Capitol Hill Buzz: Feinstein vs. Cruz

Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz and five-term Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein engaged in a heated exchange on the Senate floor on Wednesday over "sanctuary cities" that shield residents from federal immigration authorities and over human rights in China.

Last month, Senate Democrats blocked a bill that would crack down on cities that have adopted policies of disregarding federal immigration requests, or "detainers," which advocates say can unfairly target innocent immigrants.

Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid objected, prompting Cruz to say that Reid was choosing "to stand with violent criminal illegal aliens instead of the American citizens."

In 2013, the two exchanged harsh words over gun control legislation during a committee vote on an assault weapons ban sponsored by Feinstein.

Arizona's two Republican senators said Wednesday that the Defense Department spent more than $10 million in marketing and advertising contracts with professional sports teams between 2012 and 2015.

John McCain and Jeff Flake, titled "Tackling Paid Patriotism," calls for an end to the taxpayer-funded practice of sponsoring such military celebrations at games, an effort that is often used for recruiting efforts and community outreach.

Earlier this year, the senators added a provision to a defense bill barring the Defense Department from entering into paid contracts for honoring members of the Armed Forces at sporting events.

Some of the examples mentioned by the report include the Army National Guard paying the Minnesota Vikings football team to sponsor its military appreciation night; the Air Force paying the Cincinnati Bengals football team $4,960 for 60 club level tickets; and the Air Force paying the LA Galaxy soccer team for "recognition of five high ranking officers of the Air Force" in a 2012 game and four sideline season tickets.