In the News

Ted Lieu: The United States and Israel have an unbreakable bond and we share common values and policy goals, including preventing Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon. I appreciated the Prime Minister's praise for the high level of cooperation between the United States and Israel and the support Israel has received from President Obama.

JJ: Prime Minister Netanyahu said that no deal is better than the currently proposed deal. Do you agree with that?

With every seat plus standing room filled in the House chamber on Capitol Hill on March 3, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's highly anticipated and much-debated speech on a potential nuclear deal between the United States and Iran did not reveal new information about the deal's content, nor did it indicate a clear path forward if the deal collapses.

Roll Call's Heard on the Hill blog has a short Q&A with U.S. Rep. Mark Takai. Excerpt:

Q. Do you have a favorite campaign story?

A: I have interesting stories here [in D.C.]. So there's 14 Asian-American and Pacific Islanders in Congress and — without fail — every day [Rep.] Ted Lieu [D-Calif.] gets called Mark Takai, and Mark Takai gets called either Mark Takano or Ted Lieu, but it's been a lot of fun because we all get together and do a recap of the day and who made that mistake.

The Food and Drug Administration, already under fire for its response to superbug outbreaks at U.S. hospitals, has tried and failed twice to get medical scope manufacturers to prove their controversial devices can be cleaned of deadly bacteria.

The embattled agency said Monday that it didn't request the information until spring 2014 — despite earlier warnings about tainted scopes — and that it has given device makers three chances to validate their cleaning protocols.

Those new disclosures drew immediate criticism from a federal lawmaker and some consumer advocates.

Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Torrance) held his district swearing-in ceremony Sunday at Royce Hall, where he called for comprehensive immigration reform, support for homeless veterans and action on climate change.

About 900 people, including government officials and residents of the district, gathered to watch Lieu take his oath of office.

Lieu represents the congressional district that includes UCLA and Westwood. He won an election to the House of Representatives in November, defeating Republican Elan Carr and replacing Henry Waxman, who represented the district for 40 years.

California Republicans are gathering at the Hyatt Regency in downtown Sacramento this weekend for their biannual state party convention, an occasion for activists to celebrate the modest electoral gains their party made in the midterm election and to plot its future.

State Republicans are coming off a fall election in which they denied Democrats another two years of supermajority status in the Legislature. But GOP candidates failed to win any of the eight statewide offices, and the party faltered in every targeted congressional race, ultimately losing a seat.

Last week, UCLA Medical Center notified 179 patients that it had potentially exposed them to a fearsome "superbug," and urged them to get tested.

The hospital accidentally infected seven people in procedures involving specialized endoscopes, called duodenoscopes, that proved difficult to thoroughly clean. Two of the people died.

On Sunday, February 15, a pre-opening Open House at Anam Cara invited guests to visit and tour the progress of the tiny, six-bed hospice—two at full price (comparable to board and care homes in the area), two at an adjusted rate and two community beds free of charge—that will accommodate terminal patients (up to a two-month prognosis) and their families.