Sen. Cruz threatens another shutdown unless restrictions on military flights are approved

Republican Sen. Ted Cruz threatened Monday to hold up funding to keep the federal government open after the end of January if reforms don't pass by then to tighten up the rules on military flights and help prevent deadly crashes like the collision between an airliner and an Army helicopter over Washington, D.C., that killed 67. Cruz and Democratic Sen. Maria Cantwell held a news conference Monday with some of the victims' families to urge Congress to strip provisions from a massive defense bill that would allow military aircraft to get a waiver to return to operating without broadcasting their precise location, just as they were before the Jan. 29 crash. It's not clear if Republican leadership will allow the defense bill to be amended because that would send the bill back to the House and could delay raises for soldiers and other key provisions.