the clerk: the judiciary, brian morris of montana to be united states district judge. the presiding officer: the senator from north dakota. mr. hoeven: thank you, mr. president. mr. president, i and my colleagues stand here today holding the floor this defense of fair and free debate and the long-standing traditions of the senate that promote consensus. we're here today working on nominations because the majority leader has determined that that is the agenda for today, but there are important issues that we need to move to -- the defense reauthorization bill, the water resources development bill, the farm bill, the budget and other vitally important legislation. we need to move to these bills and we need to deal with them in a bipartisan way, and instead we continue to work on nominees, and we're working on nominees really without the discussion and the debate and the consideration and most importantly without that bipartisan consensus, which has always been a hallmark of the united states senate. and because of the unilateral change in the long-standing rules of the s

the clerk: we the senators hereby move to bring to a close the nomination of brian morris of montana to be united states district judge for the district of montana. mr. reid: i ask unanimous consent the reading of the names be waived, madam president. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: i now move to proceed to legislative session. the presiding officer: the question is on the motion to proceed. all those in favor say aye. all those opposed say nay. the ayes he appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the motion is agreed to. mr. reid: i move to proceed to executive session to consider calendar number 349. the presiding officer: all those in favor say aye. all those opposed say nay. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the motion is agreed to. the clerk will report the nomination. the clerk: the judiciary. susan p. watters of montana to be united states district judge for the district of montana. the clerk: i send a cloture motion to the desk. the presiding officer: the clerk will report the cloture motion. the clerk: cloture motion. we the undersigned sena

are spending time tonight in a protracted debate on three district court nominees -- mccafferty, brian morris of montana, and sow susan p. watters of montana. it me, we've gotten to this point mr. president, because of the heavy-mannehanded overreachf the majority in trasming on the rights of folks on our side of the aisle who find ourselves temporarily, i hope, in the minority. that has a wait of changing from time to time, but it's the sort of overreach that i'm r reminded of from 2009 when a supermajority in both houses rammed through obamacare and caused all of the grief that we currently are facing and that real, live americans are having with the so-called affordable health care act. you know, it -- it actually might be in one way beneficial that we're spending this time on something that could have been done so quickly, because it gives us an opportunity to point out that we should be right now at this moment working on the national defense reauthorization act. and also on the budget, two matters that are pending that really must be addressed by this senate before we can go home and ta

brian morris was confirmed at around 9:30 a.m. eastern time. there are hours of debate ahead, per -- including for president obama's nominee to lead homeland security. we will look at a couple of tweets at what is happening in the senate. harry reid now to confirm every one of obama's nominee is, and the gop cannot do anything to stop them. from republican senator rand against thee out senate democrats use of the nuclear option. the death of the filibuster is the death of dialogue. he posted a video of his remarks. >> let me be very clear. this is a delicate diplomatic moment. we have a chance to address peacefully one of the most pressing national security concerns that the world faces implicationsgantic of the potential conflict. we are at a crossroads. we are at one of those hinge points in history. one path that lead to an enduring resolution about iran's nuclear program. the other path could lead to hostilityhistology -- and conflict. i do not have to tell you that these are high-stakes. on c-span,kend secretary of state john kerry on whit

distinct privilege to rise today to speak on two nominees that are indeed the real thing, justin brian morris and judge susan watters. the senate will soon take up both their nominations for united states district judge for the district of montana. one of the most important responsibilities i have is providing advice and consent to the president on nominations to the federal bench. i approach each vacancy with the same criteria. i want the best, regardless of whether they are republican or democrats, liberal or conservative. the best. judge morris and judge watters are the best. their quality of character and breadth of experience are income able. justice morris was raised in butte, montana. he earned a bachelor and master's degrees in economics from stafford university and received his law degree with distinction from stanford university law school in 1992. justice morris' experience at the law school is as varied as it is noteworthy. he clerked for judge john noonan jr., the ninth circuit court of appeals and chief justice william rehnquist of the united states supreme court. he spent time

the general manager brian sabian went to work today. signed the free agent mike morris to a deal. he hit a career high 31 home runs with washington back in 2011, but just 13 last year. a lot of injuries for him last year. thursday night, top five in my hand. michael jordan scores 38 in a win against the jazz. he had the flu. today, his sneakers sold at auction for $104,000. the oilers goalie, evan dubnik. he scores. three seconds left in ot. chris butler avoids the shoot outscoring with a dramatic game winner. >>> this bronco fan spray painted the bronco logo on his moe hawk. the chargers again pull off the upset 27-20. what is interesting now is that the raiders chiefs game takes on some added significance, by the way. chief promo. channel 5. >> the raiders can be spoilers huh? >> they could be. and, now, this game, because of denver's loss tonight will mean something. it's the fight for home field advantage in the afc west. by the way, have you heard the jim harbaugh rumor? the texas longhorns might be courting him. >> 10 million? >> they will pay up to 10 million. you can read

but first let's check in with clayton morris and see what's coming up on "fox & friends." >> i am sitting in for briane couch. the latest on the flu outbreak. right now more than a does inge people died from that no signs of slowing up. obamacare costing the democrats at the polls. what it means for the president's party heading into 2014. then if you ditch class lose your driver's license. a cont chroversial program out michigan to teach students responsibility. will it work? get a tablet for christmas? it was the number one gift this year. i am going to help you set it up and figure out the cool apps for it. >> we brought the boat show to our plaza. maybe we should combine those with the celebrity melt down. "fox & friends first" coming up in about 12 minutes. hoo-hoo hoo. sir... i'll get it together i promise... heeheehee. jimmy: ronny, how happy are folks who save hundreds of dollars switching to geico? ronny:i'd say happier than the pillsbury doughboy on his way to a baking convention. get happy. get geico. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more. >>> it is nine minutes till the to

brian and elizabeth are all off and enjoying holiday time. kelly wright, clayton morrisipped into my bike. >> ho ho ho. >> and one of the hottest gadgets this year was tablets. coming n just about 30 minutes from now. >> that's what you are angling. >> a lot of people get tablets for christmas and they literally don't know what to do with them and what alps to get and cloud and photo backup stuff questions i get in our hallways. i will show you. >> i have had mine for three years. i don't know how it to use it you said you can make the font a little bit bigger, grandma? >> show you how to do all of that stay tuned for that coming up. >> some opener stories making headlines this friday morning. new overnight a deadly explosion rocks beirut killing a former senior advisor to prime minister of lebanon and four others. authorities believe the government official of former ambassador to the united states was the target of the blast. at least 70 others were injured. also, overnight. terrifying video of a deadly plane crash in central california where the aircraft smashed into