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The new U.S.-Afghanistan security agreement adds restrictions on already bureaucratic rules of engagement for American troops by making Afghan dwellings virtual safe havens for the enemy, combat veterans say. The rules of engagement place the burden on U.S. air and ground troops to confirm with certainty that a Taliban fighter is armed before they can fire — even if they are 100 percent sure the target is the enemy. In some cases, aerial gunships have been denied permission to fire even though they reported that targets on the move were armed. The proposed Bilateral Security Agreement announced Wednesday by Afghan

Insurance companies say they were blindsided by Obama’s announcement that state insurance commissions and companies can decide whether or not to re-start plans they had canceled. NBC’s Tom Costello reports.

Vid at link.

The Obama administration has drawn up draft rules that would end a decades-long ban on Libyans getting military training in the U.S., according to documents obtained by House Republicans who said Thursday that it’s the wrong move after last year’s Benghazi attack. The administration says relations with Libya have “normalized,” and that the Libyan government has earned the right to have better relations with the U.S., which first imposed the ban in 1983 after a wave of terrorist attacks involving Libyans. But House Judiciary Committee Chairman Robert W. Goodlatte and Rep. Jason Chaffetz said Libya remains a dangerous hotspot and...

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Wednesday urged the world to insist on tough negotiations that ensure Iran does not develop a nuclear weapon. Speaking to NBC News a day after his speech at the United Nations General Assembly, Netanyahu cautioned against Iranian President Hassan Rouhani's charm offensive, which he described as a strategy carried out to woo the West at the behest of the country's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei. "[The Iranian people] are governed not by Rouhani. They're governed by Ayatollah Khamenei. He heads a cult. That cult is wild in its ambitions and its aggression," Netanyahu said. The prime...

For some individuals and families signing up for ObamaCare, a little fudging can make a big difference in their bank accounts. In California, for example, a childless married couple stating income of $30,000 would face a $1,000 deductible, $15 per primary care visit and a maximum out-of-pocket cost (after premiums) of $4,500. But for a couple attesting to $32,000 in income, the deductible would be $3,000, primary care visit $40 and out-of-pocket maximum a hefty $10,400. Though they are separated by just $2,000 in income, the government might provide the lower-earning family as much as $5,900 more in cost-sharing subsidies...

The UN's climate change panel is set to release a report next month that reluctantly concludes there has been no warming of the earth in at least the last 15 years. Fewer and fewer people are believers that climate change is man made. This hasn't stopped the Obama administration from releasing new rules governing "carbon pollution" at new power plants that would mean the virtual destruction of the coal industry.

The shock waves are reverberating throughout the Church and around the globe. Pope Francis has insisted that the Church founded by Jesus Christ must focus beyond "small-minded rules" or it may very well "fall like a house of cards." Translation: Doctrinal truths which the world finds offensive must be watered-down or pretty much ignored to accommodate the zeitgeist. Doctrinal truths constitute "small-minded rules"? Dr. Germain Grisez, in a talk entitled "Legalism, Moral Truth and Pastoral Practice" given at a 1990 symposium held in Philadelphia, had this to say: "Theologians and pastors who dissent from received Catholic teaching think they are...

OTTAWA--Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper has told U.S. President Barack Obama that he's ready to work on joint plan between the two countries to reduce carbon emissions in the energy sector in an effort to secure approval of the Keystone XL pipeline project, the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. reported Friday. The CBC, citing unnamed sources, said Mr. Harper wrote to Mr. Obama in late August, signaling he is ready to accept carbon-reduction targets proposed by the U.S. and prepared to work with the White House to address concerns raised about Keystone and its impact on greenhouse-gas emissions. A spokesman for Mr....

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — The Democratic National Committee’s summer meeting here late last week was starkly different from the gathering of its Republican counterparts earlier in the month. There were no surefire news-making speakers like Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey or former Speaker Newt Gingrich, nor was there consideration of any made-for-cable-news resolutions, like one that tried to bar a pair of television networks from sponsoring future presidential debates. Rather, it was a sedate gathering where routine party business was conducted routinely by national and state Democratic officials in a suburban Phoenix resort.

The National Security Agency has broken privacy rules or overstepped its legal authority thousands of times each year since Congress granted the agency broad new powers in 2008, according to an internal audit and other top-secret documents. Most of the infractions involve unauthorized surveillance of Americans or foreign intelligence targets in the United States, both of which are restricted by statute and executive order. They range from significant violations of law to typographical errors that resulted in unintended interception of U.S. e-mails and telephone calls.

A somewhat offbeat sport, bowfishing resembles archery, except fishermen wield a hefty bow to target fish. Wisconsin has a regulation for that. Some fish are off-limits, but the restrictions aren’t always the same statewide, said Wilhelmson, a regional representative of the Wisconsin Bowfishing Association. “I’d like to be able to shoot catfish and I’d like to see the restrictions lifted from other parts of the state,” he said. The state’s bowfishing regulations, he said, are “goofy,” which aptly describes much of Wisconsin’s administrative code, key lawmakers say. Nursing homes, for instance, can be fined if the orange juice is off...

WASHINGTON — For the first time in more than 30 years, the Justice Department will revise its rules for investigations involving journalists to sharply limit the use of subpoenas or search warrants to obtain the phone records and e-mails of reporters. According to a Justice Department official, the new guidelines will say that in nearly all instances, news organizations will be notified in advance when federal agents are seeking their phone records as part of a broader investigation. Two months ago, editors at the Associated Press were surprised to learn that the FBI had secretly seized the dialing records

Ok, so I don't know if it came from a liberal town or not, but if I was a betting man...

Even though he is the commander in chief, there are some orders that even President Obama cannot give - as he found out today, much to the mirth of a put-upon U.S. Marine. Hosting Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the Rose Garden today, the president requested a standing Marine to open an umbrella and protect his head from the light rain that was falling. However, according to Marine Corps regulations, not even the President of the United States can request a serving officer to carry an umbrella without the express permission of the Commandant of the Marine Corps....

I hadn't noticed this before, but why is it that golfers sometimes (or is it all the time) when their ball is near the hole pick up their ball, then mark the spot with a quarter(?), then place the ball back down then take their shot? Why not just proceed with their shot from the get-go?

I’m a huge Tiger Woods fan. That’s why it pains me that he continues to do damage to his once-nearly-pristine image. Having recently reclaimed his sport’s ranking as World No. 1 – as the Euros put it – Tiger flew this week to Augusta, Georgia as the favorite to win the Masters. He acquitted himself rather well the tourney’s first two days, save for a mishap yesterday on the 15th hole. He hit an approach shot to the green that, as bad luck would have it, ricocheted off the flag pole and careened into the creek. After taking a “drop”...

I have a friend who recently joined Free Republic after an epiphany of realization that lead her to convert to a conservative virtually overnight, and now she's getting quite an education by reading FR. But she's frustrated because she can't join ping lists or send messages to people. Apparently newbies are blocked from doing a lot of things, but I can't find the rules written down anywhere. What are newbies forbidden to do, and for how long, and how do the restrictions get lifted?

My friend Jack pulled the car into a grassy clearing. We donned rubber boots, fetched a metal detector and digging tools from the trunk, and headed off along a game trail. Our mission: To dig up and test fire a pistol Jack had buried years ago. The trail disappeared into a wetland, which Jack crossed with confidence. The muddy water was only about six inches deep where he walked, but I couldn't see the bottom so I waded gingerly after him. It was at this point I discovered that my borrowed waterproof boots — weren't. I squished along after Jack....