to help familiarize constituents with the party. The workers will be "a part of the community on an ongoing basis, paid for by the RNC to make the case for our party and our candidates," Priebus explained. The new initiative will hopefully help prevent things like Todd Akin's comments from ever happening again, or at least help the party recover from gaffes like that, Priebus said. "If you're not talking to people, and the level of familiarity isn’t there, then silly things like Todd Akin and some of the goofy things that were said ... there's no relationship to explain anything," he said. Priebus said the new project is "unprecedented, but it's something we had to do." He also said the Republican party has to shorten the turnaround time for churning out new candidates. He called for an earlier party convention, fewer primary debates and a shorter primary calendar in the next election. "I believe that our primary process was way too long, I think our calendar needs to be looked at, our debate calendar needs to be looked at," he said. He thinks the party should have the convention in June or July, instead of closer to the end of August, to allow the candidate to use party funds earlier. Romney was "a sitting duck for two months," Priebus said. His math was a little off for his debate suggestions, but he got the message across. "I don’t know, maybe seven or eight but not 23," he said. "That's ridiculous."

Karl Rove responded to shots fired at him from Sarah Palin during her Saturday CPAC appearance while the American Crossroads chief was on Fox News Sunday. "If she can play in primaries, other people can play in primaries," Rove said. Palin indirectly referenced Rove when she said "the architects" from Washington should stop vetting Republican candidates. "First of all, I live in Texas, I don’t live in Washington," Roce said Sunday. "Second of all, look, Sarah Palin should be agreeing with us. She didn’t support Todd Akin, and when he said the reprehensible things he said, she wisely came out and said he ought to get out of the race." Rove fired a shot back at Palin, though, saying he's a particularly terrible candidate -- "sort of a balding, fat guy" -- but that if he ever was in office he would never "leave office mid-term."

SXSW Is Dead, but at least Justin Timberlake and Prince Were the Ones to Kill It

The much-maligned South By Southwest festival closed last night with two blockbuster shows: Justin Timberlake in one venue, with Prince performing across town. Neither would ever be considered a bad choice, but let's break down which show was better -- just because we can. 

The Contenders 

Justin Timberlake,
the resurgent pop superstar

                                Vs.
                                                             Prince,
                                               the living legend

 

 

 

Why They're Performing

Timberlake: promoting the hyped new album, The 20/20 Experience, which hits record stores -- all five that are left -- and iTunes on Tuesday. 

Prince: just because. 

How Corporate Was the Show

Prince was performing at a "secret" Samsung show that some people needed to do a scavenger hunt to attend, or something. Per Rolling Stone's Eric Danton: 

The show, dubbed "The Next Big Thing," was presented by Samsung, which gave away 200 tickets to people who used the company's tablet-like Galaxy cell phone to complete an 11-item scavenger hunt around Austin. 

Meanwhile, The New York Time's James McKinley Jr. says Timberlake's show was basically a disgusting corporate cash grab that drove the stake into any remaining "authenticity" the festival once had: 

If you want to know how far the South by Southwest Music Festival has strayed from its anti-corporate, indie rock roots, you need only consider this: One of the most popular shows on the final night of the festival was Justin Timberlake, playing a concert sponsored by Chevrolet to promote the newly revamped Myspace Web site.

Number of Encores 

Timberlake: none reported.

Prince: six or seven, says Rolling Stone, on top of a 50 minute standard set. Total running time: two hours and 40 minutes. 

What Was the Show Like

Timberlake's show was "an pulsating hour of his slick rhythm & blues," McKinley writes. It was "less about pimping his new album and more about entertaining the shit out of the 800 people there," writes Idolator's Carl Williot. 

Prince, on the other hand, was more like a chef, "sampling and savoring each ingredient and adjusting to taste," Danton says. Billboard's Gary Graff described the show like "an exercise in organic, improvisational music-making and ensemble dynamics that Prince guided like a conductor steering an orchestra through an intricate symphony," who routinely abandoned order for creative, beautiful musical chaos. 

Who Had the Better Back-Up Band

Timberlake was accompanied by the Tennessee Kids, the 16 piece band he's been playing with during television appearances like the Grammys or Saturday Night Live. They were "playing at a decibel level that could be felt physically," McKinley said, and "coming up with completely revamped arrangements," Williot reports. 

Prince played with 22 piece backing band that included "11 horn players, two guitarists, a bass player, a drummer, a percussionist and a host of vocalists," according to Danton. They routinely went off-script and improvised for long stretches of time. Each band member got their own solo. But it was OK, and they could get away with it, because they were "tighter than a Marine Corps top sheet," Danton says. 

Who Had the Craziest Fans Lining Up

Timberlake: per the Times, crowds had to be turned away on the fire marshall's orders and there were mounted cops at the door making sure a full scale riot didn't break out. "Many in the crowd had been waiting for three hours or more," Mckinley reports.

Prince: this show "was arguably the hottest ticket of the conference -- with some hopeful fans even lining up outside the club as early as Friday morning," writes Billboard's Gary Graff. 

Awesome Covers Played Alongside Their Regular Catalogue of Hits

Timberlake, as reported by Idolator's Williot: 

After this, it became clear the night was less about pimping his new album and more about entertaining the shit out of the 800 people there, because JT played “What Goes Around…Comes Around” and covered INXS‘ 1987 hit “Need You Tonight.”

Prince, as reported by Billboard's Graff: 

Prince nodded to his forebears and heroes with versions of Curtis Mayfield's "We're a Winner," Aretha Franklin's "I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You," James Brown's "I Don't Want Nobody to Give Me Nothing (Open Up the Door, I'll Get It Myself) ( Part 1)" and Rose Royce's "Which Way Is Up,"  and he paid homage to some peers with a set of Jackson family favorites -- Michael's "Don't Stop Til You Get Enough," Janet's "What Have You Done For Me Lately" and the Jackson 5's "Dancing Machine," during which he brought several fans onstage to join the "purple party." Prince the composer, meanwhile, visited The Time's "Cool," "The Bird" and "Jungle Love," Sheila E's "The Glamorous Life" and Sheena Easton's "U Got the Look."

And, Finally, The Video Evidence for Making Non-Hipsters -- ie, the rest of us -- Jealous

Here's Prince performing "Something in the Water" per Miss Info: 

Here's Justin performing "Senorita," off his first solo album, Justified: 

And the Winner Is...

Anyone who attended either concert. The losers? The rest of us. 

The Steubenville Verdict Is in, and These Boys Are Guilty

On the fifth and final day of a long and emotional rape trial recounting a drunken and violent evening, Judge Thomas Lipps delivered a guilty verdict on all charges Sunday morning in the Steubenville rape trial, calling the situation "profane" and "ugly" as the boys cried aloud and were handed the maximum sentencing. The Ohio attorney general said a grand jury would convene around April 15 to "bring finality" to a case that captured the attention of a nation — and that "additional charges could be filed" after 16 people, most of whom were students at the post-football game parties last August, had refused to talk to his investigators.

Trent Mays and Ma'lik Richmond — stars on the Steubenville High football team and 17 and 16 years old, respectively — were found "delinquent," which Lipps informed the boys in front of him was "similar to a finding of guilty in an adult court." Richmond was sentenced to a minimum of one year in a juvenile rehabilitation facility and a maximum of until he turns 21 on a juvenile charge of rape; Mays, who was also found delinquent on a charge of illegal use of a minor in nudity-oriented material, was sentenced to a minimum of two years and a "consecutive" sentence that could last until he turns 24. As the lead prosecutor said there was "no remorse" for the victim from the convicted, Mays cried out in the Ohio courtroom and frequently returned to his handkerchief as his attorneys consoled him. Lipps said the boys "might be dealing with emotions" since the consequences "were now dawning on them."

The verdict followed two and half hours of testimony from the 16-year-old Jane Doe victim Saturday, in which she recounted an evening she barely remembered. The big news from Saturday's testimony were text messages exchanged between the victim and the suspects. In one message, one of the defendants (thought to be Mays) identified a substance on the victim in one of the many pictures that circulated on social media after the drunken night in question as his semen. The defense's strategy centered around levels of drunkenness to prove consent. Lipps a 37-year veteran of Ohio juvenile court, was brought out of retirement after a judge connected with the Steubenville High football team recused himself — indeed, this was a trial with as many characters as there were emotional and dramatic twists.

Update, 10:30 a.m. Eastern: Mays and Richmond both personally apologized to the victim. "I would truly like to apologize to [girl's name], her family, and the community," Mays said. "No pictures should have been sent around, let alone taken." Richmond stood up and walked across the courtroom to where the victim was sitting. "I would like to apologize to you [girl's name]. I had no intention to do anything like that," he said, before breaking down crying. He sniffled out something else, but he was too overcome with emotion to have been audibly understood on the live video feed broadcast across the country. 

Update, 10:47 a.m.: The judge started off his sentencing by explaining some things about juvenile court. "Because juvenile court dispositions are different than adult citizens, when a judge enters a disposition," he said, "the judge must weigh three things: the effects on society, accountability for one's actions, and the rehabilitation of youth." Lipps continued: "I'm aware that this is the first time that this is the first time they have been in trouble with the law, but these are serious charges." Lipps explained that "when we started out both of these defendants could have been charged in adult court," where they would have spent "many years in prison." Rape is a Category One felony in adult court, but only a Category Two offense in juvenile parlance. (The second charge against Mays is also a Category Two charge in juvenile court.) 

And then came the sentencing: "In this case, regarding the charges of rape, both defendants Ma'lik Richmond and Trent Mays are committed to the department of youth services for a minimum of one year, a maximum of until you're 21." Mays' actions "were more egregious than Malik Richmond," Lipps said. Besides the rape charge, Mays was found guilty of illegal use of a minor in nudity-oriented material. "I think it is appropriate to make the commitment in Trent Mays' term consecutive," Lipps decided.

Richmond was sentenced to a minimum of one year in the juvenile detention center for the rape charge. Mays was sentenced to a minimum two years in a juvenile detention center for the rape charge. Both boys were also forbidden from having contact with the victim until they are at least 21 years old. Lipps recommended the Lighthouse Youth Center at Paint Creek as a facility, and further decisions on the exact lengths of their stays in juvenile prison will be up to the juvenile system. But Mays is looking at around eight years in that system, and Lipps said, pending their behavior and future decisions, that both could be on a juvenile sexual offenders list "for the rest of their lives."

Outside the courtroom, protestors from Occupy Steubenville rejoiced. Online, there were tears of joy, from sexual-assault victims' rights groups, for "Justice for Jane Doe." Meanwhile, more photos from the party house allegedly surfaced, and there remained questions about at least one of the other boys at the party, Evan Westlake, who was not apparently one of the two boys to receive a sudden immunity deal that may have turned the case for the prosecution, but whose actions were called into question by the defense team in closing arguments on Saturday.

(Photo by Jason Cohn/Reuters)

Update, 11:15 a.m.: Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine, saying that "this community needs assurance that no stone has been left unturned in our search for the truth," announced at a press briefing at Jefferson County Juvenile Court "that we cannot bring finality to this matter without the convening of a grand jury," which he said would convene on or around April 15. "I anticipate numerous witnesses will be called. The grand jury, quite frankly, could meet for a number of days," DeWine said, adding that "indictments could be returned and additional charges could be filed." He mentioned failure to report a felony, tampering with evidence, and "others" as possible charges. He added that the boys who received immunity were likely to retain that right.

DeWine gave a sense of scale to his office's investigation: 13 cellphones, 396,270 text messages, 308,586 photos, 940 video clips, 3,188 phone calls, 16,422 cellphone contacts. And that was just the cyber-crimes division, which prosecutor Marianne Hemmeter said was brought in on the request of attorneys "after Anonymous hit," referring to the hackers who brought social-media attention to the case and "put enormous pressure" on the victim. DeWine also said the "appalling" case involved closed to 60 interviews, but that 16 people refused to talk to his investigators, and that his office was seeking finality in continuing court proceedings in the matter. "Most of the 16 are underage," DeWine said.

"This is not a happy time for anyone. No one can take any pleasure in this. Every rape is a tragedy. This is a tragedy," DeWine said, moving on to castigate rape culture in general. "This happens every Friday night," DeWine said. "We shouldn't tolerate it anymore as a country."

Don't Look Now but the Pope Is Tweeting Again

Your social media mess is blessed again. Amid a tour of firsts, the newly installed Pope Francis has finally fired up the Pontifex Twitter account since it was scrubbed and reset after Benedict stepped down. 

This is Pope Francis' first tweet: 

Dear friends, I thank you from my heart and I ask you to continue to pray for me.Pope Francis.

— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) March 17, 2013

It feels like he really made a statement with that one, no? As if he's really set a tone for what's to come. Or, it was a simple and nice message to greet people on a Sunday morning. You be the judge! 

Francis has spent the last few days getting used to his new Pope shoes and performing all of his new Pope-ly duties. Yesterday it was the easy task of

The Steubenville Victim Tells Her Story

On the fourth and penultimate day of an already long and emotional rape trial recounting a drunken and allegedly violent evening, told in tears and text messages, the Jane Doe victim finally took the stand to testify Saturday, and there was more of all of that. After two-and-a-half hours of testimony, a picture emerges of a 16-year-old girl who got drunker than she thought she should have, who forgot the night and woke up scared and surrounded, and whose family only brought charges after a barrage of questions from doctors and intimidation from suspects Trent Mays and Ma'lik Richmond, stars on the Steubenville High football team. This is her version of the events.

The girl, after being called by the prosecution, said she had a few drinks, a "mixed drink then a red Smirnoff ice drink in a red solo cup with ice," WTRF's Laurie Conway reports, before starting to feel funny. The alcohol was making her act differently than she normally would while drunk. She said she was interested in Mays, and followed him to another party because she trusted him. Then, while on the stand, the victim was shown a picture, for the first time, of her passed out at one of the many parties on the night of August 11. She instantly started crying, as did her mother and at least two other women in the courtroom. She was asked how she felt about seeing the nude photo of herself: "Not good," she said. She said the last thing she remembers from that night was leaving the last party, with her friends behind her. "A lot of people were leaving at that time," she said.

Cut to the next morning. The next thing she remembers, Jane Doe said, is waking up "embarrassed, scared, not sure what to think," under a blanket in an unfamiliar place surrounded by three boys. She said it was "really scary." She got up to get dressed, but no one could find her phone or her underwear. Two of her friends picked her up, and after a short trip to drop off the two defendants, they started yelling at her over what they were hearing about the night before. She didn't remember anything they were yelling at her for. Doe repeatedly said she felt "freaked out and embarrassed" for blacking out on the events of the evening.

After getting dropped off at her mom's house, she immediately admitted to her mother that she didn't remember anything and that she couldn't find her shoes or phone. Getting in trouble was "the last thing on my mind," she said. Eventually, she started to hear about what was circling on social media. At this point in the testimony, Doe started crying again after being shown a photo in the courtroom, one she had already seen. She said the carpet in the photo matched the basement room she woke up in.

The girl said she thought she knew everything she drank that night, and had never blacked out before. Only after insistence from a number of immediate and extended family members did she go to the hospital to get checked out. There, two days after the party, doctors told her a rape kit wouldn't show anything because of the amount of time between the assault and the hospital visit. She was reluctant to tell the doctor the names of the boys involved; she didn't want to get involved in any of the drama that would ensue. (She did absolve Charlie Keenan, the son of the former prosecutor who was named in the original report, from doing anything that night.) But that didn't stop of the defendants from texting her repeatedly over the few days after party, frantically the morning after, and "freaking out," she says, asking whether or not she was going to tell the police. 

Eventually her parents reported the alleged assault to the police. She sent a text message to one of the defendants, apparently Mays, insisting that she didn't want to go to the cops: "We know you didn't rape me," it said. The girl went on to say that she had not been aware at the time that digital penetration was also considered rape.

The prosecution showed a series of text messages to the courtroom sent between Jane Doe and Mays and Richmond in the following days. She alleged that one of the defendants, apparently Mays, said that the the football team's coach, who will take the stand at the trial as well, called his house and told them they raped her, and the defendant asked her to "tell her dad the truth." She said social media was telling a different story. "This is the most pointless thing. I am gonna get in trouble for nothing," he allegedly texted her. "You know what happened, there's no video, so nothing happened," another text from Mays read. The defendants told her she had been a hassle, and that they "took care of her." But when she saw the video of Steubenville High athlete Michael Nodianos making fun of her, she thought differently: "I knew everyone telling me that they were taking care of me, that that was not true," she said. One of the defendants, apparently Mays, also admitted, in a text message, to taking a picture of his bodily fluids on her after they were done doing whatever they allegedly did:

Text from Def 1 to Jane Doe "That was my (semen) on you, not (urine)."

— Eric Minor (@EricWTOV9) March 16, 2013

The girl told the court she believed she was drugged, a charge that has been challenged by the very friends — now former friends — who testified against her for the defense. Earlier on Saturday, an expert for the defense said the victim's blood alcohol content would have been an estimated .18 or .25 and that the girl should have been able to voluntarily make her own decisions, even if she didn't remember them. Her testimony focused primarily on whether the girl was "black out drunk," or "passed out drunk," with the expert ruling for the former. But then this happened:

On cross-examination, prosecutor Marianne Hemmeter showed Fromme a picture of the teen girl apparently passed out and being carried by the defendants. Fromme said she had not seen the picture. Fromme also had not seen pictures of the girl laying naked on a couch and on the floor of a basement.

That photo — an Instagram image that has come to stand for the complex social-media trial that proceeded the actual one — has been seen my millions of people. And still the defense is relying on a strategy concerning levels of drunkenness to prove consent. But now Jane Doe has told her story for the prosecution, as she does and does not remember it. Judge Thomas Lipps is expected, after another long day of emotional testimony from the football coach and more, to announce a verdict on Sunday.

Update: The defense has rested and closing arguments are underway. You can watch video here, and stay tuned to the Cleveland Plain-Dealer and WTRF's Conway for updates. Judge Lipps may make his ruling tonight.

Update No. 2: After emotional closing arguments from both sides, Judge Lipps said he would review the evidence and the new text messages revealed during the victim's testimony, and announce his decision on Sunday morning at 10 a.m. Central time. Richmond's attorney, Walter Madison, said that "the whole world was watching" but that the state had not presented enough evidence to prove rape — he repeated that not of Richmond's DNA had been found on the victim's blanket, shorts, or the couch where two of the sex acts allegedly occurs, and that the "substance" found on the victim could not be confirmed. Prosecutor Marianne Hemmeter said the evidence was "overwhelming" and, regarding the victim, that "the things that made her an imperfect witnes... made her a perfect victim. Hemmeter continued: "This case isn't about a YouTube video. This case isn't about social media. This case isn't about Big Red football. This case is about a 16-year-old girl who was taken advantage of, toyed with, and humiliated, and it's time to the people who did that to her are held responsible."

The divergent arguments were in stark contrast: The defense insisted that "we'll never know what happened that night" while the prosecution said "we'll never know how much" she drank and that "we'll never know" whether she was drugged. The assault that allegedly happened in between the drinking and the next morning, well, that's up to the judge. (Juvenile court in Ohio does not have a jury.) Stay tuned for updates in the morning.

Correction: An earlier version of this piece confused identifiers when referring to the before the "took care of her" line. It was the defendants who told the victim she was a hassle, and not the other way around. We regret the error and it's been corrected above.

Update: Guilty.

Ted Cruz Says Conservatives Are Finally Winning

NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. — Texas Sen. Ted Cruz declared, "Something is happening that hasn't happened in a long time: We're winning right now!" in his keynote address to close out the Conservative Political Action Conference here. After three days of panels and speeches about what the GOP can do to make a comeback, the idea that no comeback is necessary must have been refreshing to the CPAC attendees. By the end of Cruz's speech, they were on their feet. Of course, that was because he asked them to.

What does victory look like? According to Cruz, it is Sen. Rand Paul's 13-hour filibuster, the sequester, and the vote on Cruz's amendment to defund Obamacare. Only one of those three things has been implemented: the sequester, which was designed to be dumb. The other two failed — Obamacare lives, and John Brennan was confirmed as CIA chief (though Paul did get reassurance that the government won't drone Americans in America).

Cruz listed several goals for Republicans, and some of them seem less doomed.

"We need to build the Keystone Pipeline." (This will probably happen.) "We need to rein in the EPA." (Hard to define victory on this one, but the current administration is Democratic, and thus prone to support environmental regulation.) "We need to audit the Fed". (Probably won't happen.) "And we need to stop QE-Infinity." (The Federal Reserve said in September it would continue to take action to try to boost the economy while unemployment remains high.) "We need to abolish the Department of Education." (Republicans have been talking about this for decades, and it has not happened yet.) "We need to champion school choice -- the civil rights issue of the next generation." (Entirely doable for Republicans.) "We need to stand with Israel." (Done.) "We need to stop sending foreign aid to nations that hate us." (Unlikely.)

Cruz didn't own the room the way Sarah Palin did earlier Saturday afternoon. His speech was far more detailed and focused on policy. But at the end, he had the crowd on its feet. "On drones, do we surrender or do we stand up now? On spending, do we surrender or do we stand up now? ... On the Constitution, do we surrender or do we stand up now?" They stood up. That was a victory for Cruz, but the biggest victory might have been when he asked them to "text the word 'growth' to #33733." That will help build a list of supporters for a 2016 victory. 

(Click here for more from on the ground at CPAC.)

Rand Paul Wins CPAC Straw Poll

NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. — Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul won the presidential primary straw poll at the Conservative Political Action Conference Saturday with 25 percent of attendees' votes, just ahead of Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, who also got 25 percent. The poll is not so much a sign of who will win in the next presidential election as a sign of who the base likes at the moment and how many Ron/Rand Paul voters show up. Ron Paul won in 2010 and 2011, Mitt Romney won in 2007, 2008, 2009, and 2012. NPR notes that only two CPAC straw poll winners have gone on to be president.

When it was announced former Sen. Rick Santorum got 8 percent for third place, there were some boos. New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie came in fourth, with 7 percent, and got a louder, but still mixed, reaction. Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan came in fifth with 6 percent. 

CPAC organizers were cheer that 52 percent of the votes were cast by people between the ages of 18 and 25. They were less cheered that 66 percent of the votes were male, though, "while it looks somewhat skewed," they noted CPAC votes have a gender gap every year.

(Click here for more from on the ground at CPAC.)

Dinesh D'Souza's '2016: Obama's America' Made Enough Money to Warrant a Sequel

Dinesh D'Souza made a movie last year. It was about President Obama, and what the world would look like if he were to win a second term. The outlook: not good. It was critically reviled, but it made truckloads of money, so they're making a sequel. 

Yes, you're understanding that correctly: there's going to be a sequel to 2016: Obama's America. Unfortunately the filmmakers passed on the opportunity to the 2016: America Harder, or How I Stopped Worrying and Learned to Love Obama, or 2016: America's America, or even my favorite option, America America America America America America America America. It works like Buffalo, see. Instead, D'Souza and his partners opted for something much simpler. This movie will be called America. 

The Hollywood Reporter broke the news just before D'Souza and crew announced the same thing at CPAC. The whole gang is back together for this one. D'Souza is writing, while John Sullivan returns to handle directing and Oscar winner Gerald Molen returns to executive produce. 2016 was undeniably a box office smash, by documentary standards. The only doc to out perform it financially was Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11. But it was ripped to shreds critically for being a partisan infomercial for the right. 

There's no indication what the new movie will be about, besides hating Obama, except what we can glean from this trailer. 2016 was based off one of D'Souza's books. This is based off of fresh, new ideas D'Souza wants to put on the screen:

America isn't technically a sequel to 2016, D'Souza told THR, but they understand if audiences see it that way.

Newly Released Secret Tapes Reveal LBJ Knew but Never Spoke Out About Nixon's 'Treason'

Rumors and whispers of Richard Nixon's 'treason' -- sabotaging Vietnam peace talks to help his Presidential campaign -- have floated around for years, but newly released tapes from Lyndon Johnson's Presidency confirm that LBJ knew about Nixon's behaviour and didn't bother to report it. 

In previously released tapes from Johnson's Presidency, we had heard about Johnson having substantial body of evidence showing Nixon had schemed to keep the South Vietnamese away from the negotiating table at the 1968 Paris peace talks. Like Nixon, Johnson had recored all of his conversations held inside the White House. Nixon was accused or dispatching Anna Chennault, a senior advisor, to convince the South Vietnamese they would get a better deal if they didn't agree to a peace deal until after the U.S. Presidential election. Chennault confirmed she spoke with the Vietnamese in her autobiography, The Education of Anna, but nothing more than that. If true, the charge would likely amount to treason.

Which brings us to today. The BBC's David Taylor reports newly unclassified Johnson tapes, combined with unreleased interviews carried out by the BBC's former Washington correspondent Charles Wheeler (before his death) with senior Johnson administration officials, reveals new, amazing information regarding the scandal. In October 1968, there was a breakthrough in the Paris peace talks attempting to end the Vietname war. At the same time, Nixon's campaign was relying heavily on the Vietnam War continuing. It seemed like the war was about to end and Johnson was about to halt the bombing of North Vietnam. Until Nixon had Chennault convince the South Vietnamese that they "should withdraw from the talks, refuse to deal with Johnson, and if Nixon was elected, they would get a much better deal," Taylor writes. They did, the day before Johnson was to announce the end of the Vietnam war.  

And Johnson knew about it all. In the recently released tapes, we can hear Johnson being told about Nixon's interference by Defence Secretary Clark Clifford. The FBI had bugged the South Vietnamese ambassadors phone. They had Chennault lobbying the ambassador on tape. Johnson was justifiably furious -- he ordered Nixon's campaign be placed under FBI surveillance. Johnson passed along a note to Nixon that he knew about the move. Nixon played like he had no idea why the South backed out, and offered to travel to Saigon to get them back to the negotiating table.

Johnson also passed along a note to Nixon's opponent, Democrat Hubert Humphrey. The Democratic campaign found out just days before the election, though, and decided they were close enough in the polls to not release the information. A treason accusation could potentially damage the country's security, they thought, before Humphrey lost a narrow election. Hindsight is 20/20, others say. 

But even before Nixon won, Johnson had his own issues to deal with. The South pulling out of the Paris talks meant the war would continue. Johnson could independently release the information if he wanted, destroy Nixon, and ensure a win for his Democratic ally Humphrey. But he opted not to for the country's greater security concerns: 

Johnson felt it was the ultimate expression of political hypocrisy but in calls recorded with Clifford they express the fear that going public would require revealing the FBI were bugging the ambassador's phone and the National Security Agency (NSA) was intercepting his communications with Saigon.

So they decided to say nothing.

Definitive Johnson historian Robert Caro, the author of four of a planned five books chronicling Lyndon Johnson's time in American politics, declined to talk about the confusion surrounding Vietnam in this May 2012 interview with NPR's Leonard Lopate. "That's coming in the next book," Caro said. 

Nixon went on to win the Presidency in 1968. In 1973, after escalating the Vietnam War in his first term, a peace deal was finally agreed upon. The rest, as they say, is history. 

How Pope Francis Got a Little Help from a Friend When Deciding His New Name

Pope Francis held his first audience with reporters Saturday morning since surprising everyone Wednesday as the choice to succeed departing Benedict as new Pope. He seemed to dazzle reporters with his humility and humor. Oh, one other thing: he really wants the church to go broke. 

For the very first time, the man formerly known Jorge Mario Bergoglio, the cardinal-archbishop of Buenos Aires, confirmed that St. Francis of Assisi was the inspiration for his name. "I thought of wars .... and Francis (of Assisi) is the man of peace, and that is how the name entered my heart, Francis of Assisi, for me he is the man of poverty, the man of peace, the man who loves and protects others," he told reporters this morning. 

But it was Brazilian Cardinal Claudio Hummes who really inspired the name. As the papel voting was concluding and it was clear Bergoglio was the winner, Hummes hugged and kissed Bergoglio and "don't forget about the poor," in his ear. "That word entered here," Francis said, pointing to his brain. He immediately thought of Francis of Assisi, who Pope Francis described as "the man who gives us this spirit of peace, the poor man," and decided that's how he would be named. 

"Poor" was the word on everyone's tongues after the Pope gave his remarks. Francis laid out an austere outlook for the church's future Saturday morning. At one point, immediately after he told the story of coming up with the Francis name, he openly rooted for the church to go broke again. "Oh, how I would like a poor Church, and for the poor," he said. He received praise from many journalists for his simple, direct remarks -- and for showing a sense of humor.