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Nearly a half million Californians enrolled in Obamacare health plans through the end of December, according to data released Monday. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said 498,794 Californians picked health exchange plans, which gives the state 23 percent of the nearly 2.1 million enrollments nationwide. Considering the state has about 12 percent of the nation’s population, California has been more effective than other states in enrolling residents. The state has nearly met the lower threshold of predictions that call for 500,000 to 700,000 Californians to buy policies by March 31. “There is a feeling of optimism here...

While some “journalists” would have you believe the biggest stories of 2013 were about twerking celebrities and over-hyped real-life courtroom sagas, much bigger events were happening with far more lasting national significance. The foundation of an American police state is already laid and making its existence known, while most of the country remains blissfully focused on sports, reality shows, establishment pseudo-news, and other distractions. It would require an encyclopedia to cover all of the injustices, scandals, and brutality that took place in 2013. This list is designed to illustrate certain trends and significant stories from the past year. If Americans...

There is no way to separate Judaism from the state of Israel, President Shimon Peres said Sunday. On a visit to the Machon Lev Jerusalem Technology College, Peres said that despite the efforts of secularists, Israel would always remain a Jewish state. Peres addressed a question from a student who said that “in recent months we have seen an unparalleled attempt to defame the hareidi religious public, especially when it comes to serving in the IDF.” Did Peres believe that it was necessary to force hareidi religious yeshiva students into the army in order to get them into the workforce?...

Milwaukee Ald. Jim Bohl is under investigation for allegedly causing a landlord to get hit with a slew of code violations after he refused to evict two sex offenders from a property in the alderman's district. Investigators from the district attorney's office believe Bohl then had the landlord's records falsely wiped clean after the landlord said he had broken a state housing contract for the offenders. The landlord, in fact, did not break that contract. The investigation is revealed in a search warrant that seeks phone and email records of Bohl; his aide Todd Peterson; Department of Neighborhood Services inspector...

Above: Perennial traitor John Kerry's new mission: save the life of ghoulish illegal alien cop-killer Edgar Arias Tamayo.- by John UrbanTop Right NewsWhen John Kerry isn't busy trying to help Iran obtain nuclear weapons or stabbing Israel in the back, he is doing the bidding of the United Nations -- and Mexico -- trying to save the life of an illegal alien cop-killer.You heard that right. Edgar Arias Tamayo, a 46-year old Mexican man, was in the country illegally when he killed Houston police officer Guy Gaddis. Tamayo was arrested by Gaddis outside a nightclub in 1994 for robbery. While...

A Democratic Colorado state senator resigned Wednesday to avoid a possible recall election over a controversial gun control law that led to the ouster of two of her colleagues earlier this year. Sen. Evie Hudak, who has represented a district that includes Denver’s western suburbs since 2008, announced her resignation less than a week before opponents planned to submit petitions to recall her. Calling the decision “difficult,” Hudak said she decided to resign to protect the new gun control legislation and to ensure her constituents would not have to pay for a special election.

This past month, the Illinois State Supreme Court determined the state’s affiliate nexus law—a law requiring out-of-state companies with advertising affiliates in the state to collect and remit sales tax—violated federal law. In the majority opinion, Justice Anne Burke ruled that Illinois’ attempt to force collection of sales tax by out-of-state retailers based on their decision to use in-state online advertising rather than traditional print advertising represented a discriminatory taxation regime on the Internet and therefore violated the federal Internet Tax Freedom Act. No one understands the significance of last month’s Illinois State Supreme Court decision better than FatWallet founder...

The State Department is dismissing a three-year old letter written by then-Senator John FN Kerry on behalf of Code Pink members seeking access to Gaza as a 'form letter' after the letter came to prominence again this week. A State Department official reportedly told The Blaze, “The letter from then-Senator Kerry regarding the humanitarian mission in Israel and the Palestinian territories was a form letter that was auto-penned — standard constituent mail that congressional members send out as a common practice,” the official said. “Senator Kerry never saw it, nor did his senior staff see it. It was put together by...

The intense political polarization of the United States is most clearly reflected by the dysfunctional nature of the federal government. At a more local scale, it is seen as well in the growing movement to create new states by splitting existing ones. Most of these cases involve the desire of people in rural, conservative counties to secede from the more liberal states in which they are currently located. A front-page story in the October 7 edition of the New York Times, for example, highlights a drive to devise a new state of “Northern Colorado.” Eleven Colorado counties will vote on...

MADISON — Here’s some good advice my daddy once told me: Try not to tick off a bear hunter. Words to live by. In Wisconsin, hunters of all stripes — bear hunters included — are applauding the state Department of Natural Resources’ decision to keep state properties open to hunting during the federal government’s partial shutdown. Last week, the National Park Service issued a directive demanding that the DNR close several state-owned properties, jointly run by federal and state agencies. The DNR effectively told the Park Service to go hunt itself, for a couple of important reasons: a) because a...

State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf condemned President Bashar al-Assad Monday, but left the door open for portions of the government to remain in place if Assad were to be removed from office. The State Department believes this is best way to proceed while Syria is dismantling its chemical weapons in order to avoid a ‘complete political implosion.’ Below is a transcript of the exchange: Q: — even more so. So if you begin to dismantle that in this crucial time where you want to make sure that the chemical weapons really will not get out to anyone else, isn’t it...

The US federal government shutdown could have direct repercussions on the transfer of US aid to Israel, US State Department deputy spokeswoman Marie Harf told The Jerusalem Post Wednesday. "The impact of the shutdown could threaten our ability to provide foreign military financing to Israel and other important allies," Harf said. (Snip) In 2007, the two countries agreed on a 10-year, $30-billion military aid package covering the 2009-18 fiscal years. Total US foreign military funding was about $5.5 billion for more than 80 countries in 2011, according to State Department data. Harf said the State Department had not had to

The Internal Revenue Service’s targeting of conservative groups has revived old fears about the agency’s vast taxing and auditing powers, so easy to abuse. But the IRS isn’t alone in holding those powers. Across the country, states and municipalities have endowed thousands of revenue and audit bureaucracies with similar capabilities. Critics complain that officials use these entities to harass enemies and help allies. The evidence makes clear just how well-founded those concerns are—especially since these agencies typically receive far less scrutiny than the IRS does. Under the administration of Democratic governor Bill Richardson, New Mexico’s labor department sparked controversy in...

The State Department review of the Benghazi terror attack let senior officials off the hook for the policy decisions that led to sub-standard security at the U.S. compound in eastern Libya, according to a draft House committee report obtained by Fox News. The nearly 100-page report concludes that the State Department’s internal review board -- called the Accountability Review Board, or ARB -- was flawed. The report by Republicans on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee alleges the board’s probe was not comprehensive, its interviews were not thorough, and the investigation itself may have been damaged by conflicts of...

The living tissue inside an animal has been regressed back into an embryonic state for the first time, Spanish researchers say. They believe it could lead to new ways of repairing the body, for example after a heart attack. However, the study published in the journal Nature, showed the technique led to tumours forming in mice. Stem cell experts said it was a "cool" study, but would need to be much more controlled before leading to therapies.

State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki did not directly deny to reporters Wednesday that Benghazi survivors were being withheld from testifying before Congress, suggesting instead that House Oversight Committee Chairman Darrell Issa is mistaken to assume any of the survivors do want to testify. Psaki went on the defensive Wednesday when Associated Press reporter Matt Lee asserted that she was giving contradictory statements concerning the Benghazi survivors. Psaki said these survivors were still involved in the criminal investigation surrounding the attacks which happened a year ago Wednesday, and it would endanger the lives of the survivors and their families to reveal...

A law firm that champions religious freedom is standing firm with a Florida town threatened over its city seal by Americans United for Separation of Church and State. The atheist group Americans United complains that the seal used by DeLand, Florida, happens to contain a cross. Liberty Counsel founder Mat Staver tells OneNewsNow the complaint really illustrates the absurdity of groups like Americans United. Staver, Mat (Liberty Counsel)“This seal is part of the very founding seal of the city of DeLand. It's 131 years old,” says Staver. “No one has ever complained for 131 years until the Americans United for...

Los Angeles’ new mayor has vowed to help stanch the flow of film and TV production jobs out of Hollywood, starting with the appointment of a film czar at City Hall. But to make a real difference, Eric Garcetti needs to convince skeptical state pols to combat the lure of rich tax incentives from outside California. Two days after this year’s Oscars, Hollywood’s councilman Eric Garcetti, then running for mayor of Los Angeles, staged a media event at Sunset Gower Studios. Only a smattering of reporters and photographers showed up, perhaps because the gathering was to address “runaway production,” a...

Everyone knows by now, a mastery of social media is a necessity if you want to maintain a successful political campaign or career. Seemingly, social etiquette is absent in some social media as recent months have shown how a miss use of it can draw negative attention to yourself. Former U.S. Congressman, Anthony Wiener, is the most notorious example of how it can ruin a career. In 2011 he resigned his position after sexually suggestive tweets, sent to a 21 year-old woman, became viral and the targets of media fodder. And again, earlier this summer, while campaigning for mayor of...

This week, the State Department announced that, in "an important symbol of our enduring friendship with Benin," construction has begun on a new $178 million embassy complex in the small West African nation, a neighbor of Togo and Nigeria. As is often the case in the construction of new U.S. diplomatic facilities, the plans include a number of "sustainable" features including solar panels, rainwater harvesting, wastewater reuse, and LED lighting. The complex will cover 8.8 acres, and will include: a chancery/office building, a support annex, a residence for the U.S. Marine detachment, a warehouse, a utility building, a recreational facility,...