A handful of Democrats are voicing their approval of Florida Republican Sen. Marco Rubio as secretary of state, but others proceed to solid doubt on a few of President-elect Donald Trump's Cabinet selections.

“I think Marco Rubio is extremely well qualified for the job for which he was nominated,” said Democratic Senator-elect Adam Schiff of California NBC's “Meet the Press.”” on Sunday morning. “I still need to ask questions, I'm not even going to completely prejudge him, but he's definitely qualified.”

Trump has made a number of Cabinet decisions in the past two weeks, announcing his picks for all 15 heads of executive departments. Eyes now turn to the U.S. Senate to confirm the nominees.

Rubio is considered one of the “less MAGA” options in Trump’s circle, a Trump ally said NBC News earlier this monthand another said he had “aligned far more closely with the president on tariff issues.”

Trump pushed for universal tariffs during the 2024 campaign, with particularly high tariffs of 60% on goods from China.

Rubio is known to be tough on China and a vocal supporter of demonetizing the social media platform TikTok, owned by Chinese company ByteDance, in the United States. He is also restrictive towards Iran, but remains ambivalent about supporting Ukraine.

Pennsylvania Democratic Sen. John Fetterman also said in an interview with Fox News' “Fox News Sunday” that he was a “fan” of Rubio and said he would vote for his confirmation.

Fetterman said he might also “enthusiastically vote yes” for the representative. Elise Stefanik to serve as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, and for pro-union Rep. Lori Chavez DeRemer as Labor Minister.

Fetterman also said he is open to other candidates, such as his former rival for the Pennsylvania Senate seat, Dr. Mehmet Oz Administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

“I’m not going to hate this in advance. I will have an open conversation with anyone I am willing to participate in that conversation,” Fetterman said.

Illinois Democratic Sen. Tammy Duckworth said she has “a friendship” with Rubio and said she looks forward to speaking to him about his policies.

Duckworth, a combat veteran injured in Iraq, also weighed in on Trump's defense and veterans affairs in her interview with CNN's “State of the Union” Sunday morning. While the senator said she was open to talks with Republican Rep. Doug Collins of Georgia, Trump's nominee to lead the Department of Veterans Affairs, she deemed Fox News host Pete Hegseth “unqualified” for the defense secretary position.

“He never commanded a company, let alone battalions, brigades or entire armies,” Duckworth said of Hegseth, an Army National Guard veteran.

“There are ways to be troublemakers without actually appointing people as defense secretary who have never led an organization larger than a platoon,” Duckworth continued, adding that Collins would be a good example. “The VA had a terrible problem with its electronic medical records program. Hopefully Doug Collins will come in there and stir things up.”

Hegseth has also been under fire for a police investigation in 2017 related to an alleged sexual assault at a California hotel.

Another name that has drawn significant criticism in the Senate is former Democratic representative. Tulsi Gabbard, Trump's nominee for Director of National Intelligence.

Senator-elect Schiff said Gabbard lacked experience on the House Intelligence Committee their alleged ties to the Kremlinworry him.

Senator Duckworth claimed Gabbard was “compromised” and feared the former congresswoman was unable to pass a background check.

“I think that she is someone who fully supports her [Russian President Vladimir Putin]and I worry that she won’t have America’s best interests at heart,” Duckworth said.

However, some Republicans are refuting the claim that Duckworth is a Russian asset.

“I find it insulting. Frankly, it’s an insult,” Republican Sen. Eric Schmitt of Missouri said Sunday on NBC.Meet the press.”

Meanwhile, HR McMaster, who previously served as national security adviser during Trump's first term as president, said he didn’t think Sebastian Gorka, Trump's former national security adviser, was the precise person to advise on national security issues within the second term.

“I think that the president [and] “Others who work with him will probably notice that pretty quickly,” McMaster said Sunday on CBS’ “Face the Nation.”

McMaster, who has openly criticized some points of Trump's foreign policy agenda after his time within the administration, also said he was concerned in regards to the tendency of some Republican officials to parrot Russian President Putin's talking points.

“You have to get rid of this strange affection for Vladimir Putin,” McMaster said.

Vocal opposition from Democrats in Congress has led Trump to think about the potential for forcing the Senate into an prolonged recess in 2025 to bypass the confirmation process in appointing Cabinet officials.

Recess dates are “and should be on the table,” Republican Sen. Bill Hagerty of Tennessee said Sunday on ABC News' “This Week.”

“This is a constitutionally available tool. What we want to see is the Democrats working with us. “But if the resistance movement becomes as strong as it was… we have to put a team together around him, and.” [Trump] “He needs every tool at his disposal to do that,” Hagerty said.

San Jose community leaders are condemning plans by HCA Healthcare to expand a neighborhood hospital on the western fringe of town while degrading care on the Regional Medical Center on the east side.

In February, HCA Healthcare — considered one of the nation's largest for-profit health care corporations — announced it will close Regional Medical Center's trauma center and downgrade other life-saving programs on Aug. 12. But last week, the corporate reversed its decision and said it will as a substitute downgrade the trauma center from a Level II to a Level III facility. But East San Jose officials criticized the plan, saying it still falls short.

On Wednesday evening, community members continued to rally outside the hospital – this time against HCA's decision to expand Good Samaritan Hospital in a wealthier a part of town just 14 miles away. The project, which is being carried out in compliance with state earthquake regulations, calls for 2 latest hospital wings that may increase the variety of beds from 404 to 419.

San Jose City Councilman Peter Ortiz, who represents the district where the Regional Medical Center is positioned, expressed concern that the HCA is asking town for support for the expansion while cutting medical services, which can particularly affect Latino and Vietnamese immigrant families.

“This shouldn't be a tale of two hospitals,” Ortiz said. “There shouldn't be one hospital on the east side of San Jose and one hospital on the west side of San Jose. We should have one health care system that serves our entire city equally.”

A Regional Medical Center official said in a press release that Good Samaritan Hospital “began the process three years ago to meet California's 2030 earthquake standards.”

“Funding for these state-mandated improvements is not optional and will not impact decisions or investments at other hospitals,” the official said. “Regardless, the service changes we are making at Regional Medical Center are designed to meet the evolving needs of our patients and demonstrate our continued commitment to the East San Jose community.”

But Darcie Green, executive director of the nonprofit Latina Contra Cancer, said community members who’ve been protesting outside the hospital for eight weeks will proceed to fight for higher care. Green said that despite their presence on the Regional Medical Center, they’ve not yet met with hospital leadership. A gathering scheduled for Wednesday afternoon was abruptly canceled.

“We will occupy this lawn for as many weeks as it takes to demand the best health care for the residents of East San Jose and the best health care in this facility for all residents of the county because we deserve it, it is our human right and they have the power to enforce it,” Green said.

Celts

Things proceed to go downhill for Mavericks star Luka Doncic.

The 25-year-old guard was the goal of heavy criticism for his performance in Game 3 of the NBA Finals. The talented scorer was sent off for a foul within the fourth quarter as Dallas attempted to orchestrate a comeback within the decisive period against the Celtics.

Not only did Doncic put his team in a brutal situation with fouls (including 4 fouls within the fourth period), he also questioned the referee's performance in his post-game press conference as a substitute of taking responsibility for his own undisciplined play.

“I mean, I don't know. We couldn't play physically, so, I don't know. I don't want to say anything, but [a] sixth foul in the NBA Finals when I'm basically like that?” Doncic told reporters, gesturing as if he had been standing still. “Come on, man, this is better than that.”

Doncic's play and his postgame comments prompted ESPN NBA insider Brian Windhorst to call his performance “unacceptable,” adding, “The fact that he came out after the game and blamed the referees tells me he's nowhere near that point.”

Dallas Mavericks superstar Luka Dončić shall be suspended from Game 3 of the #NBAFinals with just over 4 minutes remaining.

Replays and the review decision as seen and heard within the ESPN broadcast on ABC. pic.twitter.com/ot1R3YOOSs

— Awful Announcement (@awfulannouncing) June 13, 2024

Windhorst was removed from the one ESPN media star to sharply criticize Doncic and his comments following Boston's 106-99 win, which gave the Celtics a commanding 3-0 lead within the series.

Considering how much criticism former Boston star Kendrick Perkins has faced with the Celtics over the past few seasons, you realize Doncic has put himself in a difficult position if Perkins is the one calling him out.

“Let's put the (expletive) nonsense (expletive) aside. … We look at the Dallas side of things: Kyrie Irving showed up and did what he was supposed to do.” Perkins said on Wednesday night on the podcast “Road Trippin'.” “There’s no getting around it: Luka (swear word) is out of the game.

“He drained his team emotionally, even (Mavs head coach Jason Kidd). It started on offense, whining every damn turnover, falling to the floor, not getting back in transition, not trying for a second attempt. He didn't punch out once.”

Similar to Windhorst, Perkins emphasized that Doncic focused on the wrong things during Wednesday's game – even before he took out most of his frustration on the referees.

“It was a timeout, he was yelling at his teammate, and his teammate wasn't involved in the play at all,” Perkins said. “Who's mad? The cop committed a foul. That wasn't a foul. Why did you even put yourself in that position? He quit.”

“That was by far the worst performance I've seen from Luka in the playoffs. He lacked energy, leadership, and emotions. He wet the bed in the crib.”

On Thursday: Stephen A. Smith of ESPN took part in the criticism of Doncic on “First Take”, Smith challenged the Celtics to finish the sweep on Friday night in Dallas.

“It was the level of selfishness and the lack of responsibility,” Smith said of Doncic's performance on Wednesday. You're the superstar of the team. You're speculated to be the leader of the team. Let's put you all in perspective. We're sitting here and Kyrie Irving is seen because the reasonable one.

“The reasonable person who has to step up and help bring Luka Doncic back in because Luka Doncic is so petty and so petty. Let's not forget him yelling at his bench and his coaches, 'Damn it, question the decision.' We saw that. He's pointing the finger at everyone but himself, and he's taking himself out of the game.”

JERUSALEM – Israeli leaders on Sunday sharply criticized an expected U.S. decision to impose sanctions on a unit of ultra-Orthodox soldiers within the Israeli military.

The decision, expected as early as Monday, could be the primary time the U.S. has ever imposed sanctions on a unit inside the Israeli military and would further strain growing ties between the 2 allies increasingly tense throughout the Israeli war in Gaza.

While U.S. officials declined to call the unit targeted for sanctions, Israeli leaders and native media identified it as Netzah Yehuda — an infantry battalion formed a few quarter-century ago to integrate ultra-Orthodox men into the military. Many religious men Get exceptions of what should actually be compulsory service.

Israeli leaders condemned the expected decision as unfair, especially at a time when Israel is at war, and vowed to oppose it.

“If anyone thinks they can impose sanctions on any unit of the IDF, I will fight it with all my might,” the prime minister said Benjamin Netanyahu said.

Netzah Yehuda, or “Judea Forever,” has historically been based within the occupied West Bank and a few of its members have been linked to human rights abuses against Palestinians. It represents only a small a part of Israel's military presence within the territory.

The unit got here under intense American criticism in 2022 after an elderly Palestinian-American man was affected found dead shortly after he was arrested at a checkpoint within the West Bank.

A Palestinian autopsy found that 78-year-old Omar Assad had health problems but had suffered a heart attack attributable to “external violence.”

It said doctors found bruising on his head, redness on his wrists from being tied up and bleeding in his eyelids from being blindfolded. According to a military investigation, Israeli soldiers assumed Assad was sleeping after they cut the cables binding his hands. They didn’t offer medical attention after they saw he was unresponsive and left the scene without checking to see if he was still alive.

Assad had lived within the USA for 4 a long time. After an outcry from the U.S. government, the Israeli military said the incident was “a serious and unfortunate event resulting from moral failure and poor decision-making on the part of the soldiers.” It said one officer was reprimanded over the incident and two other officers been placed in non-commanding roles.

But the military decided against law enforcementand said military investigators could circuitously link their actions to the U.S. citizen's death.

Human rights groups have long argued that Israel rarely holds soldiers accountable for the deaths of Palestinians.

Investigators said soldiers were forced to restrain Assad due to his “aggressive resistance.” Assad's family has expressed skepticism that the behavior of an ailing 78-year-old could justify such harsh treatment.

Amid the turmoil with the US, Israel moved Netzah Yehuda from the West Bank in late 2022 and assigned it to northern Israel. The battalion was deployed to the southern border with Gaza following the October 7 Hamas attack ongoing war.

In an announcement on Sunday, the military said its Netzah Yehuda soldiers were “currently participating in the war effort in the Gaza Strip.”

“The battalion conducts its operations professionally and courageously in accordance with the IDF Code of Ethics and in full compliance with international law,” it said. It said that if the unit is sanctioned, “its consequences will be reviewed.”

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Friday that it had made a call on reviewing allegations that several Israeli military units had violated the conditions for receiving US aid set out within the so-called Leahy Law and that it could be made public soon.

Benny Gantz, a member of Israel's War Cabinet, said in an announcement that he spoke with Blinken on Sunday evening and told him that the expected decision was a “mistake” because it could affect Israel's international legitimacy throughout the war and since of Israel's justice system “Strong and strong” be independent.”

Two U.S. officials aware of the situation said the U.S. announcement could come as early as Monday.

The officials said five Israeli units were under investigation and all but one were found to have taken measures to deal with the violations. The Leahy Act, named after former Senator Patrick Leahy, prohibits U.S. aid from going to foreign military units which have committed human rights abuses.

A reservist with the Netzah Yehuda unit, Sgt. Maj. Nadav Nissim Miranda, said Assad's death was “an unfortunate incident” but additionally an aberration. He told Channel 12 TV that targeting the battalion would harm efforts to encourage religious men to enlist.

But Yesh Din, an Israeli legal advocacy group, said the case was not an isolated incident. It says that one in five soldiers convicted of harming Palestinians or their property since 2010 comes from Netzah Yehuda, making it the unit with the best conviction rate in such cases.

The US review was initiated before the Hamas war and shouldn’t be related to recent Israeli actions within the Gaza Strip or the West Bank – where there was a dramatic increase in deadly violence for the reason that Gaza war began. The USA also recently imposed sanctions against the country violent settlers.

Gadi Shamni, a retired general who once served as a military commander over the West Bank, said a key problem with the unit is that it has traditionally been assigned exclusively to the West Bank. Violence between troops and Palestinians and settlers and Palestinians has increased sharply there in recent times. In contrast, he said other units commonly rotate out and in of volatile territory.

He said the incessant friction and violence had led to some “fatigue” amongst troops. Still, he said it was a stereotype to punish all the unit and that it could have been higher to focus on specific individuals or commanders.

But Ori Givati, the pinnacle of advocacy at Breaking the Silence, an Israeli group of former combat soldiers critical of the Israeli occupation, said the issues run much deeper than individual units.

He said soldiers' abuse of power over Palestinians was systematic and the shortage of consequences for wrongdoing led to incidents resembling Assad's death.

Israeli hardliners criticized the expected US decision. Israel's ultra-nationalist National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said the US had crossed a “red line” and Tally Gotliv, a member of Netanyahu's Likud party, accused the US of anti-Semitism.

He said the expected sanctions were “a mistake and we must act to lift them.” He noted that “the cause of the problem is not at the military level but at the political level.”

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