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Only eight days prior to the horrendous slaughter of children and school staff in Pakistan, Barack Obama released Pakistani Taliban leader, the second in command of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). This is the exact group claiming responsibility for today’s massacre in Peshawar, leaving 141 dead. Senior TTP commander Latif Mehsud (pictured above) was handed over to Pakistani authorities according to the source there. This was not the first time Obama has handed over Taliban leaders to Pakistan authorities who then have released them into the main populace. It is not without merit to wonder if today’s attack has any relation to...

High in the catalogue of social pathologies afflicting marriage and the family in America stands our system of family law, the central purpose of which is to enforce no-fault divorce. In a letter to the Holy Father and the recent Extraordinary Synod on the Family, almost fifty international scholars and religious leaders joined us in urging the Church to consider the effects of no-fault divorce, along with other barriers to faithful, lifelong marriage. State laws on divorce began to be implemented in the late 1960s, but today have been absorbed into the legal and cultural mainstream nationwide. The logic of...

On the teetering economy and possible economic collapse, Dr. Roberts says, “We know something serious is wrong. The only provision of Dodd-Frank that has any teeth is the provision that says if the big banks are going to be casinos and gamble on derivatives, they cannot do that in the depository institution where depositors have their accounts. They have to farm it out into subsidiaries. So, if the subsidiaries get into trouble, the subsidiaries have no access to depositors’ money. This is the only real reform part of Dodd-Frank. Citigroup got put into the recent spending bill, the repeal of...

ROME — Pope Francis had quite a 78th birthday. between Cuba and the United States — and the disclosure that the Argentine pope played a key role as broker. Francis is being credited for helping bridge the divide by first sending letters to President Obama and President Raúl Castro of Cuba, and then having the Vatican host a diplomatic meeting between the two sides in October.

Democratic New York Congressman Charlie Rangel said on MSNBC’s “Ronan Farrow Daily” that in the aftermath of the normalization of relations with Cuba, he has “never been more proud of being an American.” (RELATED: Raul Castro Urges Obama To Use ‘Executive Action’ To Overrule Congress)Rangel, who was in Havana for some reason, said the Cuban people were ecstatic. ”This is a tremendous, historic event, the people in Havana are dancing in the street with glee, there’s always been a love between the Cuban people and the American people, notwithstanding the problems our governments have had.”

Gov. Rick Snyder is touting his handling of the Detroit bankruptcy to media outlets around the country. While the bankruptcy went smoothly compared to other municipal proceedings, there is a difference between emerging from bankruptcy and fixing the city government’s problems. Whether Detroit will be successful remains to be seen. The city emerges from bankruptcy having reduced its debt burdens, including large cuts to its retiree health insurance and to its pension benefits. City debts had been looming to take two-thirds of city operating revenue. While easing these burdens was necessary, there is a lot more that needs to be...

Tuesday on NewsMax TV's "MidPoint," Rev. Jesse Jackson addressed accusations of race-baiting by black leaders such as himself and Al Sharpton by comparing them to race baiting allegations from infamous segregationist George Wallace towards civil rights icon Rev. Martin Luther King. "I will tell you there are people who have appeared on this show before, who every time we discuss the leaders of the black movement in this country, they take your name and they put it in the same sentence as Al Sharpton and they say the two of you, people have said this on our show, are race...

Sen. Marco Rubio is expressing concern and frustration with the Obama administration’s plans to restore relations with Cuba. “Today’s announcement initiating a dramatic change in U.S. policy toward Cuba is just the latest in a long line of failed attempts by President Obama to appease rogue regimes at all costs,” Rubio said in a statement Wednesday morning. The Florida lawmaker, whose parents immigrated to the U.S. from Cuba in the 1950s, said he was pleased that American Alan Gross have been freed from captivity in Cuba. But Rubio sounded a negative tone about what the U.S. gave up in order...

President Barack Obama's historic move to loosen the U.S. embargo on Cuba opens a political minefield for Republicans with presidential aspirations. The announcement immediately threw two Florida politicians -- Sen. Marco Rubio and former Governor Jeb Bush -- into the spotlight and served as another reminder of the state's enduring importance in presidential politics. Rubio, the son of Cuban immigrants, quickly took a hardline position, vowing to block any nominee the administration might put forward to be an ambassador to Cuba. He called Obama's announcement "truly outrageous and counterproductive" because there has been no "democratic opening" in Cuba. It is...

ROME — Pope Francis had quite a 78th birthday. The pontiff began Wednesday with prayers and a birthday celebration with tango dancers near St. Peter’s Square. His day ended with a historic diplomatic breakthrough between Cuba and the United States — and the disclosure that the Argentine pope played a key role as broker. Francis is being credited for helping bridge the divide by first sending letters to President Obama and President Raúl Castro of Cuba, and then having the Vatican host a diplomatic meeting between the two sides in October. “The Holy Father wishes to express his warm congratulations...

Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Robert Menendez (D-NJ) slammed the Obama administration for exchanging imprisoned aid worker Alan Gross with Cuba for three Cuban spies. Menendez calls it a dangerous precedent and one that absolves the Castro regime’s behavior. “Let's be clear, this was not a ‘humanitarian’ act by the Castro regime. It was a swap of convicted spies for an innocent American,” the New Jersey Democrat said in a statement. “President Obama's actions have vindicated the brutal behavior of the Cuban government.” Menendez — whose parents immigrated to the U.S. from Cuba — stressed that there is no “equivalence”...

'It's all about us being the No. 1 enemy of these people' PALM BEACH, Florida – With the announcement Tuesday by former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush that he plans to “actively explore” a run for president in 2016, radio host Rush Limbaugh says the real reason Jeb is seeking the White House is to choke the influence of tea-party conservatives out of the Republican Party. “You want to know why Jeb Bush is thinking about running?” Limbaugh asked on his top-rated program Tuesday. “He’s … being looked at as savior by the big-money donor class and the consultant class –...

In a speech held at the same time as President Barack Obama’s televised speech announcing a normalization of relations with Cuba, Cuban dictator Raul Castro urged Obama to use “executive action” to bypass Congressional policy on Cuba. USA Today’s Gregory Korte first caught the comments: Raul Castro urges President Obama to use “executive action” to lift congressionally imposed sanctions on Cuba. — Gregory Korte (@gregorykorte) December 17, 2014

A Veterans Affairs psychiatrist cleared former Marine Bradley Stone of suicidal or homicidal tendencies just a week before he went on a killing spree, slaying six others and then taking his own life. Stone, who had been in a child custody battle with his ex-wife, killed members of her family Monday. His body was found near his home in Pennsylvania on Tuesday with self-inflicted stab wounds and cuts. He had a 100 percent disability rating at the VA for post-traumatic stress disorder and had seen his psychiatrist just one week prior to the incident, a VA spokesman told The Washington...

Former Florida Governor and ex-First Brother Jeb Bush announced his plans to start a fundraising committee next month, and immediately some big names in GOP money — such as Florida developer Mel Sembler — got behind him. Bush has recently proven his ability to raise big bucks, but some of Bush’s likely competitors for the 2016 GOP nomination already have a head start. Three of them — Sens. Marco Rubio (Fla.), Rand Paul (Ky.) and Ted Cruz (Texas) — have the advantage of a national podium in the Senate and plenty of places to start stashing away cash. All three...

<p>The "Cuban Five" refers to intelligence agents whose so-called "Wasp Network" operated in Florida in the 1990s.</p> <p>One, Gerardo Hernandez, had been serving a life sentence on charges of murder conspiracy related to the Cuban air force's 1996 shoot-down of two planes flown by Brothers to the Rescue, an exile organization that sought to aid migrants at sea and also dropped propaganda leaflets.</p>

ST. LOUIS, Mo. (CBS ST. LOUIS) – A GOP lawmaker in Missouri introduced a bill that requires pregnant women to receive written consent from the father of the child before an abortion can be performed – or in exceptional cases of “legitimate rape.” State Representative Rick Brattin, a Republican from outside Kansas City, filed the bill on Dec. 3 that proposes, “No abortion shall be performed or induced unless and until the father of the unborn child provides written, notarized consent to the abortion.” Although Brattin’s bill leaves open “certain exceptions” to the bill, Mother Jones reports. “Just like any...

From Tom Cotton to Ted Cruz, many of the biggest new names in the GOP are graduates of Harvard -- the school the right loves to hate. Mocking the arrogance of “liberals from Harvard” is a foolproof applause line for any Republican looking to rev up a conservative audience. But when the 114th Congress gavels into session in January, GOP speechwriters are going to need some new material. That’s because many of fastest rising stars in the Republican Party, including Senators-elect Tom Cotton (Ark.), Ben Sasse (Neb.), Dan Sullivan (Ak.) and Rep.-elect Elise Stefanik, all graduated from Harvard. Along with...

The country's top five theater circuits have decided not to play Sony's The Interview, a knowledgeable source tells The Hollywood Reporter. Regal Entertainment, AMC Entertainment, Cinemark, Carmike Cinemas and Cineplex Entertainment have all decided against showing the film. Carmike Cinemas confirmed its decision to drop the film on Tuesday. The other chains did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Sony also had no immediate comment.

Fox News reports:Graham thinking about presidential bid http://fxn.ws/1BUZ2XFWhich Graham? I mean, it couldn’t be Lindsey Graham, the senior U.S. Senator from South Carolina, in Congress from 1995 to 2003 and in the Senate ever since. There’s no market for a moderate Republican whose main passion is foreign interventionism, right? And yet, that’s exactly what the story says. Here are six other Grahams you’d probably rather see run for the highest office in the land before Lindsey Graham. Heather Graham:? She was great as Rollergirl in Boogie Nights but also as Daisy in the satire Bowfinger. She’s a children’s rights activist...