Hashtag of the day: today is #GroundhogDay! Groundhog Punxsutawney Phil saw his own shadow, predicting six more weeks of winter. But as last year was the warmest on record and global warming is still a fact, spring-like weather may actually be on its way. Read on for our rants of the day:

Welcome to RantCrush Top 5, where we take you through today’s top five controversial stories in the world of law and policy. Who’s ranting and raving right now? Check it out below:

Trump Rattles Relationships With Australia and Iran

President Donald Trump is not on the best terms with Iran or Australia right now. Yesterday Iran said it had test-fired some new missiles, which the White House was not happy to hear. Currently, per a 2015 U.N. resolution, Iran is not allowed to develop any nuclear weapons. But Iran claims it was only testing regular missiles without any nuclear powers, the same kind of test it has performed several times since the resolution went into effect. The U.S. disagrees, claiming that Iran did violate the resolution with these tests. This was also the first test performed since Trump took office and one of his campaign promises was to stop Iran’s missile program. So his national security adviser Michael Flynn said, “As of today, we are officially putting Iran on notice.” He gave no indication of what “on notice” means.

Flynn delivers stern warning to Iran for recent weapon testing, saying the U.S. is putting the country “on notice.” https://t.co/lQ7rETgsXp pic.twitter.com/69i7FDzzGE

— ABC News (@ABC) February 2, 2017

Yesterday it was also reported that Trump’s Saturday phone call with Australia’s Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull was no walk in the park. Trump allegedly told the U.S. ally’s leader that he had talked to several international leaders that day already but that their exchange was “the worst call by far.” The two leaders clashed over a previous agreement between the two countries that the U.S. will take 1,250 refugees from Australian detention centers, something that Trump reportedly didn’t know about. In a tweet yesterday he called the refugees “illegal immigrants” and the deal “dumb.”

Do you believe it? The Obama Administration agreed to take thousands of illegal immigrants from Australia. Why? I will study this dumb deal!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 2, 2017

Emma Von Zeipel

Emma Von Zeipel is a staff writer at Law Street Media. She is originally from one of the islands of Stockholm, Sweden. After working for Democratic Voice of Burma in Thailand, she ended up in New York City. She has a BA in journalism from Stockholm University and is passionate about human rights, good books, horses, and European chocolate. Contact Emma at EVonZeipel@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post RantCrush Top 5: February 2, 2017 appeared first on Law Street.

Texas Senator Ted Cruz announced Monday morning that he will be running in the 2016 presidential race, making him the first Republican candidate to officially declare his bid for the presidency.  But if you thought all election birth certificate drama ended with Obama, you were wrong. This time Cruz’s citizenship is under scrutiny, causing some people to wonder if the Canadian-born U.S. Senator can actually become president.

It’s common knowledge that according to the Constitution you must be a “natural-born-citizen” in the United States in order to become its president or vice president. Sorry Arnold Schwarzenegger. But how is it possible for Canadian born Senator Cruz to run for office?

For starters Cruz, who was born in Calgary, Canada to an American mother and Cuban émigré father, received U.S. citizenship from his mother, but also maintained Canadian citizenship by way of birth. In 2013 when he was being considered as a potential candidate, questions regarding Cruz’s citizenship began to surface, prompting him to release a statement:

Because I was a U.S. citizen at birth, because I left Calgary when I was 4 and have lived my entire life since then in the U.S., and because I have never taken affirmative steps to claim Canadian citizenship, I assumed that was the end of the matter.

Now the Dallas Morning News says that I may technically have dual citizenship. Assuming that is true, then sure, I will renounce any Canadian citizenship. Nothing against Canada, but I’m an American by birth, and as a U.S. Senator, I believe I should be only an American.

Cruz’s became “All-American” in 2014 when he signed his official “Canadian Renunciation Letter” absolving him of his Canadian citizenship. Despite this, some conservatives like Donald Trump have continued to question Cruz’s eligibility, albeit quite passively, calling it a “hurdle” for Cruz. That’s a stark difference from the attack dog-like aggressiveness from birthers like Trump who not too long ago demanded to see Obama’s birth certificate with their own eyes. That group went so far as to claim that the president was really born in Kenya and his birth certificate was a forgery.

In case you were wondering, Cruz isn’t the first presidential candidate to be born outside of the United States. ABC News was quick to point out that both John McCain and George Romney ran for president, despite being born in the Panama Canal Zone and Mexico, respectively.

So just to make it clear yes, Cruz is American and yes, he is allowed to run for President. Whether or not he’ll even become the Republican nominee is another story, but for now lets put an end to another round of trivial “birth certificate drama.”

Alexis Evans

Alexis Evans is an Assistant Editor at Law Street and a Buckeye State native. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism and a minor in Business from Ohio University. Contact Alexis at aevans@LawStreetMedia.com.

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