Free Republic

Excerpt - NEWARK, New Jersey (Reuters) - A former White House official who took top secret documents from U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney's office and gave them to opposition figures in the Philippines was sentenced on Wednesday to 10 years in prison. Philippine-born Leandro Aragoncillo, a U.S. citizen and former Marine, pleaded guilty last year to taking the documents that included details on threats against U.S. government interests and military personnel in the Philippines. Aragoncillo worked on the security detail assigned to the vice president from 1999 to 2002, where he held a top security clearance. He later took a...

(Reuters) - Illinois, the longtime home of President Barack Obama, has chosen Democrats for president in every election since 1992 and for governor since 2002. But this year Republicans, finding a weak incumbent in Democratic Governor Pat Quinn, see an opening. The Republican front-runner ahead of the March 18 primary, venture capitalist Bruce Rauner, has emerged as a deep-pocketed and potentially formidable rival. The Republican National Committee already has staff on the ground in Illinois and plans to add more this spring. Quinn eked out a victory four years ago by less than 1 percentage point and his job approval...