instruction:
In this task, you are given news articles and you need to generate a highlight, i.e., a short summary, with a maximum length of 10 lines.
question:
As they make a final push to approve presidential nominations before Republicans take control of the Senate, Democrats said Tuesday the confirmation of a record number of federal judges was evidence they were right to make controversial changes to filibuster rules, despite objections from Republicans. "Yes," Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid responded loudly when asked if still believes he was right to employ the so-called "nuclear option" a year ago in order to clear a backlog of nominees. The No. 2 Senate Democrat explained that at the time there was a "breakdown in the relationship between the executive and legislative branch." "If you just look at where we were, with all of the nominations stacked on the calendar, most of which had been reported from committees with overwhelming bipartisan votes," Sen. Dick Durbin said.  "Republicans were trying to keep as many nominations from final approval as possible. So we had no choice." During the first year of the congressional session, before the nuclear option, the Senate confirmed a total of 36 federal district and circuit court judges appointed by the President.  After the rules changes, which took place Nov. 21, 2013, the number of judges confirmed more than doubled to 84. The rules change lowered the number of votes needed to overcome a filibuster from 60 to 51, making it much easier for Democrats, who currently have a 54 to 46 majority, to approve judges to those lifetime positions. Before the Senate adjourns, probably in the next day or two, Democrats hope to confirm an additional 12 district court positions. Democrats this week also cleared a new surgeon general, a top immigration official, and were ready to approve Tuesday the No. 2 at the State Department. Each of those people faced serious GOP opposition and might not have been cleared if not for the rules change. "The train is running over everyone. That's the Reid train. Last trip around the track," complained Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona about the last minute wave of judicial and executive branch nominations Senate Democratic Leader Reid is jamming through. "It's a result of the nuclear option which deprived us of our ability to advise and consent and it's shameful. McCain and other Republicans also blamed Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and a small group of other conservatives who forced a weekend session that Reid used to clear procedural hurdles on a number of nominees. "It was also caused in part by what happened last weekend when several nominees who are controversial are now going to receive Senate votes and are probably going to be confirmed who otherwise probably would not have been," said Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine.
answer:
Democrats say they have no regrets over changing the Senate rules to approve more judges .
Republicans, who will take control of the Senate in January, are upset with the maneuver .


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(CNN) -- The man who led Germany to a World Cup win both as a player and a coach admits he has lost faith in FIFA due to the way the voting process for the 2018 and 2022 tournaments was handled. Franz Beckenbauer, a member of FIFA's executive committee, criticized football's governing body after the amount of votes each bidder received was made public. Beckenbauer was one of the 22 FIFA members who voted in the process and claims he was assured that the details would remain private. Yet soon after it was announced that Russia had won the right to host the 2018 competition, and Qatar had secured the 2022 version, media were reporting that two of the favorites, England and Australia, attracted just two votes and one vote respectively. It led to an angry reaction from representatives of the England and Australia bid teams and Beckenbauer acknowledges his faith in FIFA has been shaken as a result. "I am disappointed with the way FIFA dealt with the result. The seven losing countries were treated disgracefully, particularly England and Australia, Beckenbauer told German newspaper Bild. "All of us ExCo members were told ahead of the ballot that neither we nor the public would ever know the exact number of votes for each country. After each round of voting we were told only which country had been ruled out. "Then, a few hours later, I was hearing from journalists what the exact voting had been. It's certainly affected my confidence in FIFA." England were particularly vociferous in their criticism of FIFA and claimed several committee members promised them votes that didn't materialize. Ron Walker, a member of the Australian Football Federation, claimed the voting process had been "contaminated" in the year leading up to the announcement on December 2. Beckenbauer was instrumental in taking the World Cup to Germany in 2006 having won the tournament as a player in 1974 and as a coach in 1990. He announced in November that he will step down from his current role with FIFA in March in order to spend more time with his family.
answer:
Franz Beckenbauer says he's lost faith in FIFA after the World Cup voting process .
Germany legend says losing bidders were treated "disgracefully"
Beckenbauer is to step down from FIFA's executive committee in March .


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Military forces have managed to take the remaining strongholds of al Qaeda affiliate Al-Shabaab in the far northeast of the Somali capital, Mogadishu, the military said. "In effect, operations will now focus on the environs of the city and policing within the liberated areas," the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) said in a statement, adding that its troops worked with Transitional Federal Government forces. "Our joint operations have gone extremely well today and over the weekend," AMISOM spokesman Lt. Col. Paddy Ankunda said.  "Casualties have been thankfully very low on our side, with just one killed and six minor injuries.  The outer north and eastern fringes of the city must still be cleared, but key ground and buildings are no longer under the control of the extremists." "It has been a big achievement to remove Al-Shabaab from the city, and put an end to the fighting that disrupted so many lives.  But the challenge is now to protect civilians from the sort of terror attack we saw last week, as they attempt to rebuild their lives." Last week Al-Shabaab claimed responsibility for a suicide truck bombing in the heart of Mogadishu that left dozens dead. Other Al-Shabaab attacks last week led to the deaths of at least 10 civilians. Al-Shabaab was designated as a foreign terrorist organization by the U.S. government in March 2008. The group is waging a war against Somalia's government to implement a stricter form of Islamic law, or Sharia. Federal and African Union forces in the impoverished and chaotic nation have battled the group for years. Many analysts believe Al-Shabaab has been severely weakened by AMISOM, targeted strikes against foreign members and the weakening of al Qaeda. Al-Shabaab said in August that it was withdrawing from Mogadishu, and the Transitional Federal Government, backed by African Union peacekeepers, now control most districts of the capital city, the United Nations office said. Forces have pushed Al-Shabaab outside most of Mogadishu, but the group is still a major threat, said African Union forces spokesman Lt. Col. Paddy Nkunda in a statement last week.
answer:

Military forces say they have taken strongholds in northeastern Mogadishu .
The military cites "a big achievement"
Al-Shabaab claimed responsibility for an attack last week that killed dozens .